Kurtis Taylor

Black Belt

Head Instructor, Kurtis Taylor, owns and operates Cobra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Tuscaloosa, AL.  

Kurtis earned his Black Belt in January of 2015. He is a driven, self directed individual with a passion for his work. Kurtis is an extremely effective teacher who is in the gym every day, and always pushes others to better themselves. His optimistic personality creates a welcoming and accepting environment among all the students, encouraging them to always build each other up. 

Kurtis accepted a position in the mortgage industry and moved to Dallas, Texas shortly after graduating from The University of West Alabama where he was a middle linebacker. During his time in Texas, he met his wife Kourtney. They now have three children: Kurtis Jr, Keeton and Kylie. During his time in the business industry, Kurtis lost motivation to get in the gym and began to put on unwanted weight. After watching a series of UFC fights with a group of friends, they decided to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at a local gym ran by the legendary Professor Carlos Machado. Kurtis said, “I knew from day one that this is a sport that I would love and practice for the rest of my life! There were 145 lb guys that would wipe the floor with me, and I weighed close to 250 lbs! Man, this type of martial arts really works!”

Within 6 months Kurt is had lost almost 30 lbs and was back in great shape. While at the gym, Kurtis was introduced to his current teacher, Professor Eddie Ricardo. When asked about Eddie, Kurtis said, “ In my opinion, Eddie is the best black belt that Carlos has ever trained and the best black belt I have ever rolled with. I received my Black Belt from Eddie in January of 2015.  Eddie trains regularly with great professional fighters such as, Jr. Dos Antos,  Anderson Silva, and both of the Nogueira brothers. He is the best coach, mentor and friend you could ever ask for!”

Jordan “JC” Carpenter

Black Belt, Striking & Sparring Coach, MMA

Jordan graduated from Holt High School in 2009. In 2013 he started his MMA journey at Relentless Gym, under Head Instructors Cody Eason and Brad Thompson. From there he continued his journey, moving to Headhunters to train under Mike Taylor, who had 10 years experience in Muy Thai. It was here he learned how to box and developed his love for striking; training with experienced strikers Chris Johnson and Chris Davis. He received his blue belt from Brian Smith at Full Blast Dojo, and his purple - black belt from our very own Head Instructor Kurtis Taylor. Jordan began training at Cobra in 2015, and received his black belt in September of 2020. When he isn’t in the gym teaching, training in BJJ or Judo, he’s with his 3 kids making them the next generation of black belts. His hobbies include: painting cars and playing live fruit ninja with Judo Instructor Jason.