John Danaher (martial artist)

John Danaher was born in Washington, D.C., United States. His father, a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, acted as an attaché to the United States military during the Vietnam War. His family later returned to Whangaparaoa, a small peninsula north of Auckland, New Zealand, where Danaher spent the remainder of his childhood. He learned Muay Thai, and some karate as martial arts were becoming popular in New Zealand.{{Cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/en_nz/article/evwwpe/the-life-and-influence-of-real-life-martial-arts-monk-kiwi-john-danaher |title = The Life and Influence of Real-Life Martial Arts Monk, Kiwi John Danaher|date = 2018-10-22}}

After high school, Danaher attended the University of Auckland, where he earned a bachelor's, and later a master's degree in philosophy. In 1991, he returned to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in epistemology at Columbia University in Manhattan, which he did not complete. While attending the university, Danaher worked as a bouncer at various Manhattan nightclubs.

While he had some striking ability from his time in New Zealand, Danaher's dedication to martial arts did not fully begin until he began training at the Renzo Gracie Academy in the early 1990s. While there, he studied under notable jiu-jitsu practitioner Renzo Gracie, and became one of his most dedicated students, alongside Rodrigo Gracie, Matt Serra, and Ricardo Almeida. As a purple belt, he began to teach some classes at the academy while Renzo was traveling to compete. Over the next several years, Danaher's responsibilities as an instructor at Renzo Gracie Academy grew, and Danaher became a full-time instructor at the school.

As Danaher has suffered throughout his life from severe leg and hip problems, he has never competed professionally and consequently has devoted his time and effort to teach. As his students have had success in competition and gained notoriety over the last several years, he is well known as a jiu-jitsu coach, having worked closely with fighters such as Georges St-Pierre and Chris Weidman.{{cite web |title=Danaher: All three of the main criticisms of St-Pierre's legacy were answered at UFC 217 |url=https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/12/27/16820580/ufc-217-john-danaher-georges-st-pierre-michael-bisping-middleweight-mma-news |accessdate=8 July 2019|date=2017-12-27 }}{{cite web |title=Matt Serra unable to corner Chris Weidman at UFC 162; title challenger tabs dad to replace him |url=https://www.mmafighting.com/2013/6/25/4462362/matt-serra-unable-to-corner-chris-weidman-at-ufc-162-title-challenger |accessdate=8 July 2019|date=2013-06-25 }} Additionally, he coached a group of notable jiu-jitsu competitors at the Renzo Gracie Academy, often referred to as the "Danaher Death Squad". The group included athletes such as Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon, Nick Rodriguez, Craig Jones (grappler), and Nicky Ryan, who between them hold numerous world championships, spanning multiple organizations, including IBJJF, ADCC, Eddie Bravo Invitational, and others.

Since 2018, Danaher has been a brand ambassador and consultant for Sanabul.[https://sanabulsports.com/pages/team-sanabul member of Sanabul]

Danaher partnered with BJJ Fanatics for the release of his series of instructionals, the "Enter the System," "Go Further Faster," "Feet to Floor," "New Wave Jiu Jitsu," and "Standing to Ground" series.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-14 |title=Who is John Danaher: The Master of BJJ - BJJ Mat Warriors |url=https://metamatwarriors.com/who-is-john-danaher-the-master-of-bjj/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Meta Mat Warriors |language=en}}

In late 2020, Danaher announced that he would be leaving his teaching position at Renzo Gracie's New York Academy and would be moving to Puerto Rico to establish a new gym with some of his top students at the time.{{cite web|url=https://jitsmagazine.com/john-danaher-is-moving-to-puerto-rico-with-his-students/|title=John Danaher Is Moving To Puerto Rico With His Students|author=Phil Jones|date=November 23, 2020|website=jitsmagazine.com}} Gordon Ryan later revealed that a tentative opening date for the new academy was set for March 2021.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Phil |title=John Danaher And Gordon Ryan's Puerto Rico Gym Should Open By March |url=https://jitsmagazine.com/john-danaher-and-gordon-ryans-puerto-rico-gym-should-open-by-march/ |website=Jits Magazine |access-date=27 December 2020 |date=1 December 2020}} However, in July 2021 Danaher announced that Danaher Death Squad had split up{{Cite web|url=https://jitsmagazine.com/john-danaher-announces-the-death-of-the-danaher-death-squad/|title = John Danaher Announces the Death of the Danaher Death Squad|date = 26 July 2021}} and shortly after, news surfaced that he was moving to Austin, Texas to open up a new gym called New Wave Jiu Jitsu alongside two of his most popular students, Garry Tonon and Gordon Ryan.{{Cite web|url=https://jitsmagazine.com/gordon-ryan-reveals-that-john-danaher-and-garry-tonon-are-staying-with-him/|title = Gordon Ryan Reveals That John Danaher and Garry Tonon Are Staying with Him|date = 29 July 2021}} Since the opening of New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, Danaher has managed to attract several notable new students like multiple-time IBJJF world champion Nicholas Meregali{{cite web | url=https://jitsmagazine.com/nicholas-meregali-given-surprise-invite-to-adcc-2022/ | title=Nicholas Meregali Given Surprise Invite to ADCC 2022 | date=4 February 2022 }} and teenage BJJ prodigy Helena Crevar.{{cite web | url=https://jitsmagazine.com/bjj-prodigy-helena-crevar-moves-to-new-wave-jiu-jitsu/ | title=BJJ Prodigy Helena Crevar Moves to New Wave Jiu-Jitsu | date=29 December 2022 }}

John Danaher and his gym, New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, was awarded with 'Gym of the Year' at the Jitsmagazine 2022 BJJ Awards as a result of the competition team's performance throughout the year.{{cite web | url=https://jitsmagazine.com/the-jitsmagazine-2022-bjj-awards/ | title=The Jitsmagazine 2022 BJJ Awards | date=January 2023 }}

Danaher is also known for developing his own system of leg-locks and lower-body attacks.{{cite web |title=I Flew Over 4000 Miles For A Private Lesson With John Danaher: Hywel Teague |url=https://www.flograppling.com/articles/5050014-i-flew-over-4000-miles-for-a-private-lesson-with-john-danaher-hywel-teague |accessdate=8 July 2019}} He was first introduced to the effectiveness of leg locks when Dean Lister, an American grappler who was having success in competitions utilizing leg-based attacks, came to train at Renzo Gracie Academy for two weeks in the early 2000s.{{cite web |title=This Is What John Danaher Wants You To Know About His Leg Lock System |date=22 July 2017 |url=https://evolve-vacation.com/blog/this-is-what-john-danaher-wants-you-to-know-about-his-leg-lock-system/ |accessdate=8 July 2019}} With the leg lock system, Danaher was able to consolidate a large number of distinct positions and moves into a more formulaic and predictable series of procedures that could be executed by his students. Using the principles that Danaher set out in his system, his students had tremendous success utilizing leg locks in competition.{{cite web |title=Video: Garry Tonon is ridiculously good at jiu-jitsu, gets heel hook in less than a minute |date=17 May 2019 |url=https://mmajunkie.com/2019/05/garry-tonon-heel-hook-video-one-championship-96 |accessdate=8 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=Best Leg Lock Specialists in Grappling Today |url=https://www.bjjee.com/articles/best-leg-lock-specialists-in-grappling-today/ |accessdate=8 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=William Wolk Brazilian taps to Eddie Cummings Heel Hook |date=16 April 2019 |url=https://www.bjjee.com/articles/william-wolk-brazilian-taps-to-eddie-cummings-heel-hook/ |accessdate=8 July 2019}}

Danaher is credited with helping to alter the jiu-jitsu community's opinion of leg locks, as many saw them as a non-technical and ineffective method of attack before Danaher's students demonstrated their usefulness in competition.{{cite web |title=Danaher Death Squad – Everything About DDS |date=8 September 2018 |url=https://bjj-world.com/danaher-death-squad/#The_Leg_Lock_Game |accessdate=8 July 2019}} Danaher has since developed systems for various types of arm attacks (notably Kimura variations and armbars), back and rear strangle-based attacks, front headlock and guillotine attacks, and triangle attacks as part of a series. Most recently he has published beginner-oriented DVDs.{{cite web |title=First {{sic|nolink=y|REVEIW}}: John Danaher DVD Instructional-Enter The System: Armbars |date=24 January 2019 |url=https://bjj-world.com/john-danaher-dvd-instructional-armbars/ |accessdate=8 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=Review: John Danaher's Back Attack System |date=31 July 2018 |url=https://medium.com/submission-grappling/product-review-john-danahers-back-attack-system-995930a5c27f |accessdate=8 July 2019}}

Danaher was born with deformed patellas, making him prone to knee injuries throughout his early years. In the 1980s, Danaher suffered a severe knee injury to his left leg while playing rugby, which required surgery.{{cite web |title=John Danaher |date=19 July 2018 |url=https://www.attacktheback.com/john-danaher/ |accessdate=8 July 2019}} Multiple surgeries on his left knee resulted in artificial shortening of the leg and deformed ligaments, drastically inhibiting Danaher's ability to properly extend and retract his knee. Over the years, this imbalance proceeded to cause other problems for Danaher. Namely, an unbalanced gait subjected his left hip to undue force and strain, leading to severe osteoarthritis. The damaged hip ultimately required a replacement surgery, which Danaher underwent in 2015.{{cite web |title=JOHN DANAHER RETURNS TO BJJ AFTER MAJOR SURGERY, DEFYING OUR MUTUAL-SUFFERING PACT |url=http://fightland.vice.com/blog/john-danaher-returns-to-bjj-after-major-surgery-defying-our-mutual-suffering-pact |accessdate=8 July 2019}}

In 2017, Danaher appeared in four episodes of the Showtime series Billions, in which he portrays the jiu-jitsu instructor of U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti).{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4270492/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=Billions (2016)|work=IMDb|accessdate=2 January 2020}} In 2012, he appeared as himself on the Spike TV series MMA Uncensored Live episode “King Mo Reigns”.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2397135/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_2|title=MMA Uncensored Live (2012)|date=May 9, 2012|work=IMDb|accessdate=2 January 2020}}

In 2015, Danaher co-starred in the documentary "Jiu Jitsu vs the World" alongside renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Eddie Bravo, Renzo Gracie, and Roberto Abreu, among others.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPyyp7uVmiA|title=Jiu Jitsu VS The World|first=Eat|last=Films|date=February 7, 2016|publisher=|via=YouTube}}

In 2010, Danaher was a coach for George St. Pierre's team in season 12 of the Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV and briefly appeared in several episodes.{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2010-06-07 |title=The Ultimate Fighter 12 List Of Assistant Coaches For Kos And GSP |url=https://www.mmanews.com/news/the-ultimate-fighter-12-list-of-assistant-coaches-for-kos-and-gsp/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=MMA News |language=en-US}}

{{Dynamic list}}

• Georges St-Pierre{{cite web |title=Morning Report: Coach John Danaher says Georges St-Pierre's weight-gain program was a 'disaster' |url=https://www.mmafighting.com/2017/11/10/16632564/morning-report-coach-john-danaher-says-georges-st-pierres-weight-gain-program-was-a-disaster-ufc-217 |website=MMA Fighting |accessdate=8 July 2019|date=2017-11-10 }}
• Chris Weidman
• Jake Shields

• Gordon Ryan{{cite web |title=MUST WATCH: Gordon Ryan Sharpens His Gi Game With John Danaher |url=https://www.flograppling.com/video/6248098-must-watch-gordon-ryan-sharpens-his-gi-game-with-john-danaher |website=Flograppling |accessdate=8 July 2019}}
• Garry Tonon{{cite web |title=How John Danaher Has Helped Garry Tonon to Martial Arts Greatness |url=https://www.asiaone.com/asia/how-john-danaher-has-helped-garry-tonon-martial-arts-greatness |website=Asia One |accessdate=8 July 2019|date=2018-11-07 }}
• Craig Jones{{Cite web|title=Craig Jones BJJ Heroes|url=https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/jones|website=BJJ Heroes|language=en-US|access-date=2022-11-28}}
• Nicholas Meregali
• Giancarlo Bodoni
• Nick Rodriguez{{Cite web|title=Nick Rodriguez - Jiu-Jitsu's new Superstar|url=https://www.attacktheback.com/nick-rodriguez-bjj/|last=Presley|first=Richard|date=2019-10-31|website=Attack The Back|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}

• Travis Stevens{{cite web | url=https://jitsmagazine.com/the-top-five-fastest-bjj-black-belts-in-history/ | title=The Top Five Fastest BJJ Black Belts in History | date=31 January 2022 }}
• Firas Zahabi

Kano Jigoro → Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie Sr. → Helio Gracie → Rolls Gracie → Carlos Gracie Jr. → Renzo Gracie → John Danaher

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Category:1967 births

Category:New Zealand practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Category:Living people

Category:Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers