Chris Chard, Owner and Head Coach of OhioBJJC began his martial arts training in 1987. After exploring Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Kickboxing, and Kali, he started training BrazilianJiu Jitsu under Jorge and Pablo Popovitch in 1997. He became their first American to be awarded the rank of black belt in 2006. Chris created the BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU CENTER OF OHIO in 2004 upon his relocation to Ohio. Chris has competed on a national and international level since 1999. Among his achievments:
- 2000 NAGA Intermediate NO GI Silver Medalist
- 2001 Pan Ams Masters Blue Belt Silver Medalist
- 2003 Pan Ams Masters Purple Belt Absolute Champion
- 2003 Arnold Classic Masters Purple Belt Silver Medalist
- 2008 Pan Ams Senior 2 Black Belt Heavyweight Bronze Medalist
- 2009 Pan Ams Senior 2 Black Belt Heavyweight Bronze Medalist
Chris is also a certified CIRCULAR STRENGH TRAINING® instructor and Certified Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning Coach. Chris can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
L-R: Paul Owens, Paul Bartholet, Tim Lehman, Nate Kahl
Paul Owens is a Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu having trained at a variety of academies since 1999. He joined OhioBJJC in 2007.
Paul Bartholet is a Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu and has trained since 2003. He also has trained and taught at a variety of academies and rejoined OhioBJJC in 2008. Paul also teaches BJJ at our affiliate, Kick Martial Arts in Lakewood Ohio.
Tim Lehman is a Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu and has trained at OhioBJJC since 2005
Nate Kahl is a Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu and has trained at OhioBJJC since 2004
Jon Bobel is a Purple Belt in Jui Jitsu and has trained at OhioBJJC since 2006. He also instructs at Kick Martial Arts.
Shane McAnerney (not pictured) is a Purple Belt and has trained at OhioBJJC since 2004. Shane is co-instructor of our Youth BJJ Classes.
Rob Justine (not pictured) is a Blue Belt and has trained at OhioBJJC since 2005. He is professional strength and conditioning trainer and leads our Strength and Conditioning Class. He is also a Certified MMA Conditioning Coach.
