Houma native, Ernest Ellender started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ralph Gracie in Mountain View, CA. He earned his BJJ nickname “Waffle” due to his love of fine dining (like that found at Waffle House). He went on to earn his black belt in 2008 in Dave Camarillo’s Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu system. That same year, “Waffle” opened the doors to Evolution Training in Houma to share his passion for martial arts with local residents.

Houma native Heath Cooper has studied grappling and striking arts for over 20 years, earning his black belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu in 2020. Heath is an impressive artist in addition to martial artist, and you will see some of his art displayed on the walls of our school and in our marketing graphics. Heath is just plain cool.

Kaiesie Albarado trained extensively in San Shou Kickboxing, BJJ, Muay Thai, and MMA. Kaiesie tested his skills extensively in both BJJ and MMA competitions since 2010. His combination of extensive training, competition experience, and decade of teaching adults and kids make him a seriously well-rounded martial artist! He joined Evolution Training staff in 2016 and rapidly became an integral part of the team.

Five years of training grappling, striking, and MMA at Greg Jackson's MMA academy, as well as numerous MMA fights has fortified Bebe with a staggering amount of experience and education that we have been ecstatic to gain access to! Bebe joined Evolution Training staff in 2023 to offer students a solid set of fundamentals in striking and MMA techniques and skills.

Shanna's entire family has or is training at Evolution Training, and lucky for us, she joined our staff as Gym Manager in 2023. For some reason, all the business stuff started flowing better shortly after! Her dedication to managing is on par with her passion for BJJ and making sure that her family continues to benefit from their extensive training in martial arts.

Straight up, bad-to-the-bone martial artist and AMAZING artist!