Head Coach Greg Nelson from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy has his roots in athletic training and competition. Mr. Nelson is a former University of Minnesota (NCAA D-I) Wrestling Team member and All-American high school gymnast. In 1983, he started training in Jun Fan Martial Arts, Filipino Kali and Muay Thai under Sifu Rick Faye. Since then, he has earned Full Instructor credentials in Jun Fan Martial Arts/Jeet Kune Do Concepts, Filipino Kali, and Level III Instructorship in Maphilindo Silat under the legendary Guru Dan Inosanto. Coach Nelson is also a Senior Instructor in Muay Thai under Grand Master Chai Sirisute of the Thai Boxing Association of the USA as well as holding a 4th degree black belt under Pedro Sauer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association.
Nelson is well known as one of the best Mixed Martial Arts coaches in the world and is constantly in high demand for seminars and specialized workshops. To assure the highest quality of training for his students, coach Nelson spends much of his time researching and developing new techniques and training methods. Coach Nelson and his team at The Academy have produced numerous World Champions, as well as countless other local, national, and international contenders and medal winners, on both an amateur and professional level, in MMA, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, etc.
Mr. Nelson and The Academy Team have also developed 3x UFC Champions at 3 different weight classes: David Menne – the 1st Middleweight UFC World Champion; Sean Sherk – the 2nd Lightweight UFC World Champion; and Brock Lesnar – Heavyweight UFC World Champion. Coach Nelson holds an incredibly rare distinction in that he trained them all from the beginning of their fight careers through their title fights!
Over the years, Mr. Nelson has taught defensive tactics to a wide variety of law enforcement and military personnel, creating training programs for local, state, and federal law enforcement divisions including the FBI, DEA, and Federal Air Marshals. Currently, Mr. Nelson works extensively with various branches of the U.S. military. In 2010, he coached the Minnesota National Guard Combatives team at the All Army Combatives Tournament in Ft. Benning, GA. He has assisted in the development of the Army Combatives Field Manual FM 31-25.150 and is a civilian member of the Modern Army Combatives Committee, an organization aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the program. Additionally, Mr. Nelson is a combatives consultant to classified U.S. Army Special Forces units, the 75th Ranger Battalion, U.S. Army Combatives School Instructors, and the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team 6). He is very proud to be one of the few civilians selected to work with the military and the soldiers that keep our country safe.
Though his professional pedigree and success in martial arts are staggering, there is nothing Coach Nelson deems more important than being a father to his 2 children, a daughter and a son. A 2-time cancer survivor, Greg has proven himself a fighter outside of martial arts as well. First, he beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, followed by a second successful battle, surviving a rare form of nerve cancer called neurolymphomatosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, he was the first known survivor of this cancer, his case becoming instrumental to the development of a treatment for this rare disease.
