Grapple Asia

From Passion to Purpose: Charlie Jones on Building Guardian Malaysia Through Jiu-Jitsu

From the UK to Malaysia’s growing Jiu-Jitsu scene, Charlie Jones has built a life around the sport he loves. In this interview with Grapple Asia, he shares his journey, coaching philosophy, and mission to empower youth through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Q1. Can you kindly introduce yourself?
Hey guys, my name is Charlie Jones. I’m 29 years old and from a small village on the east coast of England, outside the city of Norwich, UK.

Q2. How and why did I start training BJJ?
I always loved martial arts, UFC, etc. My father used to train. One day when I was living in NZ, my mate showed me a programme for a 6-week fundamentals course for Carlson Gracie NZ. First day I was hooked. I liked that it’s not all about strength, a lot of it is knowledge and patience.
I have this thing where if I’m not good at something I’ll just keep going, hence why I never stopped.
Through this journey I realised how healthy I felt every time I got off the mats, mentally and physically.

Q3. What is your background and what brought you to Malaysia?
So I’m just from a small seaside town in Norfolk, UK. I left home early and started travelling at 19. Mainly worked manual labour for a long time, earned my money with my hands and used it to travel.
I left NZ and headed to Bali, where I met Geoff at AK who was mentor for a long time. After some time I moved to Phuket in Thailand to continue working as a project manager. By then I was just trying to base my life around BJJ.
I headed to KL for 4 days to sort paperwork out, next thing I know I ended up staying.

Q4. What made you decide to stay in Malaysia?
I had a good career beforehand, but my passion was always in jiu-jitsu.
I was navigating my life around the ability to train as much as i wanted to.
So when the opportunity arose that i could turn my passion into my full-time career, i grabbed it with both hands.
Don’t get me wrong it came with risks of stability, etc that all jiu-jitsu coaches know about, but i had to give it a shot and see if I landed on my feet, it was worth the risk.
Then, when i saw I could help the community and kids using the sport i love. It was set in stone.
Yet to mention the mates I’ve made here and the community that adopted me in, as well as some of the best food in the world and culture of Malaysia.
I felt comfortable straight away.
Malaysia grew to be my 2nd home very quickly.

Q5. What is Guardian Gym and how did you come to work with them?
Guardian Gym is a non-profit, community-focused martial arts gym that uses combat sports, especially BJJ, as a way to support underserved youth and young people.
Guardian operates academies all over the world, partnering with local gyms and sponsors.
It’s not just a workout space, it’s a charitable community aiming to give young people opportunities, support and structure through training and mentorship.
How I came into contact with them goes back to my roots at AK in Bali when he first appeared on CJI as the Fair Fight Foundation were raising money for them.
That’s when I became aware of Guardian and just loved the idea that my sport could give back.
When I started work at Average BJJ, I was introduced to a home where I volunteered my time for kids to come and train for free. This has been a plan of mine forever and for my future gym.
At some point Calder Powers, one of the many faces behind Guardian, reached out and the rest is history.

Q6. Which team or association are you with and how did that connection come about?
As I’ve travelled so much, I’ve had the benefit of being associated with many gyms all over. From my birthplace at Carlson Gracie in NZ, to AK/LAET in Bali and more.
But I’m proud to say that I’m lucky enough to be a part of Below Average BJJ.
This connection came out of nowhere. I asked a friend about a gym I can train at in KL during my short stay, I was recommended Average. Instantly fell in love not just with the gym but the ethics and reasons behind why Average was created.
I trained for a few days and made quick relationships with the guys, I guess I made a great impression because shortly after I was asked to stay.
Funny how a small turn of events got grow so quick into something that make a positive impact.

Q7. What is the jiu-jitsu scene like in Malaysia?
To be fair, naively I had no idea about the BJJ scene apart from the comps here, but I was surprised how big and welcoming the community is.
With top class gyms, incredibly talented coaches with high knowledge and amazing athletes and trainers. There’s a rich history of jiu-jitsu in Malaysia and I believe the world should know more about it.

Q8. In terms of submission grappling and jiu-jitsu, what ruleset do you favour the most?
I’m torn. I believe they all have positives and negatives and bring different styles to the matches.
But I can’t lie, submission-only definitely makes the match more exciting and stops stalling just for points.
Means you have to be hunting and switched on at all times.

Q9. How do I find the training environment in Asia compared to other places in the world?
I find it stands tall with all the other big countries, with the drive and competitive side, as well as being more community-based and welcoming as many gyms are in close vicinity to each other.
I always found tough rolls and learned amazing things in my time here while never really feeling unwelcome whenever I step foot in a new gym.
I feel that no matter where we go in the world, if you train jiu-jitsu you have a base.

Q10. What is the most influential or biggest achievement in your career so far?
Well there’s only one answer and it’s why we are speaking now. It’s being a partner with the Fair Fight Foundation and Guardian Gym, creating Guardian Malaysia.
Giving scholarships and support to underserved youth and many more to come.
It’s not about me anymore, it’s helping these kids get somewhere in the future they deserve to be.
This was always a dream and a goal for me, proud is an understatement.

Q11. What do I hope to achieve while working with Guardian?
First goal is to make Guardian Malaysia self-sustainable, where it becomes its own machine running itself.
As well as I’d like to expand Guardian Malaysia to as big as we can go, ideally 80 to 100 kids on our programme.
Then I’d like to coach a few of the senior teens from the programme to become coaches so they can have a career and carry the journey on for others to come.
As well as have our own gym one day so we can employ and help as many of the youth as possible.
Then who knows what the future brings, expand Guardian through other parts of the world or communities if possible.

Q12. How would you evaluate the current trends in jiu-jitsu? Where do you see the future of jiu-jitsu in Malaysia going?
I mean it’s clear to see that what is gaining the most attention is No-Gi, just in general media-wise in the BJJ community with rising and current superstars.
With ADCC and now CJI, I believe the newer generation will move even more into this area.
Still I do love Gi. Unless you’ve been in the game a long time, all the new faces in the sport will most be naming people like Craig Jones, Gordon Ryan, Jozef Chen, Imanari etc, who are all predominately No-Gi, so that’s where I see the trend right now.
With Malaysia, even though the scene is obviously already massive, I can only see it growing even more and producing some big names into the scene.
As KL is such a hub for international travel, the gyms and guys here are only going to become bigger and more noticed.

Q13. Which country do I think is the fastest growing in terms of grappling in Asia right now?
Malaysia is clearly up there as it’s still growing and fast.
But there’s two small islands I believe dominating the scene right now. One is Bali with I think around 7 BJJ gyms in a small area with all well-respected owners, coaches and beautiful gyms.
Then we have Phuket, with Owen Livesey’s gym which has just opened, will bring in more faces as well as already some seriously high competitive gyms in a small area.
But in terms of whole country, don’t blink on Malaysia, these guys are making an impact.

Q14. How do you approach your coaching? Tell me how you structure a class, the week and month. How far ahead do you programme your curriculum?
I’d say my coaching is hybrid. For example I still believe in drilling with context, but I also do CLA and situational, depending on the level of my students and what we are learning.
So with my coaching, my curriculum and style is flexible with adults and children.

Children:
I plan a 6-month curriculum, each month touching on different areas which correlate to the past month.
Of course I add things in here and there where I see needs extra improvement or prep for comp etc.
For example, one month is takedown/defence, passing/defence. Following month will be side control/subs with moving into different positions etc, so it’s chain of sequences.
Now with kids, as all coaches know, it doesn’t always go to plan. My biggest lesson is read the room.
You don’t have to go in and teach exactly what you planned, you can adapt to their moods.
I also use a lot of stories with the younger children, i.e. guard retention is a castle and we need to get inside, or half guard is a wall and the monster needs to break it down.
I find playing on imagination really speeds up learning.

Adults:
Everyone is different, everybody learns different. I plan monthly and again like to go in sequences or chain. So each move correlates.
With adults, I’ll take even more time and detail so one whole week will be half guard sweeps/attacks, following week will be top player defence/attacks from same position.
I will adapt and switch up where I see needs more improvement. As well as teach them what will work for them and their style, not just my style.

Q15. Who do you draw your inspiration from in terms of coaches and competitors?
So many, but first big shout out to my main and coach who inspired me to go on this journey, Geoff Collins from AK Sanur Bali.
Without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. That man taught me anything is possible and persistence is key. Be humble and patient, things will come.
Now when it comes to big names, John Danaher is the man all the way back with GSP and then what he did with the Death Squad and how he found holes in the game and dominated.
While creating this whole gang of elite killers, sometimes I think it’s cooler than being number one on the podium.
I’d love to grow people and have a team like that one day. He inspired me with how I teach to this day, especially with just how he breaks it all down.
As well as Eddie Bravo changing the game with all the unconventional No-Gi moves is a classic. 10th Planet has grown incredibly since it began, that’s for a reason.
Now competitors, I mean Royce Gracie legend. I remember always watching his first UFC fights on YouTube and just showing that it doesn’t matter how big your opponent is, jiu-jitsu can and will work if used correctly.
Another Gracie is Roger Gracie, amazing Gi game.
I love Marcelo Garcia’s style, I use butterfly a lot so I get that from him.
Then obviously Mr Craig Jones, I have long limbs and an unorthodox style so a lot of his game works with me.
I take my inspiration from him for obviously being one of the key members behind the Fair Fight Foundation and Guardian.
So maybe without him none of this would have been possible.
I think any athlete who stands up for the people and other athletes in the community deserves respect.

Q16. What are your future plans?
Who knows what is to come in the future. I like to focus on the now, but I’d like to grow Guardian Malaysia into its own entity and then pass it down to one of the students from the community to run.
Maybe open up another gym somewhere and grow a brand.
Win some gold medals and get more of my students to win more.
Create a team, a name and face, also definitely more Guardian-related projects.
But for now, one step at a time.

Q17. Lastly, who would you like to thank?
Firstly, big shout out to my mother who taught me to take risks. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Thank you to Geoff Collins for showing me to just stay consistent and patient.
Thank you to Uncle John for giving me the opportunity to do my dream job and help others with something I believe in.
Thank you to Calder Powers and Ben Kovacs, the men behind Guardian Gym. Thank you for taking me on board and changing the world one gym at a time.
Also to everyone else I’ve had the pleasure of meeting on this journey.