# Henry Akins > ## Overview **Name:** Henry Akins ## Bio Henry Akins was born in Oklahoma, United States of America, starting his martial arts training in his native town, through Tae Kwon Do. In watching some of his best friends during highschool, who were wrestlers, dominate larger opponents in street fights, Akins understood that the way forward for self defence would most likely be a grappling based martial art. In the early 1990’s Henry Akins got a hold of a VHS tape of Rickson Gracie competing in vale-tudo . He immediately got interested and finding out that the Gracie family was in California, he decided to leave everything behind and move to the west coast. Henry sought the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in Torrence first, back in 1995. Akins had heard that Rickson was the best in the family and he wanted to train with the best. He knew Rickson had an academy and California, but when he asked Rorion the whereabouts of his brother, he was told they didn’t know anyone with that name. When interviewed by On The Mat in 2010, Akins had to say about this period: At the Rickson academy in Pico blvd, West Los Angeles, Akins met and befriended Luis Herédia who was the assistant coach. Akins would also quickly become a part of the academy’s staff as the gym’s secretary, spending up to 70 hours per week at the academy. In 1997 Henry became the assistant instructor for Luiz Herédia’s gym at the Pacific Palisades, though he continued training at Rickson’s academy. In 2000 he also became an instructor at the Rickson Gracie academy at Wilshire blvd. In 2004, after a training session at Rickson Gracie’s residence, Rickson awarded the black belt to Henry Akins, who that way became Rickson’s 3rd American black belt. Akins would later be hired as the head instructor at the Rickson Gracie academy, after his instructor moved back to Rio de Janeiro, a position Akins had to abandon in 2008, reportedly due to a severe injury. He would later reappear in the grappling scene as the head coach of Dynamix Martal Arts, a prime MMA academy in Los Angeles, California. Jiu Jitsu connection Side Control Escape Closed Guard Concepts ## Specialties - n/a --- **Last Updated:** March 20, 2026 **Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/people/henry-akins)