Keenan Cornelius is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from Hawaii, USA. After training under the likes of Andre Galvao for years, he eventually left to create his own gym, Legion AJJ. He is also well known for creating and innovating various lapel guards and changing the landscape of competitive BJJ as a result. Here’s some interesting information on Cornelius that you may not be aware of.
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What degree black belt is Keenan Cornelius?
In September 2013, Keenan Cornelius was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As of 2021, Cornelius is a 2nd degree black belt as in BJJ, you get your first three stripes on your black belt every three years. This means that Cornelius is in line to get his third stripe in 2022. This shows that Cornelius earned his black belt from a young age.
Who gave Keenan Cornelius his black belt?
Keenan Cornelius got his black belt from ATOS founder Andre Galvao. This was in 2013 where he trained regularly under Galvao at the time. He trained at the ATOS HQ with Galvao for another 6 years before leaving the gym. Like many from this gym, under Galvao’s tutelage, Cornelius grew as a competitor and gained the reputation of an elite BJJ practitioner.
Who did Keenan Cornelius train under?
Born and raised in Hawaii, Cornelius originally trained under BJ Penn, the legendary UFC Champion. At the time, Penn was known for his deadly BJJ game which meant it was a perfect match for a young Keenan Cornelius.
After training with BJ Penn, Cornelius eventually went to the mainland and trained under Lloyd Irvin where his reputation as a top competitor started to develop. At the time, Irvin was known for developing young competitors such as Ryan Hall and others. According to this article, Cornelius eventually left Irvin in a controversial fashion.
Lastly, Cornelius joined Andre Galvao in San Diego and trained at the ATOS HQ for several years before leaving. During this time he invented the lapel guards such as worm and squid. It was here where he truly became a star.
How tall is Keenan Cornelius?
Keenan Cornelius is roughly 6’2″ tall and competes around the 85-95KG mark meaning he’s in between the medium-heavy and heavyweight category in BJJ. Although many people recognize him for his gi game, Cornelius is actually very skilled in nogi with a similar level of accolades outside of the cloth.
What happened between Keenan and Atos?
In 2019, Keenan Cornelius left ATOS and Andre Galvao. Here, he made his own gym, Legion AJJ. This was a solo project with no involvement from Galvao. ATOS talents such as Andris Brunovskis and Darren DeAngelis also moved with Cornelius along with others.
It’s not known if Cornelius or Galvao fell out over this, but it should be known that black belts will often leave their original gyms to create their own. In this sense, creating Legion was not really anything unusual or controversial given the circumstances.
Does Keenan Cornelius still compete?
Keenan Cornelius does compete, but it should be added he is currently not as active as he once was. According to Cornelius, he injured his back whilst deadlifting during strength training. This sidelined him for a number of months whilst he recovered. He was then scheduled to face Rida Haisam at a WNO event but once again the same back injury returned.
These days, he’s also busy with the business side of things, handling the likes of his Legion gym as well as his Jiu Jitsu X program which will obviously take up a chunk of his time.
How much is Keenan online?
Keenan Online costs $24.95 per month. Like many popular BJJ teachers, Keenan has his own online learning program. Here, users can pay a monthly fee to learn both gi and nogi moves from Cornelius. As well as this, there’s also a lot of his lapel content covered. This may surprise some, but it also covers quite a lot of nogi techniques as well.
Where is Keenan Cornelius new gym?
Keenan Cornelius’s gym, Legion AJJ is located in San Diego. Its exact address is: 7550 Miramar Rd #330, San Diego, CA 92126, USA. Geographically, this area is known to host a variety of top class BJJ gyms, including the Mendes brothers AOJ, and Keenan’s former teachers ATOS HQ which is headed by Andre Galvao.
Legion has plenty of mat space and is also equipped with a weights section. Here, Cornelius teaches alongside the likes of Andris Brunovskis and Sloan Clymer.
What is worm guard?
Keenan Cornelius is perhaps most famously known for his creation of the worm guard. This revolutionized BJJ competition in the gi by wrapping the opponent’s lapel between their leg and the inside of your own leg too.
This position gives the guard player a lot of leverage and has sweeping and submission options. Cornelius would use this successfully in competition and eventually moved on to variations of the worm guard, as well as squid guard and other lapel techniques.
