TILLIS​
BJJ & MMA
THE COACHES
Welcome to the Team!
NOAH TILLIS
Owner and Head Instructor
Welcome! I’ve been training in martial arts for over 25 years, and have been studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since I was eight years old! My first coach was Rodrigo Mederios, direct lineage through Carlson Gracie Senior. Then Ultimately receiving my Black Belt Through John Ouano and John Ramirez When I was 21 in June of 2012! I have competed all over the country in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling winning some of the most prestigious events including the IBJJF American National, and Pan-American titles on multiple occasions. Been blessed to have competed at a professional level in grappling since I was 14 years old.
Being a champion for many different professional superfight organizations such as Fight 2 Win, Fightblok Vegas , Five Grappling Superfights , Nevertap Professional Grappling etc. along with Jiu Jitsu I competed professionally in MMA for a span of 10 years finishing my career with a Contract in the Bellator MMA Organization!
For the last 12 years competing has taken a back seat to my real passion which has been running and providing my community of Whittier with top-notch Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. I am born and raised in Whittier California, and I want nothing more than to share my passion with my community. Tillis Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA has trained world champions, professional, mixed martial arts fighters and provides a conducive environment for every day hobbyists or people looking to compete. Our programs will help you lose weight gain confidence learn self-defense, or learn the skills you need to compete at the highest level and that something that I am the most proud of.
ANTHONY AGUILERA
BJJ Black Belt Coach
Anthony has been train16 years under this lineage, and received his black belt from Professor Noah Tillis in 2023. His accomplishments include:
9x National Champion
15x LA Open Champion
11x All American Champion
18x North American Open Champion
6x Grand Canyon open champion
14x SJJIF World Champion
7x IBJJF world Champion
1x Pan-American Champion
1x Silver BJJ Pro
3x Silver Worlds Champion
2x Silver U.S Open
1x Silver Pan-American
1x Bronze Pan-American
1x Bronze American Nationals
3x Bronze World Champion
DAVID HUNTSINGER
BJJ Black Belt Coach
Coach David is a first degree black belt under Noah Tillis. He has been training at Tillis BJJ for over a decade and has been teaching and coaching since he was a purple belt. You'll most commonly find Coach David leading classes on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 AM.
PHIL SOTO
6AM Jiu Jitsu COACH
Phil has dedicated his life to the beautiful art of jiu jitsu for many years. He has faithfully led the morning warriors of the 6AM class since 2020. He moved under Professor Noah's leadership at Tillis BJJ 5 years ago, and is a Copa Pacifica BJJ Champion.
RICHARD GONZALES
Fundamentals Coach
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, Richard Gonzales is 100% in love with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He started training in late 2005 under John Ouano, and then teammate Noah Tillis, as a way to lose weight and build self-esteem. But after competing in his first Jiu-Jitsu tournament, he knew that he wanted to be a life long practitioner.
Rich now leads the weekly Fundamentals class. He is one of our longest-tenured coaches/students, having been with Tillis Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since 2013.
Coach Rich is an incredible motivator, which is an especially good thing to have at the Fundamentals class. One of Rich’s real talents is his ability to able to work with students of all levels, and explain with a lot of detail. From brand-new white belts who are looking to lose some weight and lead a more active lifestyle, to more advanced practitioners that regularly compete in Jiu Jitsu tournaments, Coach Rich takes great joy in getting his students the results they are looking for.
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He also has a strong history of competing in martial arts, and participating in dozens of Jiu Jitsu tournaments over the years.
Outside of the gym, you can find Coach Rich with his family rewatching episodes of Breaking Bad.
COACH ANGIE
WOMENS COACH
Coach Angie began her Jiu-Jitsu journey in 2007 at 17 years old. At the time, she was heading down a difficult path and looking for something positive to put her energy into. Jiu-Jitsu became that outlet and ultimately helped change the direction of her life.
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Her journey started humbly, training out of a garage before briefly training at Matt Baker’s gym in Bakersfield. After moving back to Los Angeles, Angie joined New Breed, where her passion for Jiu-Jitsu truly took hold. She spent years working at Mata MMA and continued developing her skills through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and wrestling, learning from coaches including Blinky, Sheldon, and Justin along the way.
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Like many practitioners, Angie’s journey wasn’t always easy. As a white belt, she reached a point where she seriously considered quitting Jiu-Jitsu. A short conversation with Coach Noah during a chance encounter at New Breed encouraged her to keep going—a decision that would eventually lead her to become an important part of the coaching team at Tillis Jiu Jitsu.
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Teaching has been a constant throughout Angie’s martial arts career. She has worked extensively with children at the academies she has been part of, ran an after-school program at New Breed, and has helped teach women’s self-defense programs.
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Today, Coach Angie is especially passionate about building a strong and welcoming community for women in Jiu-Jitsu and creating a positive environment where kids can learn, grow, and develop confidence.
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For Angie, coaching is about much more than teaching techniques. It’s about sharing what Jiu-Jitsu has given her, caring about the people she teaches, and helping each student get the most out of their own journey—both on and off the mats.
WILL GARCIA
Wrestling Coach
Born into a wrestling family. Started wrestling at the age of 4 and came up through the Norwalk Terminators youth wrestling program. Went to Santa Fe high school where I wrestled all 4 years on varsity. Junior year I took 3rd at CIF and 7th at masters. Senior year I was CIF and Masters Champion. Wrestling has affected my life immensely for the better and I appreciate the sport.
CHANNARITH POT
Muay Thai and MMA Coach
Mr. Channarith Pot first learned how to "Pradal" at an early age. His first instructor was his father, who taught him Cambodian kickboxing. After high school, he trained at Piston Gym with Sensei Yuki, Team Valdez with Kru Valdez, and Long Beach Kickboxing with Oum Ry. He started to compete every weekend in unsanctioned events from 1997-1998. He competed under CSAC sanctioned events from 1999-2003. He holds a 3-1 (3 KO) record.
He started to teach Muay Thai at Piston Gym in 2003. He worked under Eddy Millis and Jamie Fletcher at the Shark Tank in 2005-2006. From 2006-2007, he learned how to modify kickboxing training to meet the needs for MMA fighters at the Body Shop under Antonio Mckee. He got the opportunity to learn the clinch and sweep techniques in Battambang, Cambodia in 2007. In 2008, he opened up his own training facility, The Westminster Fight Club. From 2016-2023, he was a trainer at All IN MMA/ BP Martial Arts Academy under Matt Johnson. In 2022, he became a certified personal trainer and a specialist in strength and conditioning through ISSA. Coach Pot has trained fighters that competed in the UFC, Pride, K-1, Glory, Bellator, WCK, IFS, and FightersRep. He takes pride in teaching his techniques and loves to build a rapport with his students.