Coaching Staff

The Portland Gym is Oregon's first and best BJJ and MMA facility. The Coaches found on the mat at the Portland Gym are all world class, and have a lifetime of experience. Many people travel from across the globe to work with our coaching staff, as a local you have the benefit of having this team in your own back yard!

Head Coach Matt Thornton

Founder - Head Coach of SBGi
Teaching for over 20 Years
Oregon's first BJJ Black Belt

The Portland Gym was started by SBGi founder Matt Thornton in 1994. Matt started his functional martial arts training with boxing. After serving in the US Army Matt returned to the USA and began training in JKD in 1988. In 1990 Matt moved to Portland where he managed, and taught at a Gym for a little over two Years where the focus was JKDC. In 1991 he had the privilege of meeting and training with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie. It was the meeting, where Matt reports:

"I watched Rickson wrestle a room of Judo black belts. He tapped them all out within seconds, without using his hands, and I knew this is for me!"

It was from that meeting that Matt discovered the need to place the emphasis on self-discovery through Aliveness. It was more from his boxing and initial introduction to BJJ (Rickson) which physically challenged all the mental constructs and concepts that were being shown to him as physical possibilities for fighting, then his involvement with JKD that shaped the ideology of Aliveness. From there it just continued to flourish through personal experiences field testing everything others had taken for granted would work. As a consequence, SBG was doing MMA before the term MMA even existed.

The first SBG Gym was opened in Salem Oregon in 1993. And it was such a success (due to it’s unique methods & Coaching) that another, larger facility was opened in Portland Oregon a Year later. That facility, the Portland Gym, went to become the world Headquarters for SBG international.

Matt met Randy Couture, who would come in to work on stand up, and BJJ groundwork. Randy trained on a regular basis with SBG Portland for several Years after this. Randy helped change the way the SBG trained the clinch range. The SBG had always taught a strong boxing base at their facilities, and in addition BJJ had become a huge part of the curriculum from the start, now they had the full package. Matt and the SBG introduced the proper clinch as taken from Greco to the Martial Arts world at large, at a time when most JKD schools where still teaching chi-sau and hubud, and before most MMA fighters had the clinch training which is currently now the standard.

Matt began doing seminars in 1995, and since that time Matt has given well over four hundred seminars. He has traveled all over the world to spread the message of Aliveness, the curriculum of the SBG, and the beauty and Art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Matt has taught in Africa, France, the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Reunion Island, the Seychelles, Iceland, Sweden, and all across the USA, to name just a few. It has been this travel, teaching, training, and process of self-discovery that has shaped Matt's philosophy on what training 'healthy' in the Martial Arts is all about.

In 1998 Matt's first video series titled "Functional JKD" was released, and featured tape #1 Aliveness. This tape, and the firestorm that followed, sparked a revolution within Martial Arts, and sold all over the world. His second series became one of the top selling, and best reviewed instructional sets of all time. SBG became SBGi, SBG international. And at present time has Gym's and training groups in well over 50 locations around the globe. The curriculum has continued to evolve, and the "I" method, the STAB program, the ISR, and many other innovations, have continued to propel SBGi to the forefront of cutting edge Martial Arts training for all types of needs, and applications.

In 2002 Matt became one of the few Americans to be awarded a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And the first BJJ black belt ever in the State of Oregon. And that Year Matt formed the SBGi BJJ Association, which at present has 7 black belts, and many brown belts and purples belts around the world who coach using the SBGi methods. It's been a long journey, but Matt Thornton and SBGi have clearly shown themselves to be a major force of innovation within the history of Martial Arts.

Matt still teaches weekly classes himself at the Portland Branch of Straight Blast Gym, where he can be found on the mat, having a blast, alongside other athletes of all levels.

Head Coach Rick Davison

SBGi Instructor/ Coach
Graduated the ICC program in 2000
BJJ black belt
Member of Competition Team (MMA)

Rick Davison started with SBG in 1998 along with his brother Travis. Both Rick and Travis had seen Royce Gracie take on all competitors at the first UFC's and wanted to experience for themselves what this art was all about. Neither has looked back since. Travis has gone on to run SBG Montana, while Rick has divided his time between competing MMA and teaching on a regular basis at the Portland Gym. Rick's MMA classes are always well received due in part to the high level of individual attention he gives his students, and his educated eye.

Instructor Cane Prevost

Member of SBGi for over 7 Years
Received SBGi Instructors certificate in 2007
BJJ brown belt

Cane Prevost is widely considered one of Portland's top coaches. His ability to break down BJJ to it's core fundamentals and impart that to the his students is second to none. Cane's posture - pressure - possibilities teaching model has been adopted by the entire SBG organization worldwide, and is now the common format used in places like the UK, Ireland, Sweden and everywhere the SBG exists. If your new to BJJ, or your an advanced student looking to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu then Cane's classes are something you wont want to miss.

Instructor Brian Walsh

Head boxing Coach for the MMA Comp Team
Received SBGi Instructors certificate in 2007

Brian has become a regular feature at the Portland Gym. As head stand up Coach for the MMA team Brian's lifetime of boxing knowledge is put to good use by Portland's competitors. In addition to working with the team Brian can often be found helping regular students daily at the Gym. It's not uncommon to walk in and see him working on the sidelines with new members, holding mitts for them, and helping them learn the proper mechanics of stand up in a safe, sane, and smart way.