Originally from France where he started his BJJ journey 15 years ago, Professor Richard "Somchai" สมชาย learned the art in France and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Prior to that, he has practiced various martial arts such as Judo, Aikido and Jeet Kune Do. Having some Vietnamese blood, he was always drawn to Asia where he has spent many years and has learned traditional Chinese and Thai Massage Therapy. In 2016 Richard moved to Australia and started to train under Professor Mario Sergio Yokoyama in 2017. ​ Besides BJJ, Professor Richard is passionate about Qigong and Far Eastern Traditional Medicine. Professor Richard’s approach to teaching Jiu-Jitsu is to provide students first with a solid knowledge of BJJ fundamentals upon which he teaches a wide array of jiu-jitsu techniques which also includes uncommon techniques.