08/04/2026
Kru Saekson Janjira was a true pioneer. In my opinion, two men brought their arts to Texas and made them grow and spread across the land that we all must pay homage to and thank eternally: Carlos Machado for Jiu Jitsu and Saekson Janjira for Muay Thai. Every legitimate line in Texas of those two arts owes something to these gentlemen and has been impacted by them in some way, directly or indirectly.
When I was in Dallas for 3 months to train for a job back in 2004 I was lucky enough to find Professor J.D. Shelley to teach me Jiu Jitsu while I was there and it was the open mindedness and love of the game that Kru Saekson had that would allow a BJJ school to be located inside of his school. That was not as common 20+ years ago as it is now. I was fortunate to catch some training with him a few times, watch Pete Spratt and the Njokuani brothers train and become huge professional fighters and it was just a great place to learn both arts. He was funny, high energy and loved his people, besides being a world class fighter and instructor. He welcomed me and my students back several times over the years and was also great friends with my mentors, Sensei Bas Rutten and Sensei Duane Ludwig. Rest in Power to the legend and pioneer, Saekson Janjira 🙏🙇♂️
