Our History
Professor Danian Torres’ path in martial arts began in 1989, and over the course of his life obtained black belts in Goju Ryu Japanese Karate, Korean Taekwondo, & Martial Science. While in search of further developing his skill set he was introduced to the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2004. After traveling, training, & competing under various BJJ black belts, he encountered Master Leo Vieira, the founder of the world famous Checkmat Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team.
Mesmerized by the effectiveness of the art, he made it his mission to learn & share the gentle art by founding Checkmat South Texas in 2015 under the lineage of Master Leo Vieira. Professor Danian Torres is a current 2nd Degree black belt with 35 years experience in martial arts & teaching
Founded in 2008 by Master Leo Vieira, Checkmat is an international Jiu-Jitsu competition team with gyms in 34 American cities & 16 gyms worldwide. The namesake of Checkmat originates from the similiarites jiu-jitsu shares with the game of chess.
Checkmat BJJ practitioners are world renowned for having won prestigious tournaments such as “The Mundials” World Championship, The Brazilian National Championship, & The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship.
