Dan Lawson

A lifelong resident of Middletown, Dan Lawson has been an athlete since childhood. He began his coaching career in 2006 at his alma mater, Xavier High School, with the freshmen lacrosse team. In 2009 he discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which would, ultimately, bring about the biggest transformation in his life, both personally and professionally. Not only did he find a passion for his first combat sport, he found a second family with DCNU, as well as a potential career path.

Today, after 3 and half years of training, Dan holds the rank of four-stripe blue belt under Danilo Cherman. He has competed in numerous tournaments throughout the northeast, including NAGA, Grapplers Quest, IBJJF, and the Abu Dhabi Pro-Trials. Dan is a Big Apple Open gold medalist, a two-time New England Open Champion, and a NAGA and Grapplers Quest bronze medalist. He hopes to continue his training under Danilo for many years and also hopes to make BJJ his life’s work by running his own academy someday.