PCGA instructors
At PCGA, we are proud to have a team of passionate, highly skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors who are dedicated to helping you reach your full potential on and off the matt.
With over 20 years of experience, countless competition victories and a commitment to personal growth, each of our instructors brings a unique blend of expertise, teaching style, and mentorship to our academy.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to get started or an advanced practitioner aiming to refine your skills, our instructors are here to guide you every step of the way.
Get to know the people who will help shape your BJJ journey!
John Toth
(Co-Founder) 3rd Degree Black Belt - Head Instructor
John Toth started his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey in 2002. Around 2005 he started training under the Ribeiro Brothers in Melvindale, MI and Toledo, OH. This is when he met Danny Agemy, the founder of our sister school Detroit Jiu Jitsu in East Dearborn. Competition success led to traveling to bigger tournaments around the country.
In 2009 John befriended and started training under the renowned Migliarese Brothers of Balance Jiu Jitsu, Phil and Ricardo. John was promoted to Black Belt by Phil Migliarese at Balance Headquarters in Philadelphia in February, 2012. In March of 2022 John was given his third degree on his black belt by Professor Migliarese.
John has been teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling since 2009. He takes great pride in developing laser-sharp fundamentals in his students.
Off the mats John is a licensed attorney, husband to an amazing wife, and father to an adorable daughter. Competing for the first time as a blue belt in 2003, some of John’s more notable competition achievements include:
Main Competitive Achievements
- 2008 Grapplers Quest All-Star Pro Challenge – 1st Place
- 2010 IBJJF NoGi World Championship Brown Belt – 2nd Place
- 2011 IBJJF NoGi World Championship Brown Belt – 1st Place
- 2012 Abu Dhabi Pro Trials NYC Black Belt – 3rd Place
- 2017 Toledo Open – 1st Place
- 2021 Spirit of 313 – Superfight winner
- 2021 Grapple in the Temple Detroit – Superfight winner
Emily Scappaticci
(Co-Founder) Purple Belt - Kids Instructor
Emily Scappaticci was born and raised in Clawson where she spent the majority of her life there in a variety of athletics from soccer to swim to volleyball and more. She has always had a passion for fitness and sports! When she graduated she then went to Wayne State for her Undergrad for business studies. During college she got into powerlifting and then strongman where she went on to place second at USS Strongman Nationals.
In September 2021, Emily Started training under John Toth. She quickly fell in love with the sport and it has become her passion (along with her farm animals and kids)! Now a purple belt, she competes locally and even competed in the 2023 No Gi World Championship.
Main Competitive Achievements
- Submission Series Super Fight Winner
- 2024 IBJJF No Gi Open Silver Medalist
- 2023 Buckeye Open Division Gold Medalist
- 2023 Buckeye Expert Division Gi Silver Medalist
- 2022 Grappling Industries Blue Belt Gold Medalist
Kyle Scappaticci
(Co-Founder) Purple Belt - Kids Instructor
Kyle Scappaticci was born and raised in Plymouth. He graduated from OLGC and then went on to Gabriel Richard for two years before transferring to Salem High-School where he would graduate in 2004. As a Plymouth native Kyle has been deeply involved with the community through his businesses Pestway, Certified Auto Care, and POOf Dog Poop Pickup and now Plymouth Canton Grappling Academy.
In 2020 Kyle started training under John Toth along with his wife , Emily, and their three kids, Roman, Dominic, and Luna. As his passion for Jiu-Jitsu grew he began helping out with kids lessons and then quickly became a full time instructor.
Now a purple belt, Kyle enjoys competing in local tournaments as well as coaching other PCGA members through their competitions.
Main Competitive Achievements
- 2024 Submission Series Super Fight Winner
- 2023 IBJJF Master Worlds Medalist
- 2022 Buckeye Open Black Belt Division Bronze Medalist
- 2022 Tap Out Cancer Gold Medalist
- 2021 Buckeye Open Blue Belt Division Gold Medalist
Glen Martinez
2nd Degree Black Belt - Instructor
Glen started his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in 2006 and earned his Black Belt in 2017 from Chris Blanke. The focus on fundamentals is an important part of his technique and utilizes those learnings in his teachings as a Kids and Adults coach at PCGA. His love of sharing the art can be seen with everyone he trains with.As an avid competitor some of his notable accomplishments include:>
Main Competitive Achievements
- 2021/ 2019 IBJJF Master 4 Worlds Competitor at Black Belt
- 2021 IBJJF Detroit Open – Master 4 Black Belt Light Feather – 2nd Place
- 2019 Michigan Open – Master Black Belt Feather – 1st Place
- 2016 IBJJF Master Worlds – Master 3 Brown Belt Light Feather – 2nd Place
- 2014 IBJJF Chicago Open – Master 3 Purple Belt Feather – 3rd Place
- 2013 Michigan Open Master Purple Belt Feather – 1st Place
Chad Teets
Black Belt - Instructor
Chad started his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in 2010 and earned his black belt in 2022 from Danny Agemy, founder of Detroit Jiu Jitsu.
With an excess of 20 years in military service, he has also earned his level 3 Army Combatives Instructor certification. Chad continues to serve the community as a law enforcement officer where he holds an instructor certification through the Effective Fitness Combatives program.
Chad’s passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, beyond the technical and physical aspect, revolves around the friendships and camaraderie he’s found in the gym.
Main Competitive Achievements
- 2021 NAGA-Gi, Brown Belt (2nd place), Nogi, expert (1st place)
- 2021 Machado Invitational-Nogi, expert (2nd place) and Open (2nd place)
- 2019 Toledo BJJ Open-1st place
- 2018 Toledo BJJ Open-1st and 3rd place
Mike Wheeler
Brown Belt - Instructor
Sam Freese
Brown Belt - Instructor
Sam began training in September of 2017 in North Carolina after retiring from the Marine Corps infantry. He received his brown belt from Detroit Jiu-Jitsu in July of 2024. Sam has dedicated thousands of hours to training and competing in jiu-jitsu.
Main Competitive Achievements
- Detroit IBJJF Gold Medalist
- Memphis IBJJF Gold Medalist
- Indianapolis Grappling Industries Expert Gold Medalist
- Indianapolis IBJJF Silver Medalist
- Chicago IBJJF Silver Medalist
- Third Coast Grappling Silver Medalist
- Midwest Finishers Invitational Competitor
Evan Rinke
Brown Belt - Kids Instructor
Evan started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in March of 2016
under Tyler Beckley of Findlay Jiu Jitsu Academy. He originally started training in secret during his college athletic career. As his love for the sport, and interest in a hobby to continue after football was over increased, he wanted to learn as much as he could.
Evan is very well suited to teach our young students as he has been helping to teach kids for 6 out of 7 years of his time in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Evan also runs and contributes to PCGA’s social media, marketing and content creation. Evan was awarded his Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from John Toth in January of 2024.
Ben Griffin
Adult Wrestling Instructor
Ben was born and raised locally in Canton. He started wrestling at 5 years old at the local youth wrestling program. He went on to wrestle at Canton High School, where he graduated in 2014. After high school, Ben wrestled for Eastern Michigan, where he graduated in 2019. He is currently a property tax assessor.
Ben started jiu jitsu in 2022 at Stars and Strikes and received his blue belt from Mike Manor the same year while helping coach wrestling to a few local MMA fighters.
Main Competitive Achievements
- 4x Division 1 MHSAA All-state wrestler
2x MHSAA State Finalist
2014 MHSAA State Champion
3 year NCAA Division 1 letter winner
Assistant Wrestling Coach for Clinton High School (2018-2021)
Helped coach Clinton to four Division 4 Elite 8 appearances, three State Finals appearances, and two MHSAA Division 4 State Championships
Current Rocket Trained Wrestling Coach
Alexis Lazar
National Champion - Kids Wrestling Instructor
Alexis is another Plymouth native on our coaching team! She has always had a passion for grappling, starting her jiu jitsu career in 2017 spending a lot of time competing in local tournaments as well as traveling out of state. In 2019, she started wrestling to improve her jiu jitsu game but quickly fell in love with wrestling!
She has since wrestled full time, and in 2023 switched to being homeschooled and started competing in women’s college tournaments at only 15. She competes mostly at high level high school tournaments all around the country.
Main Competitive Achievements
- Two time NAGA world champion
- Pan-am trials finalist
- US Marine Corps National 15u champion and 17u All American
- 2023 Marine Corps 16u & Junior Nationals finalist
- 2022 State Champion in MYWAY and MMWA
Dakota Brang
Adult Wrestling Instructor
Dakota started training Jiu-Jitsu in August 2017 at Detroit Jiu-Jitsu Academy, looking for something that would challenge him both physically and mentally while he was in college. He quickly fell in love with the sport, and in December 2021, he earned his purple belt under Danny Agemy and John Toth. A competitor at heart, Dakota constantly looks for opportunities to test himself in high-level tournaments. His approach to teaching focuses on high-percentage techniques that work across all aspects of Jiu-Jitsu—Gi, No-Gi, and even real-world self-defense. He’s always studying what the best in the sport are doing, making sure that his game and the techniques he shares are sharp and up to date. Off the mats, Dakota is a tax accountant, a husband, and a proud dad. His wife, Katie, also trains and is a purple belt, making Jiu-Jitsu a big part of their family life.
Competition Highlights
- 2023 IBJJF Indianapolis – Gold & Silver Medalist
- 2022 IBJJF Chicago – Silver Medalist
- Grappling Industries – Multiple-Time Gold Medalist
- NAGA – Multiple-Time Gold Medalist
- AGF – Multiple-Time Gold Medalist
- Tap Cancer Out – Silver Medalist
- Buckeye State Championships – Multiple-Time Gold Medalist
Tyler
Adult Wrestling Instructor
Tyler started training martial arts at the age of 5 in 2001. Eventually leading him to Jiu-Jitsu in 2009. Over the years Tyler decided to focus on Jiu-Jitsu rather than the other martial arts he was practicing. He earned his black belt in June of 2022. Along the way Tyler started teaching kids/adults classes and enjoys the challenges of teaching complex ideas that are easy to understand for different skill levels.
Danny Lauer
Adult Wrestling Instructor
With nearly five years of dedicated training, Danny holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and brings a wealth of experience to the mat. Passionate about teaching and helping practitioners of all levels refine their skills and deepen their understanding of jiu-jitsu. Off the mat, Danny is a licensed realtor, showcasing the same discipline, adaptability, and commitment to excellence that define his jiu-jitsu journey. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned grappler, Danny is here to guide you.
