Cliff Harris is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, awarded by Roger Machado and Erik Paulson in April 2015. He started training jiu jitsu in 2000 under Pat Tray and Rick Tavares in Woodbridge, Virginia. He began teaching in 2002 after his promotion to a blue belt. Cliff also trained Thai Boxing, becoming a Thai Boxing instructor under Ajarn Chai in 2005, and Combat Submission Wrestling, becoming a Representative Instructor under Erik Paulson in 2014. In addition, Cliff is a full instructor in Pat Tray's Total Defense System. A native of Urbandale, Cliff returned to Iowa and has been teaching here since 2006.
With my parents recently moving to Waukee and myself at their home visiting for winter break from school I wanted to find something to help me stay active over the holidays. From the first time I contacted No Coast BJJ to making me feel very welcome and taken care of during my first class, I realized No Coast is the place to learn jiu-jitsu. They worked with my short two-week time frame that I had in Waukee and made it possible for me to learn the basics of the sport. Having no previous martial arts experience, all the instructors took the time during each class to start from square one helping me build a solid foundation. In fact, I felt like I got a new instructor every time I went in for a work out; everyone there is extremely friendly and helpful! Every person I met asked me my name and made me feel respected even as a complete beginner. This quality and atmosphere is something unique to No Coast as it shows their focus on you as an individual to help you learn and be the best you can be. It’s too bad I have to go back to school and can no longer attend classes at No Coast, but thanks to them I now have a solid foundation of BJJ from which I can build upon.
Thank you for taking the time to make me feel so welcome, see you Saturday for my last class! I highly recommend this place for anyone interested!