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Louie Cercedez

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Louie Cercedez

Louie Cercedez is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the famous Roy Harris (one of the first American BJJ black belts). With an extensive Martial Arts background, Cercedez also ventured into the early stages of Mixed Martial Arts, having fought on shows at a time when MMA was still in its embryo stage against fighters such as Javier Vazquez and Yves Edwards.

Louie Cercedez in Detail

Nickname: Iron Man, the nickname came from one of his students who thought his work ethics resembled that of a Triathlon Athlete (that do the iron man competition).

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos GracieHelio Gracie > Francisco Mansur > Joe Moreira > Roy Harris > Louie Cercedez

Main Achievements:

  • Progressive Fighting Systems Silver Champion (1997, 1998 Nogi)
  • Unified Martial Arts Open Silver Medallist
  • Cage Rage BJJ Champion
  • Budo Cup Champion
  • Hyeastan Grappling Challenge Silver Medallist (2011)

Weight Division: Featherweight (70kg/154lbs)

Team/Association: Ronin BJJ

Sponsors: OTM and Howard Combat Kimonos

Louie Cercedez Biography

Louie Cercedez was born on Encino, California on July 6, 1973, he is the son of Louie Cercedez senior who is a martial arts expert. Louie (junior) started training with his father when he was 2 years old, he continued throughout his life, practicing Karate, Boxing, Full Contact Karate, Muay Thai (traditional and Dutch style), Judo and Kickboxing and even had contact with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a child, although only briefly when he met Rorion Gracie in 1979 at a demonstration in the North Valley YMCA in Mission Hills, CA.

After that brief encounter with Jiu Jitsu, Rorion Gracie caused a big impression on young Louie, he decided he wanted to learn more about the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighting style, but at the time there was no instruction nearby. It was only in 1993 that he met a coach by the name of Don Partch, Don owned a Tae Kwon Do school and was being taught BJJ by Roy Harris at the time and decided to start teaching himself “Ground Fighting/Grappling”, Cercedez started training there. One day Roy Harris came to Don Partch’s school to do a demonstration and from that moment on, Louie Cercedez was hooked to the BJJ game. Louie stayed training under Roy Harris for years, earning all his belts from Harris, including his black belt on the 13th of October, 2007.

Louie Cercedez was also part of the very beginning of MMA in the United States, having fought several times in closed door encounters, some without gloves and unsanctioned, and others in main events all over the country in the 1990’s. The lack of professionalism in the sport at the time and the fact that promoters did not put money into the lighter weight categories of MMA led Cercedez to put his fighting career on the side and proceed with a career in Hollywood as both a technical adviser for fight scenes (he was part of the shows such as Shark, The Unit and American Dreams) and a motion picture lighting technician. He also coached BJJ at 13950 Ventura Blvd Sherman Oaks, ca.

John Danaher BJJ Escapes

5 Comments

  • federico says:

    besides every word written in this article sensei louie is a super human! besides being a great fighter, and teacher hes is a great human being, i had the honor and the pleasure of spending a few weeks with him and picking his brain, i wish he could give some of his knowledge to all of us in the bjj universe, big up for sensei lou!!!

    excuse my english, it aint my native lenguage…. XD.

    Federico Montoya, Blue belt.

  • steve baca says:

    Sensei Lou is an awesome instructor friend and fighter. His understanding of the art of BJJ is amazing. train with him and see.

    Steve Baca
    Brown Belt BJJ

    • keith wohr says:

      I was in the navy with louie. He was hardcore back then in 1991

      • keith wohr says:

        Louie went to bootcamp with me and "a"school in philadelphia. People always messed up his last name at muster. So he would screem its cecedez man! While busting a sag in his dugarees! He was a trip.

  • Keith Beck says:

    I served onboard the USS Ogden LPD-5 with master sensei Louie. This dude was so bad ass a sack of shit service member tried to kill him cause cause he put them skills on em. We worked next to each other everyday. Opened my whole world up to Mixed Martial Arts. This dude even was granted access to train with the SEAL team. Everything you guys know of him now it was what he preached and practiced everyday. I know I was his personal crash test dummy. And for you Louie I’m got to put in high heels again. (He knows the joke)

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