BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU & WRESTLING
Phone: (850) 792-5341
1533 South Monroe Unit 8, Tallahassee FL 32301
Cascades Plaza
Our Instructors
Dylan Whyte-
IBJJF Certified 2nd Degree Black Belt-
Owner-
Professor
Dylan received his black belt from Bruno "Tank" Mendes in July 2019. Dylan began his Jiu Jitsu career in 2010.He trained briefly in Tallahassee Florida before moving to Atlanta for school. While in Atlanta, he was fortunate to train under Master Romero Jacare Cavalcanti, Rubens Charles Maciel (Cobrinha) and Lucas Lepri. After school, Dylan Returned to Tallahassee briefly before following his dream to Orlando Florida, where he moved to train with 10 times IBJJF World Champion Bruno Malfacine. During his time with Professor Malfacine, Dylan’s game underwent a very rapid period of growth. Along the way, Dylan developed a relationship with the Soul Fighters team, which he currently represents. After so much training under world class instructors, Dylan has returned to Tallahassee to open his dream academy and follow in their footsteps. He has represented the Soul Fighters BJJ team since 2017. Dylan is a two time UAE Jiu Jitsu National Pro Champion, having won at purple and brown belt. He is the owner and founder of the Academy. He has won multiple IBJJF Open Medals at Brown Belt, and won the Adult Black Belt division at Grappling Industries Tampa in 2018. He is undefeated in Gi Superfights for Fight to Win Pro and Submission Hunters Organizations. Dylan is available for private lessons and seminars.
James Whyte-
IBJJF Certified 3rd Degree Black Belt-
Professor
Professor Whyte is a life long martial artist. His martial arts career spanned much of his 22-year military career. Professor Whyte was a United States Marine for 2 enlistments prior to being selected for a commissioning program. After college, he was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy Nurse Corps. Professor Whyte went on to retire from the Navy and enter life as an academic at the Florida State University.
He is currently a full Professor at the FSU College of Nursing. Dr. Whyte is a certified Family and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. He is a highly experienced clinician with a special interest in sports medicine and pediatrics. In particular, he is skilled in working with special needs children.
After completing military service and an extensive education including two doctorates, Professor Whyte longed for the grappling days of his childhood. He was drawn to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Jim has won the Master’s World and Pan American Championships at Blue-Purple and Brown, and has won a variety of IBJJF open tournaments at the Black Belt masters level. He continues to compete actively, primarily in the IBJJF. Jim received his first degree on his black belt from Bruno "Tanke" Mendes. Jim currently holds a Brown Belt in Judo under his Sensei, Shawn Wright.
Evan Noah Whyte-
2nd degree Black Belt-IBJJF Certified Professor
Evan began training Jiu Jitsu, initially due to his experiences with bullying, at age 12. Evan is skilled in teaching both adults and children. As a child, Evan won a variety of tournaments ranging from Yellow to green belt. Evan has won IBJJF Open tournaments at Juvenile Blue Belt, Adult Blue Belt and Purple Belt. He won the Silver Medal as a Brown Belt at the most recent IBJJF Atlanta Open. He has a very aggressive submission oriented style. Evan is a Critical Care Registered Nurse Educator at the Vogter Neurological ICU at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.
Phil Harker-
Black Belt-Instructor
Owner of Higher Performance in Thomasville GA
Aka “Coach Phil” is a Brown Belt under Jim and Dylan Whyte. He has been involved in combat sports for the majority of his adult life. His journey began with high school wrestling that quickly transitioned into a full time jiu jitsu commitment at Renzo Gracie Weston in South Florida. After high school he brought his talents to Tallahassee to attend FSU and begin a career in Amateur MMA. He represented Capital City Combat Club (Josh Samman) banner in a few fights in the Combat Night Promotion before returning to full time Jiu Jitsu. Professionally he works as a Head Coach at Orangetheory®, and is a Personal Trainer at Premier Health & Fitness Center. He has done over 4,000+ classes and Personal training session and he uses that experience while teaching on the mats. Coach Phil’s style of teaching is easily digestible by all skill levels. His attention to detail and high energy creates a safe and successful experience for all of the students at Positive Balance
Carlos Morales
Brown Belt-
Instructor
Carlos is a Positive Balance purple belt, he started his bjj journey as a form to complement his martial arts background and to keep a good mental and physical health, jujitsu quickly became his main focus for martial arts training and self defense. With over 6 years of training and multiple competition experience he leads our 630 am class on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Max Spearman
Brown Belt-
Instructor
NO GI
Ian Ford
2nd Degree Judo Black Belt
Brown Belt-Brazillian Jiu Jitsu
Instructor
Ian is 2nd degree Judo black belt under Donald Trussell, Bobby Fukushima, and Fred Hand of Leon County Judo Club. Leon County Judo club produced several Olympic, international and national competitors. Ian is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt under world champions Jim and Dylan Whyte. Having trained and competed from a young age, he has a passion for sharing his knowledge and skill with anyone looking to expand their skillset in grappling as a whole.
Maria Whyte-
Brown Belt-
Children's Instructor
Mrs Whyte is the "TiTI" at Positive Balance. Head Professor Dylan's mother, Professor Jim's Wife, and Instructor Evan's mother. She started BJJ to help with weight loss, health and self defense. She continues to train almost daily and assists with the "Littles" during the children classes. She loves the art of Jiu Jitsu and enjoys facilitating the growth of children and women in BJJ.
Malik Butler-
Purple Belt-
Instructor
Coach Malik bounced around between Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Boxing throughout grade school as a way to alleviate discipline problems and to deal with the everyday violence of the bad neighborhoods he grew up in. He returned to martial arts in 2021 as a way to rekindle the discipline in his life and to find a physical outlet. With a competitive drive and an aggressive, submission hunting style he earned a purple belt in just three years while traveling the country racking up dozens of podium placements. Coach Malik's goal is to provide a deep understanding of the how's and why's so that his students can create their own style while ensuring they understand the rulesets that may apply to his competitors.