When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there is one particular coach’s name that often stands out…and that name is John Danaher. From memes to fanboys and everything in between, it turns out that Danaher has a huge following. Whilst Danaher has been training BJJ for years, it’s only been the past 5-10 years or so that the New Zealander has grabbed the public’s attention.
Since then, he and his squad have gone from strength to strength. What is perhaps even more interesting about his story is the mystique that surrounds him. Very rarely has a coach become so celebrated. Due to his eccentric taste in rashguards, to his use of Japanese terminology – it’s fair to say that Danaher has earned cult status. So, where did it all start?
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The early days of John Danaher and his life before Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Before starting BJJ, John Danaher lived in New Zealand. Luckily for Danaher, he was born on a US military base in the US, which meant he could eventually move to the country as a full-time resident. Anyway, before all of this happened, he was raised in New Zealand of which he still has a strong Kiwi accent.
From a young age, Danaher was interested in martial arts and fitness. There are pictures of him as a student in New Zealand, when he was a bodybuilder and he looked jacked. After moving to New York to pursue an education in Philosophy, he also began teaching the subject at university. During this time to earn side money, he started bouncing on doors. For this, he put his previous martial arts training into use. This was mostly striking such as Muay Thai.
One day whilst at university, he met a friend who told him about grappling and BJJ. At this time, BJJ was completely alien to the USA and Danaher was naturally inquisitive about this new style of fighting. Long story short, Danaher started training at Renzo Gracie’s New York gym and was one of his first black belts. Due to his combination of martial arts skills and background in teaching, from there he began teaching at Renzo’s. According to Danaher, when he began – black belts were incredibly rare, and even brown and purples were not a common sight.
The early days of the Danaher Death Squad
Remember, for a while no gi was not the dominant part of BJJ. Instead, the gi was. However, Danaher began changing the narrative. Here, he assembled a team of competitors; and three of them made the world take notice. The oldest member was Eddie Cummings. Cummings was known as the original leg lock specialist in terms of no gi grappling.
Eddie Cummings
This was relatively unheard of at the time, and Cummings eye for heel hooks won him a number of competitions and superfight matches. What was even more impressive about Cummings was that he was 26 years old when he began training. Like Danaher, he too was involved with university studies. If an older grappler with a life outside of BJJ could become so good, so quickly – then clearly Danaher was on to something.
Arguably, the leg-centric approach of Cummings cannot be stated enough. Without him and his innovations, the rest of the squad may not have had such a head start on competition. Although you could claim that Cummings was a little one-dimensional at times, it undoubtedly worked and created a blueprint for others to follow.
Garry Tonon
Next was Garry Tonon. Tonon often trained with various other grapplers around New York and New Jersey and he too proved his worth under Danaher. Like Cummings, he adopted the leg lock game and kept winning EBI’s with it. Clearly, Cummings was no fluke and the Danaher leg system could be replicated. Not only this but Tonon was arguably more rounded, and had other areas of his game such as wrestling and guillotines.
It should be noted that before becoming a black belt, Tonon wasn’t mega-successful. In one match he lost 23-2 to Keenan Cornelius and was good, but not great. According to Danaher, Tonon’s front headlock game was at one point his weakness. At some point during his black belt career, this became one of his best features due to learning and working on his faults.
Gordon Ryan
Lastly, there was Gordon Ryan. Like Tonon, before reaching black belt, his record was more patchy. Gordon Ryan was again good, but not great, and evolved very quickly. Perhaps the biggest change was his physicality. Early on through the colored belts, he was a lanky kid. However, as a black belt he bulked up significantly. To this day, his record since bulking has been impeccable, with various gold medals and money to show for it.
Like the other two before him, Ryan was primarily a leg locker whilst he rose through the ranks of black belt. Like Tonon, he eventually evolved and developed a complete game. No longer could Ryan be called a one-trick pony. Now, he could dominate opponents from literally every position and didn’t really have a distinct attacking style or weakness. Such is the success of Gordon Ryan, is that his nickname is ‘The King’.
Adding to the Danaher Death Squad team
Due to the success of the three founding members, the Death Squad eventually grew. This was either due to people locally training under Danaher, or those who chose to join from far afield. Regardless of these additions, they have all been successful and the team is still a work in progress.
It should also be added at this point that Eddie Cummings left training at Renzo Gracie New York. He no longer competes and apparently spends more time teaching at university. As well, he moved to the Unity gym where he still trains, however little is known why he left. So, for the record Cummings has not been in the squad for some time. Here are the other members that have added to the team:
Nicky Ryan
Nicky Ryan is the younger brother of Gordon Ryan and is also forging his own path. Like many of the squad, he started out primarily doing leg locks but has since moved on to various other strategies and attacks. Like his brother Gordon, he also physically bulked up after reaching black belt. Previously, his body was very slim and slight. According to Danaher, the reason for this was so he could focus on technique as he mastered the lower belts.
These days, Nicky Ryan is active on the superfight circuit and is a regular at the big no gi competitions. Sadly, he is often compared to his brother which is understandable. This means there is a lot of pressure on Nicky Ryan which wasn’t there when Gordon Ryan was his age. Perhaps one day he will surpass his brother’s level. Nonetheless, his own career up to this date has still been impressive.
Nicky Ryan left the Danaher death squad in 2021 to create, co-own and train with the B-Team which is located in Austin Texas.
Nicky Rodriguez
Nicky Rodriguez was a successful highschool wrestler and is probably one of the most athletic BJJ practitioners ever. Unlike most of the squad, his game is quite unique and different. Instead of specializing in leg locks, he is mostly a wrestler. This means if you fight him, he will wrestle you and has a ridiculously good success rate at takedowns.
This is where Rodriguez differs from many of his teammates. Instead of focusing on submissions, he mostly wins matches by taking people down and pinning or passing them. Due to his combination of strength, explosiveness, athleticism and technique, he is a nightmare to handle. A fun fact about Rodriguez is that even though he began training with the DDS in New York, he also traveled with them to Puerto Rico, which is where he’s originally from.
Rodriguez left the Danaher death squad in 2021 to create, co-own and train with the B-Team which is located in Austin Texas.
Craig Jones
Craig Jones was already a big name before he joined the squad and is probably Australia’s greatest ever BJJ practitioner. Coached under Lachlan Giles, he turned heads at the 2017 ADCC as a relative unknown. After this stint, he moved to the USA and joined his American wife, opting to live in New York to train and live. It was here where he improved his game, albeit like many he was originally known as a leglock specialist.
Over the years, this changed as he ventured into back attacks and passing, much like Gordon Ryan. A SUG regular, he proved to be more versatile than many originally gave him credit for. Interestingly, in his earlier days, Jones was actually known as a triangle expert who also competed in the gi. It’s fair to say that his reputation has changed a lot since then.
Craig Jones left the Danaher death squad in 2021 to create, co-own and train with the B-Team which is located in Austin Texas.This was due to an undisclosed falling out with John Danaher and Gordon Ryan.
Oliver Taza
Oliver Taza trained under Firas Zahabi in Montreal, Canada which is where he grew up. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that he always had a Danaher connection due to Zahabi being a Danaher black belt himself. His earlier training took part in Zahabi’s Tristar gym, which also birthed Georges St-Pierre, another Danaher athlete.
However, as a brown belt, Taza trained more regularly at the Renzo Gracie New York gym and continued to compete regularly. Although he already knew lots about leg locks, like Jones these were mostly from his own previous training and studies. To this day, his most dangerous attack by far is the heel hook.
Ethan Crelinsten
Like Taza, Crelinsten was also a Firas Zahabi prodigy. Like Taza, he also trained at Tristar for years before committing more to Renzo Gracie New York as he approached black belt. After getting his black belt around the same time as Nicky Ryan and Taza, they all joined Danaher shortly after when the team moved out to Puerto Rico.
So far, Crelinsten has fought using the typical Danaher blueprint, beginning with leg locks before moving on to other areas of his game such as wrestling.
Crelinsten left the Danaher death squad in 2021 to create, co-own and train with the B-Team which is located in Austin Texas.
Damien Anderson
One of the later additions to the squad, Damien Anderson was one of the junior members who also made the trip to Puerto Rico. Upon his arrival, he has improved his BJJ and furthered his skills, even competing in superfight matches with great success.
After this move, he quickly established himself on the sub-only no gi scene and proved that he was no slouch. Obviously, Anderson was a very skilled grappler even before Danaher came along. However, under his tutelage, he definitely evolved.
Anderson left the Danaher death squad in 2021 to train with the B-Team which is located in Austin Texas.
Who are others that have been associated with the Danaher Death Squad over the years?
Over the years, the Death Squad has been associated with various other athletes. Whether these guys are in an MMA setting or pure BJJ, others have been drafted in to help with training. From youngsters to veterans, there has been a number of people involved, such as:
- Tom DeBlass. DeBlass awarded Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon their black belts and has been an influential figure. Based in New Jersey, you could argue that he was responsible for a lot of their early progression. He also runs a successful competition team and competitive environment and has cornered them in a number of their matches.
- Nathalia Santaro. Sontaro is the girlfriend of Gordon Ryan and is responsible for his strength and conditioning training. In brief, she was the brains behind his growth in muscle mass which proved pivotal in his career. She has also competed herself and is said to be highly skilled. However, these days she mostly looks after the strength and conditioning of most of the team.
- Brian Glick. In an interview with Brian Glick, he revealed that he was sometimes involved with the senior members of the team for training. Gordon Ryan and John Danaher have often complimented Glick for his technique and contributions to their training. Apparently, Glick was involved with a lot of Danaher’s early experiments into Judo and helped develop his stand up game.
- Georges St-Pierre. GSP has trained alongside Danaher on/off for many years, as well as Firas Zahabi back in Montreal. The UFC GOAT has often trained with the likes of Gordon Ryan in pure grappling, as well as the likes of Taza and Crelinsten back in Canada. On an MMA level, he has also sparred with Garry Tonon, so undoubtedly would have passed on some of his knowledge at some point too.
- Ricardo Almeida. Like Tom DeBlass, Almeida was involved in the earlier development of Garry Tonon and Gordon Ryan. Again, like DeBlass he was also based in New Jersey and also trained at Renzo Gracie’s New York gym. Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon have both credited him with their success over the years.
Who are the rivals of the Danaher Death Squad?
Dillon Danis vs Garry Tonon and Gordon Ryan
Over the years, the Danaher Death Squad has had various rivals. In the early days, the main enemy was Dillon Danis. Danis was a troll character who also had a personal beef with Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon. There’s one video in particular when he gets into a confrontation with the pair after a competition match.
At the time, the trio lived in New York, with Danis representing Marcelo Garcia’s gym and then Unity. Danis was known as a trash talker and this got him into trouble with Tonon and Ryan. To this day, Gordon Ryan in particular still calls out Danis, albeit Danis hasn’t responded in years. Usually these days, Danis beefs with various MMA fighters and the Paul brothers over social media.
ATOS vs Gordon Ryan
This has been a longstanding beef that has flared up from time to time. Basically, Gordon Ryan dislikes a lot of the ATOS HQ team for various reasons. The rivalry started when he wanted to auction rolling footage with Kaynan Duarte for charity. However, Duarte refused. Since then, he’s also been involved with Lucas Barbosa and the main leader Andre Galvao. Basically, Barbosa would insult Ryan’s girlfriend on social media, with some very lewd words.
Perhaps the biggest issue with ATOS was Gordon Ryan and Andre Galvao. Here, Ryan accused Galvao of ducking him for a superfight. Galvao was also considered one of the GOAT’s in no gi and was also competing at the time, with the pair exchanging jabs over the internet. In the end, the tension between Ryan and Galvao grew too much, which eventually ended with Ryan physically slapping Galvao in person. As a result, various memes grew from the incident but after, Galvao apologized in an attempt to settle any issues.
Away from Gordon Ryan, various superfight events have been marketed as Death Squad vs ATOS. This is more down to healthy competition rather than a genuine issue between members. For instance, the talented Ruotolo brothers have fought Nicky Ryan and Ethan Crelinsten. Elsewhere, Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones have also fought the likes of Kaynan Duarte and Ronaldo Jr down the years.
If anything, this marketing should be seen as a compliment between both sides. Love him or hate him, Galvao has a great set of athletes, which is the closest thing to rival the Death Squad.
Craig Jones vs Josh Hinger
If you’ve paid attention, then you’ll have noticed that Josh Hinger has also been insulted by Gordon Ryan on various occasions. Josh Hinger is also part of the ATOS HQ, so to an extent this is understandable.
Anyway, the story goes that Josh Hinger visited the Renzo Gracie New York gym a few weeks before ADCC 2019. At this point, Hinger trained alongside Craig Jones and others, who would be competing against him at the upcoming ADCC. The gym at the time had a case of pink eye which spread and eventually reached Hinger’s teammate at the time, Keenan Cornelius. Because of this, Cornelius had to drop out of ADCC 2019. Hinger competed and got bronze, whilst Jones got silver. As seen, Jones wore sunglasses on the podium to hide his pink eye.
According to Gordon Ryan, Hinger tried to get Jones kicked out of the ADCC by showing the organizers a photo of the pair whilst training. Here, he insinuated that Jones was ill and therefore shouldn’t have been allowed to compete. Whilst Jones isn’t as vocal about the issue as Ryan is; he did wear a ‘Hingertine’ merchandise t-shirt and has had several other playful digs at Hinger since.
Death Squad vs B-Team
It goes without saying that the Death Squad (commonly referred to as New Wave Jiu Jitsu) has a serious rivalry with the B-Team. This is due to disagreements between the Ryan brothers, Craig Jones and John Danaher.
Gordon Ryan often calls out members of the B-Team (specifically Nick Rodriguez and Craig Jones) on Instagram, as well as having a genuine beef with them since the split of the Death Squad.
Does the Danaher Death Squad train in the gi?
Due to the ruleset and growth of no gi, this is what the Death Squad exclusively trains. In short, no gi is far more profitable. It is the legendary ADCC competition that is iconic, but away from that in terms of monthly income, it also offers shows such as WNO and other events. Over the years, these have paid the squad members whereas the gi simply doesn’t offer such lucrative events.
There is another key reason for their involvement on no gi. Firstly, this is due to leg locks. Specifically, we’re on about heel hooks and knee reaps which are otherwise illegal in gi rules. Of course, the Death Squad would still succeed under different rules, but why not play to your advantage? Some of the squad would be significantly hindered without heel hooks and reaping, which is why they stick to no gi, sub-only rules.
It isn’t just due to rules that they train no gi though; it also happens that the majority of viewers prefer no gi. The reason for this is that often the gi is too dependent on point or advantage victories. Too often, viewers are annoyed at watching stalling which can be initiated by strong lapel grips. As a result, as the no gi scene has taken off, the Death Squad has with it. Having said this, if a squad member did seem to excel in the gi, you could possibly see that specific member train in the gi which makes sense.
What is John Danaher’s teaching philosophy?
When it comes to teaching, Danaher is very big on the fundamentals. Like most coaches, he believes that these lay down the foundations for your learning and are the building blocks to success. With this in mind, even though his athletes can pull off fancy moves, most of the time it’s the basics done to a very high level.
Danaher has also spoken about the first couple of years of BJJ being devoted to escapes and defense. From there, you can add to your confidence from any position. As Danaher has a background in self defense, it’s also no surprise to see his love for fundamentals. From mount escapes to takedowns, he takes pride in his BJJ not just being competition suitable, but also practical for the streets.
He is also big on drilling which again only adds to your skillset. Some black belts avoid drilling, but he sees it as crucial, so long that it is drilled based on improvement rather than repetition. Perhaps one of the main things that his squad has in common though is their entertainment value. This may be one of the reasons as to why they do financially well when it comes to competing. Generally, there’s no stalling with his members and they often try to submit. Because of this, they are seen as highly entertaining to watch and have a high submission rate.
What is the Death squads involvement with leg locks?
As mentioned throughout this article, the Death Squad is big on leg locks. This doesn’t mean Achilles locks or toe holds either; specifically, we’re on about heel hooks and reaping. Whilst some BJJ historians will credit others with the growth of heel hooks, the vast majority would credit John Danaher in taking the leg entanglement game to another level.
Usually, before Danaher came along heel hooks were seen as low percentage moves. The reason for this is that before Danaher, most heel hooks lacked control. In short, if an opponent could escape – then the submission was lost due to lack of control. Danaher changed this. By using the ‘saddle’ position, (or inside sankaku as he calls it), it effectively trapped the leg. With this leg controlled, his students could patiently attack the other leg without worry. Before this, most heel hooks were attempted from standard achilles lock positions which could be defended.
From Cummings onwards, the Death Squad proved that they could defeat significantly larger opponents through leg locks. In this sense, they were years ahead of the game, and skilled, experienced opponents would be lost when it came to leg locks. The result is that the Death Squad thrived. To this day, they still do leg locks and are still ahead of the pack. This doesn’t just apply for control either; the entries from Craig Jones in particular are very advanced.
The Death Squad moves to Puerto Rico
After the 2021 USA elections, it was announced that Joe Biden would be the new President. Immediately, Gordon Ryan put his New Jersey house up for sale and packed his bags, speculating on a move to either Puerto Rico or Texas.
A few weeks later, it was revealed that he would move to Puerto Rico. The reason for this was financial, as well as a lifestyle change. Under Biden, he would have been taxed substantially more than under Trump as a high earner. Because of this, the move made monetary sense.
This move had a domino effect, which naturally meant his brother Nicky Ryan would move with him as the pair lived together. Danaher quickly followed after living in New York for most of his life. Eventually, the likes of Craig Jones, Nicky Rodriguez, and Garry Tonon followed – alongside Ethan Crelinsten and Oliver Taza.
Once the team was newly established, Danaher got to work on building a new gym. In the meantime, they trained at an already-established MMA gym in Puerto Rico. This wasn’t a bad thing for the likes of Garry Tonon and even Gordon Ryan who have also trained MMA extensively.
Since the squad left Puerto Rico, they now have a home base in Austin, Texas training under the banner New Wave Jiu Jitsu.
Achievements of the Death Squad
Over the year, the Death Squad have had various success stories. Whilst many will point to the prestigious ADCC wins of Gordon Ryan, he isn’t the only one. Here are the major medals that have been won by the members:
- Gordon Ryan: ADCC gold X 2, ADCC silver x 1, EBI gold x 4, Pan Ams gold x 1, No gi worlds x 1
- Garry Tonon: ADCC bronze x 1, EBI gold x 4, Pan Ams silver x 1
- Nicky Rodriguez: ADCC silver x 1
- Craig Jones: ADCC silver x 1, Polaris Champion
- Eddie Cummings: EBI x 4
- Nicky Ryan: Polaris Champion
- Oliver Taza: BJJ Fanatics Champion
- Ethan Crelinsten: Jitz King Invitational
As seen, whilst the ADCC medal is the ultimate goal in sub-only grappling, the team has also won at various other promotions under different rulesets. Remember, they compete specifically in no gi as explained earlier on in the article.
Where did the nickname Danaher Death Squad come from?
According to John Danaher, the name originated from ‘someone on the internet that had started calling his competition team by the name. This quickly spread and is now commonly used. Danaher has actually spoken about his embarrassment of the term, and described his mother searching his name on Google and finding ‘Death Squad’ as the main result alongside his name. Having said this, it’s easy to remember due to its alliteration, so it actually sounds quite cool. It is also commonly called the DDS for short.
How the Danaher Death Squad too over the digital video instructional market
It’s no secret that the Death Squad has enjoyed great success off the back of the BJJFanatics revolution. In brief, BJJFanatics was the brainchild of Bernardo Faria. Here, BJJ practitioners could download and steam instructional videos. As it happens, the likes of John Danaher and Gordon Ryan are by far the most popular instructors on the website, and have raked in millions of dollars from the site between them.
Here, their videos sometimes last over 10 hours long and cover entire positions. These can be purchased for hundreds of dollars and are hugely popular. It’s not just this pair who are in on it either. Other members such as Craig Jones, Garry Tonon, and Nicky Rodriguez have also cashed in, teaching their most famous moves.
Financially, this site has added another dimension to the squad’s earnings and has helped take them to new heights. At the same time, the sheer amount of knowledge and information gained from these DVDs has helped improve the techniques of the average BJJ practitioner.
If you’re a fan of John Danaher, check out the ‘Danaher Diaries‘ book which is devoted to his musings and philosophies on life.
