For years, Kurt Osiander has been one of the most beloved personalities in Jiu-Jitsu. He gained a cult following through his YT channel and continues to gain fans through his love of the martial art.
Kurt has experienced a lot in the last few years, but the BJJ community has his back, and he’s making a comeback. Here’s what you need to know about BJJ black belt Kurt Osiander and his crazy grappling journey.
Who is Kurt Osiander?
Kurt Osiander is a BJJ black belt under Ralph Gracie with around 30 years of experience in the martial art. During the early 2010s, Kurt gained popularity within the BJJ community through his YouTube channel, Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week.
His channel gave Kurt a loyal following(myself included) of people who tuned in to see what techniques he’d show. Through his channel, Kurt was able to start doing seminars across the country, making instructionals, and being featured on different shows.
Kurt Osiander’s Entry Into BJJ
During his teen years, Kurt was friends with Cesar Gracie, a member of the famous Gracie family. After high school, Cesar served in the Marines and then traveled back to Brazil to continue training in Jiu-Jitsu.
When Cesar returned to California, he reunited with Kurt and told him about Jiu-Jitsu. After Cesar showed Kurt a move, he was intrigued and began training with Cesar.
Osiander Becomes One of Ralph Gracie’s First Students
After training with Cesar for a short time, Cesar moved to Stockton, California. However, his cousin Ralph Gracie had recently moved to the US and set up his school in San Francisco.
Kurt was one of Ralph’s first students and a loyal member of Ralph Gracie BJJ for decades. The intense training helped instill the old-school mindset, which Kurt took with him into his teaching.
Osiander spent his colored belt years working a construction job by day and training at night every day. His commitment finally paid off, and Ralph awarded him his black belt, and he began teaching full-time.
Kurt’s Fighting Career
Kurt Osiander received his black belt in his 30s and became one of the US West Coast’s top master competitors. He was an active Jiu-Jitsu competitor from 2003 to 2013 and won the Pan Championship six times.
Osiander also became a pro MMA fighter from 2007 to 2008. He won four of his five professional fights, all by finishes.
Osiander’s Move of the Week
In the early 2010s, Kurt created his own YouTube channel, where he posted Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week. Osiander has gained a loyal following of almost 90k subscribers over the last decade.
His fans tune in to see Kurt demonstrate great techniques with his no-nonsense yet funny presentation. Kurt always says his famous lines, like “You f***ed up a long time ago” and “Shut up and train.”
Through his YouTube channel, Kurt would appear on various podcasts and Budo videos’ Rolled Up series. Thanks to his YT channel, Kurt became a sort of cult figure in the BJJ community who was beloved.
The Teaching Philosophy of Kurt Osiander
Learning under Ralph Gracie, Kurt developed an old school mentality towards teaching Jiu Jitsu. Stressing the importance of fundamentals on his students while being tough on them.
He believes in the 10,000 hour rule, which he followed to develop his Jiu Jitsu technique. Not just put in 10,000 hours, but train hard to improve your ability.
When his students are training, he demands 100% and wants them to treat it like they’re in a fight. He even stresses to his students to go for the kill whenever they roll against him in training.
When questioned about his training methods, Kurt stated, “When you train snakes, you sometimes get bit.”
Kurt Featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown
Osiander reached the height of his fame after being featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. He spent a week training with Bourdain at Ralphs school and showed him around San Francisco.
Anthony also made a guest appearance on Kurt’s Move of the Week series, which you can check out above.
Osiander Parts Ways With Ralph Gracie BJJ Academy
In 2018, the BJJ community was shocked that Kurt Osiander had parted ways with Ralph Gracie’s school. It was a nasty divorce, with different sides having different stories of what went down.
Kurt claims he was fired by Joao Filipe “Jerry” Oliveira, who ran day-to-day operations. Adding that Jerry fired Kurt’s friend Jake Scovel while he was away on a seminar.
A Reddit user named Fickledeedo claimed to train around them and semi-corroborated Kurt’s story. Claiming Oliveira fired both Kurt and Jake and implemented his own professors to teach in their place.
This Reddit user also claimed that Ralph Gracie was selling the school to Gracie Barra. A Rumor that was proven false after Ralph assaulted GB co-head, Flavio Almeida.
Ralph, in an Instagram post, claimed that Kurt left on his own accord to start his own academy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk59laxFi2r/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c7c62e02-6247-4790-bdef-04afbbde854b
After the divorce, Kurt moved on to open his school, Empire Jiu-Jitsu.
Kurt’s Health Problems
Unfortunately for Osiander, the bad times would continue as he rams into some scary health problems. Initially, Kurt had gone missing for almost a week, and none of his friends or family knew where he was.
What happened was Kurt went into a diabetic shock in his home. For a week, Osiander would drift in and out of consciousness.
He was too weak to stand and could only crawl to his bathroom faucet to drink water. After a while, he was finally able to reach his phone and call for help.
Osiander would be rushed to the ER, where he found out that he had type 2 diabetes and an abscess on his kidney. The abscess was removed, and he had fluid drained from his body.
But when Kurt returned home, he had to go back to the hospital due to an infection from the catheter. On top of all of this, Osiander’s home was burglarized twice during his hospital stay.
Osiander Makes His Comeback
Thankfully, when the BJJ community heard about Kurt’s health scare and financial issues, they rushed to help. Over $70k was donated to Osiander to help him recover and pay his medical bills.
After a stint rehabbing from his health scare, Kurt was back on the mat teaching and training.
Hip Surgery & Comeback
As soon as Kurt recovered from his health problems, he found himself on the shelf again. Decades of training took their toll on Osiander’s body, and he had to get his hips replaced.
Luckily, Kurt is on the mend and back on the mat doing what he loves. He recently started uploading technique videos to his YouTube channel again.
Kurt Osiander’s Legacy
Kurt Osiander is really one of the best guys in the BJJ community. His passion for the martial art, brash personality and old school approach to teaching has given him a loyal following.
We’re pleased to see Kurt back on the mat, doing what he loves and teaching the next generation of grapplers. If you’re ever in San Francisco, visit Kurt and train at his world-class BJJ academy.
Also, if you aren’t already following Kurt on Instagram, give him a follow and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
