Chris Noonan

Chris Noonan is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and the founder, Head Instructor, and curator of Upper Twelve Jiu Jitsu— a modern academy in Robbinsville, New Jersey, that has become one of the more distinctive young schools on the East Coast. Where most academies define themselves by lineage and competition record alone, Noonan has built Upper Twelve as a Creative Space — a programme that treats Jiu-Jitsu as both a competitive art form and a cultural medium, sitting alongside art, design, and music as part of the same lineage of expression.

He has stepped away from active competition not out of fatigue but out of focus: the building of the academy, the curriculum, and the next generation of athletes coming through Upper Twelve has become his primary craft.

Under his direction, Upper Twelve runs on two parallel fronts. The first is a world-class technical academy, where students of all walks of life — from first-time white belts to lifelong competitors — train under a structured curriculum that treats Jiu-Jitsu as a formal education. The second is a dedicated competition team of focused individuals chasing high-level results on the IBJJF and regional circuits, with an academy-wide finishing rate that places Upper Twelve among the more efficient programmes in its area.

Noonan's voice in the broader community reflects a clear point of view. He has argued, in word and in practice, that Jiu-Jitsu academies should be cultural institutions, not just training facilities — that the way a school presents itself through apparel, print, digital media, and atmosphere matters as much as its medal count. Upper Twelve's identity, from its logo to its murals to its store, is built on that conviction.