# Kurt Osiander

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## Overview

**Name:** Kurt Osiander


## Bio

Kurt Osiander was born in 1966, growing up in the San Francisco Bay area where he met and befriended one of the Gracie family members,  Cesar Gracie . After high school Cesar joined the Marines and shortly after he finished his Marines training the Gracie spoke to Kurt Osiander about how he would be returning to Brazil to learn his family’s trade, Jiu Jitsu, this was the first time Kurt heard of BJJ.

Cesar Gracie Went to Brazil and returned to the United States in the early 1990’s, initially staying in with his cousins at the Gracie Academy in Torrence and later moving to the San Francisco area, in around 1992, the time when he rejoined his old buddy Kurt Osiander. Cesar spoke of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and how he was opening a gym in the area to teach grappling. Kurt was intrigued about the martial art and asked Cesar to perform a technique on him, the Mata Leão was the chosen technique and Osiander was so amazed by how powerful the position was that he decided to give these Gracie Jiu Jitsu classes a try.

Around the same time as Kurt Osiander joined the Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy, Ralph Gracie moved to the United States to team up with his cousin Cesar and become the head coach at the academy, Kurt started learning under “The Pitbull” and remained faithful to his Gracie coach from their on, basing his style of Grappling on the Gracie champion, Ralph Gracie.

Kurt Osiander started competing as a white belt and remained a competitor throughout his career, even when well passed his 30’s. Osiander’s drive to improve his Jiu Jitsu skills led him from a standard BJJ student, doing thee classes a week, to a full on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu addict, learning every day of the week, several times per day. The hard work led to the coveted black belt in 2003, Kurt was 37 years of age.

Being one of Ralph Gracie’s most dedicated and most loyal students, he was offered a position as a coach at Ralph Gracie’s Academy, a position Kurt Osiander embraced with honour and dedication. From the academy, Osiander has been involved with improving the grappling games of several BJJ champions. Kurt Osiander also picked up a short but successful career in MMA in the mid 2000’s.

Osiander’s notoriety came from his role as a respected instructor of the Ralph Gracie Academy as well as from a YouTube series named: Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week, where Kurt’s attention to detail and no “BS” approach captured the interest of thousands of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fans.

Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week: Half Guard Pass

Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week: Knee Slide Pass

Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week: Escapde from Side Control (You F—d up a Long Time Ago)

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**Last Updated:** March 21, 2026

**Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/people/kurt-osiander-3a875888d3e6)