Borderlands students level up at Jon Thomas seminar in Worcester

Last Saturday, Borderlands Grappling members Andrew Lloyd and Adam Evans travelled to Three Points Martial Arts in Worcester for an intensive, eye-opening seminar led by world-class black belt Jon Thomas.

It was an incredible day of technical development, conceptual breakthroughs, and a lot of hard work.

Who is Jon Thomas?

For those unfamiliar with his background, Jon Thomas is one of the most respected minds in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  

Receiving his black belt in 2013 under the legendary Lucas Lepri and Romero Cavalcanti, Jon built a reputation as an elite international competitor, securing numerous world and Pan-American titles as a colored belt before establishing himself as a top-tier coach. 

Known for his unique analytical approach to grappling—influenced by his background in engineering mathematics—Jon has a rare gift for breaking down complex physical mechanics into highly structured, easily understood concepts.  

Inside the seminar: Mastering the collar-sleeve

The core focus of the seminar was the highly versatile collar-sleeve open guard. Rather than just memorizing a list of rigid steps, Andrew and Adam were treated to Jon’s systematic approach to open guard. The session strictly covered the high-level essentials:

• Distance management & posture control

• Triangles, omoplatas & finishing mechanics

• De La Riva sweeps & adaptive guard retention

• Lasso/spider guard integration, loop chokes & back takes

A huge thank you

Borderlands Grappling wants to extend a massive thank you to Jon Thomas for sharing his world-class knowledge with our students and to Paul Severn, Martin Saunders and the entire team at Three Points Martial Arts for being such welcoming and generous hosts.

Andrew and Adam are already back on the mats at Borderlands, eager to share these game-changing details with the rest of the team. The seminar perfectly aligns with our curriculum, as we are currently covering open guard in both our gi and no gi classes.