Brown belt Sam Tisdale hosts 3-day BJJ seminar at Trench Tech gym

Dozens of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels gathered at Trench Tech Purebred Saipan Gym for a free three-day seminar led by Taiwan-based brown belt Sam Tisdale from Sunday, Feb. 8, to Tuesday, Feb. 10.

A brown belt is just one rank below black belt and Tisdale brought more than a decade of experience to the mats of Saipan. Tisdale has been living and training in Taiwan for the past eight years and trains under professor (black belt) Makoto Ogasawara. The 32-year-old, who’s from Wisconsin where he grew up wrestling, then began training in Jiu-Jitsu at 19 and has since built an extensive competitive resume across Asia and the Pacific.

The first day of the seminar focused on leg locks, while days two and three shifted to guard passing and pressure-based passing techniques, with students drilling after he demonstrated the moves alongside local Jiu-Jitsu athlete and good friend of his, Evert Van Der Maas.

Tisdale’s visit comes off a strong 2025 season where he compiled an 18-4 record and collected multiple medals in major tournaments. At the IBJJF Asian Open held last June 19-22 in Chiba, Japan, he won gold in the brown belt super heavyweight division and bronze in the brown belt open (absolute) division. He also secured double gold at the ADCC Okinawa Open last March 30 in Okinawa, Japan, taking first in the +99kg division and the open class.

In April, he claimed two more gold medals at the Marianas Pro Taiwan in Taipei, winning both the brown belt adult ultra heavyweight and open weight divisions. He later added another gold at the Marianas International Open in Guam on Oct. 18, capturing the adult brown belt no-gi title.

Tisdale said he met Trench Tech professor (black belt) Justis “Cuki” Alvarez in Tokyo, and that Van Der Maas had long encouraged him to visit Saipan to share his knowledge.

With that, he said the seminars have “been fun, it’s been great.” As for the turnout and the island’s skill level, he was impressed. “There were so many kids here. That’s always a good sign,” he said. “They say a good sign of a good jiu-jitsu gym is do they have a good kids program? And they have a lot of kids.”

Tisdale left on Tuesday night, and hopes to return to do more seminars on the island.