James Roach
Coach James Roach - known by his BJJ friends simply as "Coto" - dedicated his youth to sports, being particularly interested in rugby, a game in which he thrived in up until a massive knee injury removed him from the pitch. Unable to perform in the sport he had grown up with James turned all his energy towards his work as an entrepreneur.
At the age of 26, James in an effort to get back into sport and after developing an enthusiasm for MMA decided to try his first BJJ class to cancel the damages of his desk-bound lifestyle. A decision that changed his life.
James immediately developed a passion for grappling, a love supported by the training methodology of Marco Canha. This love for the sport drove Coto to partner up with Canha and open the Fight Zone London Academy in 2012, an endeavor where James’ love for the mats and for business made the perfect symbiosis for success.
Although the chronic knee injuries obtained while playing rugby (resulting in a total knee replacement in 2020) prevented James from pursuing a more ambitious career in competitive jiu-jitsu, his love for this martial art/sport did not stop him from pursuing excellence. Instead, he opted to allocate his meticulous nature to coaching, a career James started and perfected from the time he was a purple belt.
James was promoted to black belt by Marco Canha in December 2019, having earned all his jiu-jitsu belt ranks from Marco, from white to black.