COACH DAVID began his martial arts career in Taekwon Do, eventually running a successful school in Dunedin, New Zealand. After growing tired of the toxic politics that had infected Taekwon-Do in New Zealand he made a switch to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

David has always had a passion for exploring Jiu Jitsu with a hands-on approach, always looking for the simplest, most effective techniques. 

His Jiu Jitsu journey began in Gracie Oceania training in traditional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

In 2019, he made the switch to from "old school" Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Modern Nogi Jiu Jitsu. This required relearning much of his Jiu Jitsu foundation.

On December 31st, 2023, after 13 years of training, David was promoted to Defiant Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. 

DEF!ANT JIU JITSU was established by Coach Scott in 2019 as a non-profit club focused on Modern NOGI Jiu Jitsu.

During the COVID pandemic it became very clear that mainstream Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had become as corrupt and greedy as Taekwon-Do had been. The solution was to refocus on Jiu Jitsu at the community level and to continue independent of franchises and organisations.  

Independence allows us to make decisions that directly benefit our own students. We've also had the freedom to address many of the problems that have plagued Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Our team is small and very supportive. We have a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and students actively help one another.