"I just recently taught a seminar in King William, Virginia. And from that I got to see John Simons, Odyssey Martial Arts instructor, teaching his kids team. I was impressed with Simons not only in his ability to turn his kids into tough competitors, (the most accomplished in the country) but also in his ability to ingrain in them what it really means to be a Martial Artist: respect, honor and the ability to give to others."
-Dave Camarillo (Founder of Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu/Judo, Jiu-Jitsu & Judo Black Belt & Author of the hit book "Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu-Revolutionizing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu")
“John Simons III and the Odyssey Team are exemplary Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.Diligently training and always ready for competition"
"I have known John Simons for the last four years. He has been training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with me since then and received his Purple Belt from me last year. His ability as an instructor is superb. His passion for Jiu-Jitsu has made him excel particularly with his instruction of children. It requires a special gift to be able to teach children and John definitely has this gift. His students always succeed in tournaments which is a testimony to his teaching style. I highly recommend John as an instructor and am pleased to call him my friend."
-Royce Gracie (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt,U.F.C Hall Of Famer,Martial Arts Legend and role model)
"Coach John Simons III is an excellent coach! He has a great group of kid's that have dominated the tournements. Due to their hard work and John's dedication to his students, all of the hard work is paying off. John and his team are great representives of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and I am proud to have a part in it."
-Rodrigo Gracie (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Pride FC Champion, Rumble On The Rock Vetran, Author of the books "No-Holds-Barred" & "The Path To Black Belt")
"John Simons is one of the top up and coming grapplers in the US and is already one of the top coaches. His kids program has the most talented and technical kids in the United States and stand as testament to his skills as an instructor. What John and his team have achieved is amazing."
-Rob Kahn ( 1 of the first 5 Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts, Owner of Gracie Tampa)
"John Simons III and Team Odyssey have been an incredible asset to myself and the Combatives program at the National Ground Intelligence Center. US Army Combatives is based in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and John and his students have provided technical assistance that have helped the soldiers to grasp the basics of these critical self defense techniques rapidly.
John has a warrior mind set and trains hard so that his Team can succeed in tournament Jiu Jitsu as well as real life situations. I value John's friendship and admire what he has done with the children he coaches. Team Odyssey holds 16 National Titles because this man gives unselfishly to the young people on their team in order to see them succeed in competition and life. Thanks for your assistance and we look forward to many good workouts with you in the future."
-Major Brent Elrod (Combatives Instructor US Army)
"Coach John Simons III and Team Odyssey have great enhanced the ability of the
Modern Army Combatives Instructors of Fort Eustis, VA to train the Avaition and
Transportation soldiers of the Army in Modern Army Combatives. The soldiers
leave Fort Eustis with the confidence that if they are involved in a
hand-to-hand combat situation, they will suvive and prevail over their enemy.
Since John is a Level IV Modern Army Combatives Instructor, he knows what we
train on and the reason we are training. With this knowledge, he knows which
additional techniques will be good to add to our tool bag to improve our
hand-to-hand combat training."
"John and Team Odyssey give freely of their time to assist, motivate and train
the soldiers and instructors of Fort Eustis. They traveled to Fort Eustis to do
demonstration for the opening of our Modern Army Combatives Smokers for the IET soldiers of 1/222nd Aviation and 71st Transportation and conducted seminars for the Instructors. All of this without compensation. John is a patriot and a great
American for assisting the soldiers of America's Army in this way."
-SFC Richard Wilkins (U.S Army Combatives Instructor/Soldier)
"John Simons III and Team Odyssey have been both an inspiration and an incredible resource to me and my students here at the Capital Jiu-Jitsu Academy. The children, their parents and the staff at Team Odyssey have demonstrated unprecedented levels of integrity, perseverance, dedication to the martial arts and accomplishment on the mat. These qualities are without a doubt what separates them from other schools of martial arts.
In order to prepare our own students for competitions, Team Odyssey has on many occasions driven hours out of their way to assist the instructors of our Academy with coaching and teaching. The payoff of their generous efforts has been nothing short of amazing, and nearly every student now competing under the Capital Jiu-Jitsu flag is bringing home medals and awards from the tournaments they enter!
Everyone here at the Capital Jiu-Jitsu Academy proudly endorses Team Odyssey. Their undying support, and the examples they set forth for success in the martial arts, has contributed in many ways to our own success."
- Jeremy Lafreniere (Coach and Owner, Capital Jiu-Jitsu Academy Alexandria VA., Royce Gracie Certified Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt.)
“I like training at Odyssey Martial Arts Academy because it offers a variety of classes for everyone, my favorite class is Wing-Chun Gung-Fu because it is fun and technical and Sifu makes it challenging for everyone.”
-Kayla Harley (2005 Grapplers Quest U.S National Champion “Children’s Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu")
“ I really enjoy training at Odyssey Martial Arts Academy because we train all kinds of really cool techniques and we have a really good instructor.”
- Emily Dawson (2004 Grapplers Quest #1 RATED Youth Female Competitor In The World.)