Rob Toman

Rob is a 3rd degree Black Belt in freestyle Jiu Jitsu and a Brown Belt (with two decades of experience) in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Julio César.

Rob started his martial art training in 1988 in traditional style fighting. By 1996 he started to realise that real fighting required more than what traditional, one dimensional, styles offered. Rob got involved in kickboxing and fought in a few amateur fights but shortly after this he saw the early UFC fights.

A friend living in Newcastle, whom Rob had been training with, told him about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu BJJ) and his interest in grappling started. Rob started added elements of kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and started Excel Combat Academy with the aim of teaching realistic fighting; this soon became to known as MMA.

Winter 2013 at Malabar

At the time when Excel Combat Academy was found, BJJ was relatively unknown in Australia, and there were only a handful of schools that offered training in it. Rob attended the occasional seminars or classes but, due to his teaching commitments, and the lack of local BJJ training, he found it hard to get any regular formal training. Rob then became involved with a Ju Jitsu (traditional Japanese Ju Jitsu) club, and represented the Australian team in the Ju Jitsu World Championships held in Leeds, England in 2000.

Immediately after the World Ju Jitsu Championship, Rob travelled to Brazil for the first time and joined a small club in Rio de Janeiro and then went to Belo Horizonte to train almost for a month. At Belo Horizonte Rob trained at the Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte school.

"After returning to Australia, Rob continued teaching, and started incorporating BJJ into his curriculum. He still couldn’t  find a local club to train and used what he learned in seminars, the training in Brazil, or techniques he saw in books. In 2002 however, Rob attended another seminar held by a visiting Brazilian, where he met Paulo Guimaraes; he started training with Paulo and immediately noticed the advantages of having a quality Instructor and good training partners. In 2004 Paulo Guimaraes awarded Rob with a blue belt, and in the same year he won the NSW and national titles; He finished second at the Pan Pac in Melbourne.

Rob with UFC legend Toquinho

Rob competed at the BJJ World Cup held in Salvador and was placed 2nd. During this this trip he stayed in Aracaju for 5 weeks and trained with Prof. André Almeida, 4 time State, 3 time National and a World Champion;  André was a part of the Marcus Bello team.  Rob travelled to Brazil for a 3rd time in 2006, and spent 6 months in Salvador. He trained with Alex Cintra this time and was awarded the purple belt. Rob returned to Brazil once again in 2007-08 and trained with the Brazilian Top Team; he got the chance to roll with Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares on a daily basis; Toquinho has since signed a contract with the UFC and has become a legend with his unbelievable BJJ skills.

In 2009 Rob returned to Rio and this time he trained with black belt Isaac Araujo. Isaac linked him with Julio César Pereira, a highly regarded 6th degree Black Belt holder, and founding member and main instructor of the world famous GFTeam. Rob trained under Julio and was awarded his Brown Belt under him.

Rob with Julio César (6th degree black belt in BJJ) in Brazil

Rob's goal has always been to start his own school to teach effective and realistic fighting. This led him to BJJ which he believes is a must, because almost all street fights end up on the ground. In the 90's UFC Royce Gracie proved that a fighter with no ground skills could not survive and can easily be beaten. MMA game has developed enormously and BJJ doesn’t appear to enjoy the same dominance it had in the early days purely due to the fact that all top level fighters are well trained in BJJ.

Rob with his senior students

This is what Rob has to say: "My personal philosophy regarding BJJ training is highlighted in the feedback I have had from training partners in Brazil. I have gone from an inexperienced fighter using tons of strength, to a fighter who values technique over strength. I think this is the secret of BJJ. It’s always been an art where smaller, weaker fighters are able to beat larger, stronger, less skilled fighters. My approach is to try to out-think my opponent and set up techniques they don’t expect. Mostly though, I believe that while “fancy” techniques are great, and a lot of fun, strong basics are the key to success." 

Chris and Jim