Rodger Middleton (Head Instructor)
2nd degree Black belt
Rodger as had a passion for Martial arts since he was 8 when he started Judo. As well as being a 2nd degree BJJ back belt, he also holds a 2nd degree black belt in Judo and the same in traditional Jiu-Jitsu.
Rodger started training BJJ in 2006 at what was the Vie Academy at the time, it later became a Roger Gracie affiliate. Instructors at the gym included Eduardo Pereira, Helio Pereira, Luciano Christovam and Cesar Lima (now head instructor at Grand Union HQ). He was awarded his Black belt in 2015 by Cesar Lima under the guidance of Roger Gracie.
Although no longer an active competitor, throughout his time on the mats, Rodger has competed Nationally and Internationally with some great wins and results in large tournaments like IBJJF Europeans and British Nationals.
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Fiona Middleton
Black belt
Fiona found BJJ through her Dad Rodger Middleton and fell in love with the sport, especially when it came to competing. Initially she was the only female student at HBJJ. Recognising the benefits of having female training partners, she started also training at RGA HQ where the ladies there were able to support her with training for tournaments.
Fiona was awarded her black belt by her father Rodger Middleton with the guidance of Rodger Gracie in 2022. Her fathers first female black belt. She is an active, high level competitor and has consistently performed well throughout her career nationally and internationally. Some of her accomplishments include IBJJF European Champion (Brown), IBJJF world Bronze medallist X 2 (purple and brown), IBJJF European No-gi champion X2 (Blue and purple) and Abu Dhabi World Pro champion and Silver medallist (blue and purple).