Jack Tolley (Silver Jack)
About
Pittsburgh local and family man Jack Tolley, is the first American Jiu Jitsu practitioner in the region to receive his Jiu Jitsu black belt in Brazil, and one of the few non-Brazilians in the world to receive his black belt in Belem do Para, Brazil; the birth place of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and resting place of legendary Mitsuyo Maeda. While in Belem, in addition to training with his coach Zezinho Mota, Jack also had the opportunity to meet and train with such legendary figures such as Robson "ja morriau" Nascimento. With a grappling career that expands over 45 years, Jack has had the honor and opportunity of training with greats such as wrestling coaches Tony Gusic, Tony Piccioni and Coach Steve Deaugastino. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Professors Zezinho Mota, Amaury Bitetti, Alexandre Quintella, Enio Pinheiro, Robson "ja morriau" Nascimento, Aurelio Faria, Daniel Garza, Danillo Villefort, and Yuri Villefort, in addition to having learned as well from American Black Belts Mike Demko, Brad Souders, Bill Krull, Bill Fryburg, Lou Armezzeni, Jake Miclot, Ryan Areola, Chris Dempsey, Mike Hluhan, Nick Schaffer, Dave England, Dave Sax and more to come as the journey continues.
Other Background
In addition to grappling, Jack has ventured into other combat disciplines as well, starting nearly two decades ago in a garage in Glassport training Jeet Kune Do with Jason Vickers. Seeking to further employ the grappling experience in a competitive arena, Jack gravitated towards MMA which led to an interest and skills development in striking arts such as Boxing, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai.
https://fighters.mixedmartialarts.com/Jack-Tolley:56A61FBEFC5D87EB
A few of the strikers and MMA guys Jack has trained with over the years are Chris Dempsey, Adam Milstead, Justin Wilcox, Jason WillettTed Billingsley, Khama Worthy, Mark Cherico, Brenden Barrett, Steve Mowry, Josh Fremd, Jason Cardillo, John Opfar, Hank Hanasik, and Frank Gill.
Achievements
- US Kids freestyle Regional champ in 1984.
- PIAA section runner up in 1990.
- Over 1,000 grappling matches including Jiu Jitsu gi, no-gi, Folkstyle wrestling, Freestyle wrestling, and Greco Roman wrestling.
- Brotherhood of Wrestling award in 1990.
- Silver Medal in a MAWA Freestyle tournament in 2001.
- Western Pennsylvania - Gi Master HWT Champ. in 2010.
- Western Pennsylvania - No-gi Absolute Champ 2010.
- Over 25 regional tournaments medals in both gi and no-gi.
- Undefeated amateur MMA record 3-0, including a submission victory over a Pan Am champion.
- Former owner and head coach of Tactical Fight Systems.
- MMA Coach
- US Navy Veteran