ABOUT
Cody Daniels
Cody Daniels is a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Professor Diego Ramos, head instructor and owner at SAS Team Syracuse.
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Cody began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2012 to get into better physical shape. This was also in conjunction with a curiosity to learn more about what seemed to be an interesting and valuable activity. He was fortunate to have American Top Team blackbelt and former Bellator pro fighter, Matt Lee as his initial instructor for the first year and a half of training in BJJ. At this point Professor Lee moved out of the area and so Cody began training under another coach from a nearby city, Professor Diego Ramos.
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Cody has been fortunate to train in both Ithaca and Syracuse over the years with many incredible practicioners as well as several amazing teachers. He's also participated in various Jiu Jitsu competitions around the U.S. since 2014. In 2015, he began teaching a variety of students in many different formats and has continued enjoying this process since.
Matt Sung Lee, Founder & Professor
I have been training and teaching Martial Arts seriously for over 25 years. It started as a hobby in college and was something that I really enjoyed in my youth. Growing up in Seoul, Korea, I was always fascinated by Fighting or Combat Sports like Taekwondo, Boxing, Judo or Wrestling.
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My hobby turned into something special that I could not live without, and I made a conscious decision that I was going to train full time, be poor, and be an expert some day. During those years, I competed in 29 Professional Mixed Martial Arts Matches, a number of amateur Boxing and Muay Thai fights, and also became a 2nd-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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After my competition years, I coached aspiring Mixed Martial Arts fighters for years and traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. While overseas, I started teaching kids more and watched so many of my young students transform and blossom with new found confidence. I saw a timid, shy child who used to be bullied in school, slowly change his body language and build confidence as he became more comfortable with Jiu Jitsu and physical activity. So many parents and school teachers share stories with me of seeing their children change for the better. They are standing straight, speaking more clearly, and are just happier kids.
Witnessing these positive transformations in my young students, to this day, gives me such a rewarding feeling and renewed motivation to teach Martial Arts. I am excited to share with my students the amazing experience that I had through my years of training and teaching and am proud to transform my hobby into my life’s passion. My mission for Ithaca BJJ School is to provide a safe environment for children and adults to learn Martial Arts, and to inspire confidence, motivation and inspiration in my students through dedicated training.
