Certifications
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt under Brett Werner
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
NRA Certified Range Safety Officer
NRA Certified Refuse to be a Victim Instructor
Adams County, CO Verified Firearms Instructor
Combatives Association 40-Hour Instructor Development Certification
Red Zone Threat Management Knife Defense Instructor Certification
Knife Control Concepts Instructor Certification
Combatives Grey Belt under John Valentine
Level 1 Trauma Combat Casualty Care with 3CPR
First Aid/CPR/AED Certified
SafeSport Certified
AcademySafe Certified
Biography
Anthony is the business mind behind Lionheart Jiu Jitsu—the owner, the financial backing, and also a steady presence on the mat. He began training in February 2019 at Zingano BJJ under Professor Hans Thompson, where a disciplined, welcoming culture cemented his commitment to the art and to building a place where Jiu Jitsu changes lives. There he met Brett, Angela, and Ashley—relationships that would later shape Lionheart’s culture.
Following his early years at Zingano, Anthony went alongside Brett to another gym for a few years, then continued at Chroma Jiu Jitsu in Lafayette under Professor Damien Cordova. Damien’s Japan‑forged perspective sharpened Anthony’s understanding of fundamentals, timing, and control. Together with Professor Brett Werner and guided by mentors like Hans and Damien, the vision for Lionheart took shape.
Anthony is candid about surviving childhood trauma, and understands the challenges that people can face when coming from a traumatic experience. He knows what structured training can unlock—confidence, calm, ownership, discipline—and his aim is simple: make world‑class martial arts accessible to as many people as possible. It is his stated goal to open as many Lionheart Jiu Jitsu academies as he can for the rest of his life in order to accomplish this.
Anthony is also an avid shooter, and competes in USPSA. He has attended countless training days with some of the best on the planet to develop his own skills. He got certified by the NRA to teach pistol, and is now verified with Adams County, CO as a firearms instructor so he can teach Colorado Concealed Handgun Permit classes. He’s been shooting for around 20 years, and is as passionate about those skills as he is jiu jitsu.
Beyond the academy, Anthony serves as General Partner & Chief Technology Officer of a global algorithmic futures trading firm, licensing trading software he invented and coded to retail traders. He’s spent over 20 years studying markets and businesses, has owned, ran, and sold numerous businesses, is a published author, and holds a degree in Data Analytics with a focus on statistics and machine learning – alongside numerous programming and networking certifications. That same data‑driven clarity informs Lionheart’s operations: clean and lean processes, high standards, and a culture of measurable progress.
At home: two Labradors, a terrier, an understanding wife, and a son.
Acta Non Verba.
Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda → Hélio Gracie → Rickson Gracie → Carlos “Caique” Elias → Mauricio Zingano → Hans Thompson → Brett Werner → Anthony Garcia