Instructor: Serge

Serge started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in August of 2006. From the start he was an active competitor in Gi and No-Gi Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Looking to challenge himself, and test his Jiu Jitsu skills under a more challenging rule set, Serge fought in a Mixed Martial Arts fight in June of 2009. He choked out his opponent with a triangle choke in 1 minute and 29 seconds. Once graduate school got in the way, Serge left MMA competitions behind him, but he continued training and competing in Jiu Jitsu. On October 13th of 2019, after 13 years of persistent hard work, Serge was awarded his Black Belt by the legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, multiple time UFC world champion, and UFC hall of famer, Royce Gracie.

Earning a black belt under master Royce Gracie is no small feat. Nor is it a formality. Candidates go through a grueling test in a closed room in front of 40-50 black belts. The pass rate varies from year to year, but is around 50 percent. Candidates can only test/re-test once a year. While candidates know that they will be tested on all aspects of Jiu Jitsu including self-defense, they do not know the exact nature of the test or its content. 

List of all recipients of a black belt from Royce Gracie can be found here: http://roycegracie.com/rgjj-black-belts/

Serge is also an International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Certified Black belt. Click here to view the certificate.

Outside of Jiu Jitsu, Serge holds a PhD in Political Science from UNC Chapel Hill, a top ten political science program in the nation. He was also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth. He currently has a day job on Wall Street and trains full time at the Marcelo Garcia Jiu Jitsu Academy. He comes up to UVBJJ on a regular basis to teach, coach and train. He also works with and provides feedback to students remotely.

Serge with Royce Gracie.

Instructor: Greg

Greg Burke began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2015 at the age of 25. In September 2023, he was promoted to the rank of black belt by his professor, Jay Mansfield. Greg has been teaching consistently since 2019, and in that time has developed a real passion for helping students develop their Jiu Jitsu. An active competitor throughout the colored belts, Greg has had success at the local and regional level, as well as on the IBJJF circuit nationwide.

Coach: Jimmy

James (Jimmy) Halkiotis started training in May of 2015 at an MMA gym in Southern NH. On July 30th 2022, Jimmy was promoted to the rank of Purple Belt in BJJ by Peter Greene (head instructor of Monadnock Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).

The longer Jimmy trained MMA, the more he became interested in the grappling aspects of the sport. While in college Jimmy was very involved in BJJ club at Keene State College. He was even the president of BJJ club his senior year. During college and since then, Jimmy has been an active competitor at local tournaments throughout New England (medaling in most tournaments he entered).

Coach: Roy

Roy Holland has been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since December of 2018 (he also trained BJJ from 2006-2008, but then took a decade long break). On December 10th, 2022 he was promoted to the rank of purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Serge Severenchuk.

Major competition accomplishments:

  • 3rd at the 2022 IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Pan American Championship (Pan Ams) in master 3 blue belt division.

  • 3rd at the 2022 IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Master World Championship in master 3 blue belt division.

Roy grew up in the Upper Valley area. He graduated from Mascoma High School (Canaan, NH). Roy served in the Marine Corps and Army Infantry for 14 years (both active duty and reserves). He did multiple tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and other not so nice places. Roy also has 21 years of Law Enforcement experience, including 5 years on the SWAT team. He is a recipient of Purple Heart, Bronze Star (C), and Army Commendation Medal.

Roy teaches Monday and Tuesday classes during the day, and Monday night kids class.

Coach: Kevin

Kevin Nelson started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in November of 2018. On December 10th, 2022 he was promoted to the rank of purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Serge Severenchuk. Kevin is a very dedicated student of the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is also an active competitor in the area.  

Private classes

To set up a private appointment with one of our coaches, please click here.