Veteran Living His Dream Teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Growing up in the 1980s in Newark, retired U.S. Marine Corps member Johnny Guerrero didn’t have much in the way of material things. But thanks to La Casa Don Pedro, a haven for many Hispanics in the North End, at the age of four, Guerrero discovered a love for martial arts which would one day give him the basis for his own business.

As a child, Guerrero started with karate and kickboxing, but ultimately gravitated toward Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in which he reached the level of master. He would study with world-renowned teachers and win championships in New Jersey, New York and Maryland.

Today, Guerrero, who is not Brazilian but rather Puerto Rican and Dominican, is 33 and the proud owner of his own academy, , which recently relocated from Verona to Caldwell.

“The first time I put a uniform on and took a class, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Guerrero told Patch this week, taking a break from training one his students.

Sensei Guerrero's students start as young as age three; his oldest is currently 54. They come from dozens of towns around the region to study what is the fastest growing sport in the world. Jiu-Jitsu is the basis for the mixed martial arts competitions popularized by the Ultimate Fighting franchise.

His students range from a 9-year-old who is the first girl to play football in Verona to children with special needs to adults who come for many reasons, whether looking to get in shape, learn self-defense or gain discipline. He is also training a hopeful from Bloomfield who has his first big competition in Pennsylvania next month.

The Power of Jiu-Jitsu

When asked how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu differs from other martial arts disciplines, Guerrero explained, “We concentrate more on what’s really going to happen in a street fight,” he said.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu equalizes the playing field between a smaller, weaker person and a larger, stronger person. For that reason, many parents sign their children up to help them ward off potential bullies.

One of the things he loves best about Jiu-Jitsu, Guerrero said, is the power it has to transform people’s lives. He has witnessed improvements in children with Autism, Aspergers, low muscle tone and other special needs.

“A couple of months down the road, you see miracles happen,” he said.

The Call of Duty

Guerrero joined the U.S. Marines Corp in 1998. He had been serving in the Naval Militia during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011, when he was sent to watch the piers by Houston Street and help with disaster recovery.

In January 2003, Guerrero was days away from the grand opening of his new school in West Orange when he received a call from the Marines instructing him to get an anthrax shot.

Within weeks he was on his way to Kuwait where he prepared with fellow members of the 6th Communication Battalion (6th COMM) to enter Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He left behind a wife and a daughter who had just turned one.

Guerrero was a specialist in nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and his group was prepared to act in case of an attack. He was on the phone with his wife back home when a missile struck nearby and he had to suit up from head to toe to test the air.

“At the time we weren’t too sure if they were going to use chemical weapons or not,” he said.

In the Marines, he conducted seminars for MCMAP, the Marines Corps Martial Arts Program. At the time, the Marines were beginning to adopt jiu-jitsu moves.

Seven months later, he was back in the states and finished active duty at the Marine Corps Base at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

Guerrero started working two jobs and teaching martial arts on the side. He settled his family in West Orange and opened Guerrerro Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Verona seven years ago.

But after his location flooded twice this year he was left with no choice but to find a new space. His landlord suggested another one of his buildings two-and-a-half miles west on Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell.

American Legion James Caldwell Post 185

Guerrero met Sgt. of Arms Dennis Schlosser, of the American Legion James Caldwell Post 185, while training Kearney police officers for a boxing match. Schlosser asked him to join and he did—becoming the youngest member of Post 185.

Although he doesn’t hold that title anymore, Guerrero

said age doesn’t matter when you share the bond of having served your country.

“Veterans appreciate things a little differently,” he said. When returning home after being deployed, he said as an example, “Just pressing the button and watching the toilet flush, it was amazing to me,” he said.

He said its good to be able to share stories and network with fellow veterans who have had similar experiences.

The only difference between older veterans and younger veterans, he said, is that “we have Facebook and email.”

Guerrero admits he is living his dream. He tells his students, “If you give me a $100 million, I will get a bigger place. I love what I do.”