Our Instructors
Sam Joseph
Owner / Head Instructor
4th Degree Black Belt
Sam is an internationally decorated athlete who has trained, competed, and taught Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for nearly 20 years. He earned his black belt from the esteemed Yamasaki Academy in 2007. He was inducted into the NFC BJJ Hall of Fame on 1/18/2020.
He has trained with some of the world’s best including UFC referees, Fernando and Mario Yamasaki, Francisco Neto, Dave “The Rock” Jacobs, Murilo Santana, Pablo Popovitch, Paul Creighton, and Shawn Williams.
Sam is a graduate of the University of Georgia and a Certified Personal Trainer.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
Masters World Championship: 2021 Bronze (black belt) & 2012 Bronze (black belt)
-
Pan American Championships: 2000 Bronze (blue belt), 2002 Gold (purple belt), 2007 Gold (brown belt)
-
US Nationals: 2011 Silver (black belt)
-
New York Open: 2013 Gold (black belt)
-
Dallas Open: 2013 Gold (black belt)
-
Atlanta Open: 2018 Gold (black belt) & 2013 Gold (black belt)
-
Austin Open: 2022 Gold (black belt) & 2021 Gold (black belt)
Derek Kaivani
Instructor
Derek earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2013 under the legendary Jacare Cavalcanti and 7-time World Champion Lucas Lepri. He’s also had the privilege of training with 10-time World Champion and Hall of Famer Rubens “Cobrinha” Maciel, further deepening his experience in the art.
A lifelong student and teacher, Derek helped design and launch our Kids Program and continues to stay closely involved. His impact extends beyond the mats—he’s worked on the business side of the sport as an athlete manager, academy owner, marketing advisor, and workshop leader for self-defense and bully prevention.
For Derek, Jiu-Jitsu is truly a family affair. His wife and all three of their kids have trained, making it a shared journey of growth, discipline, and connection. His son, Jenssen, is a blue belt who trains as often as possible while balancing the demands of being a nationally recognized high school quarterback—a testament to the value of focus and perseverance that Jiu-Jitsu instills.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
- Pan American Championships: 2008 Gold (purple belt), 2009 Gold (purple belt), 2010 Gold (brown belt), 2013 Gold (brown belt)
- Brazilian Nationals: 2010 Gold (brown belt), 2010 Bronze (brown belt, Absolute)
- Atlanta Open: 2013 Bronze (black belt)
Daren Roberts
Instructor
Daren earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2018 from Sam Joseph. He has also trained under 10-time World Champion and Hall of Famer, Rubens “Cobrinha” Maciel, and 2-time brown belt world champion and ADCC veteran, Chris Moriarty.
He has been competing and teaching BJJ for over a decade.
He is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, and when Coach Daren isn’t at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu, he works at Google and loves spending time with his wife Nichole, son Luca, and their dog London.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
Pan American Championships: 2007 Bronze (purple belt), 2009 Bronze (brown belt), 2011 Bronze (brown belt)
-
New York Open: 2009 Bronze (brown belt)
-
No-gi World Championships: 2007 Bronze (purple belt)
-
No-gi Pan Championships: 2008 Bronze (purple belt)
-
MMA: 1-0 in Georgia
-
Lutador Pro-division: 2010 Silver
Kenneth Yeung
Instructor
Kenneth earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2018 from Sam Joseph. He started his Mixed Martiall Arts (MMA) training in South Africa in 2001 where he first fell in love with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and where he earned his brown belt before moving to the U.S. in 2012.
Kenneth is passionate about winning in everyday life, through play and self-discovery on the mat. He is a software architect and loves anything tech related.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
Atlanta Open: 2016 Bronze (brown belt)
Whit Lanier
Instructor
Whit started his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey in 1998 and has trained with Jacare Cavalcanti, Fabio Clemente, and Jake Shields. He joined Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu in 2015 and earned his black belt from Sam Joseph in January 2023.
A longtime regular of Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu’s 6 AM classes, Whit knows the importance of finding ways to make BJJ a part of life (and not vice versa). After stopping and starting his own BJJ training several times, he now enjoys providing support and encouragement to others when they feel stalled in their BJJ growth.
Off the mat, Whit works in marketing technology, plays bass guitar in the band Penny Western and dotes on his wife, three daughters and dog.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
Pan American Championships: 2021 Bronze (brown belt)
-
Atlanta Open: 2019 Bronze (brown belt), 2020 Bronze (brown belt)
-
Newbreed Championship: 2017 Gold (purple belt) & Gold (no gi advanced division)
-
Casca Grossa Elite Grappling Championship: 2008 Bronze (no gi advanced division) & Bronze (masters no gi advanced division)
Kennith Jackson
Instructor
Kennith (KJ) earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Sam Joseph in 2023. He started his martial arts journey in the early ‘90s training Muay Thai under renowned martial artist Sifu Francis Fong for several years. He continued his journey in Muay Thai from 2007-2015 at various schools in Chicago before moving to Atlanta and transitioning to focus on Jiu Jitsu in 2015 at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu.
He has a combined 16 years of martial arts experience and has been competing in Jiu-Jitsu since 2015. He also has two kids who have been actively participating in the Kids program for over five years.
When not on the mat, works as a technology executive for a large tech company, and enjoys spending time with his family on and off the mat.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
International Masters North America: 2023 Gold (brown belt)
-
American Nationals: 2023 Silver (brown belt)
-
Masters World Championship: 2018 Bronze (blue belt)
-
Pan American Championship: 2021 Bronze (brown belt)
-
Atlanta Open: 2022 Gold (brown belt), 2020 Gold (purple belt), 2018 Gold (blue belt)
Stuart Freeman
Instructor
Stuart took his first BJJ class at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu in 2014 and earned his black belt from Sam Joseph in 2023. He develops software for Georgia Tech where he was a founding member of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club. When he’s not training, Stuart enjoys traveling and likes to relax by watching movies with his wife and cats.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
-
Atlanta Open: 2019 Gold (purple belt), 2015 Bronze (white belt)
Taylor Reed
Instructor
Taylor Reed is Sam Joseph’s third Jiu-Jitsu Black belt. He joined the Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu family as a purple belt after beginning his journey in Los Angeles with Alberto Crane(Legacy) and Artin Saginian(Total JiuJitsu.). As a life long martial artist, Taylor holds black belts in Taekwondo, Okinawan Kenpo, and Shotokan Karate as well. Taylor also grew up boxing and doing Muay Thai and has competed in all disciplines. He is an accomplished actor, appearing in Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man, Finding Happy, Dark Blue, and The Walking Dead: Dead City. Taylor enjoys investing in the Buckhead JJ Community through teaching, coaching, and sharing the art with his teammates, the Buckhead kids, and anyone who wants to learn!
Joe Vo
Instructor
Joe Vo joined Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu in 2014 and received his black belt from Sam Joseph in 2025. He has coached both kids & adults and has had success in the competition circuit. Outside of the gym, Joe is a software engineer and enjoys other sports including football, basketball, and pickleball.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
- Atlanta Open: 2024 Silver (brown belt), 2023 Bronze (brown belt), 2022 Silver (purple belt), 2017 Gold (blue belt)
- Birmingham Open: 2019 Silver (blue belt)
- New Orleans Open: 2019 Gold (blue belt)
Matt Shand
Instructor
Matt took his first class at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu in January 2016 and earned his black belt from Sam Joseph in January 2025.
Matt trained and competed extensively until he had to move to California for work in 2019. He moved back to Atlanta in 2021 and was welcomed back into the academy like he’d never left, which he will tell you is a testament to the incredible culture and family atmosphere that Coach Sam has cultivated at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu.
Matt is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, and works as a professional writer. When he’s not on the mats, he and his wife Danielle run Berry Nice Farm in Tucker, along with their cat Crunchwrap Supreme, 6 chickens, and about 100,000 honeybees.
COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
- Masters World Championship: 2018 Bronze (blue belt)
- Pan American Championship: 2022 Bronze (purple belt) 2018 Gold (blue belt)
- US Nationals: 2018 Gold (blue belt)
- Atlanta Open: 2019 Gold (purple belt), 2019 Gold (purple belt), 2018 Gold (blue belt), 2017 Gold (blue belt), 2016 Gold (white belt)
- Austin Open: 2022 Silver (brown belt)
- Charleston Open: 2022 Gold (purple belt)
- Dallas Open: 2017 SIlver (blue belt)
- DC Open: 2018 Silver (purple belt), 2018 Bronze (purple belt, Absolute), 2018 No-gi Silver (purple belt)
- New York Pro: 2019 Gold (purple belt)
- Orlando Open: 2019 Silver (purple belt)
- NFC BJJ #3: 2019 No-gi superfight winner (purple belt)
- Submission Hunter Pro #24: 2018 No-gi superfight winner (blue belt)
Grant Jones
Instructor
Grant began training in mixed martial arts in high school as an offseason supplement to wrestling, where he quickly developed a passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After several years of intermittent training through college, Grant found his home at Buckhead Jiu-Jitsu, where he has trained consistently since 2018. A longtime fixture of the 6 a.m. class, he received his brown belt in 2023 from Sam Joseph. Grant values intentional, focused training and enjoys deep-diving specific positions to build technical proficiency.
Outside the academy, Grant is a Certified Public Accountant and fitness enthusiast. When he’s not on the mat, he enjoys lifting weights, hiking with his dogs, and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs with his wife, Sydney, and son, Beau.
