Seeing an old friend in Melbourne – the story of John Donehue: Many years ago when I began training in New York City I would often hear of a talented Australian grappler with a very similar name and story to mine – so similar in fact that many people thought we were the same person! Over a decade later I was teaching a class when a very well mannered man introduced himself to me as John Donehue – I finally met my grappling doppelgänger! We became good friends. Mr Donehue had an impeccable grappling pedigree. He is a Sixth degree black belt under the great Rigan Machado and one of a handful of people who got a black belt from legendary Judo/catch wrestling icon Judo Gene Labelle. In addition he was a student and training partner of the great Iowa wrestler Rico Chiaperelli and worked extensively with the legendary RAW MMA team in the early days of MMA. As such he has a very unique perspective and approach to grappling that encompasses Jiu jitsu, catch, judo and wrestling at the highest levels. His grappling knowledge is extraordinary and so is his insight into the early California Jiu jitsu and grappling scene. Here in South East Melbourne I taught seminars today at his school – it was wonderful to see what a great job he has done raising excellent students who were able to quickly absorb the material we went over. If you're ever in Melbourne this a great place to train!!
