Chris Haueter, an American Original by Brian Wilson

Who is Chris Haueter?

Chris Haueter is a name that resonates deeply within the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) community. As a 6th degree black belt and one of the notorious “Dirty Dozen” (the first twelve non-Brazilians to earn black belts in BJJ), Chris has carved out a significant place in the history of this martial art and has dedicated his life to its never ending pursuit.

I first heard about Chris Haueter through my friend and Rickson Gracie student, Jack Taufer. I then remember seeing him in the documentary SoCal Roll. So, this is early to mid 2010s. I would see him teach an occassional seminar with Jack and show up in various videos periodically, but this still in a time where there was no BJJ Fanatics and there was not as much of an abundance of jiu-jitsu content from members of the Dirty Dozen out for free on YouTube. 

My First Seminar with Chris Haueter 

I attended my first seminar with Chris at a training camp being held at Inferno Martial Arts in Bentonville, Arkansas. Haueter taught a seminar which began with a discussion of standing base and led into a series of drills and attacks from knee on belly and side control. 

This is where I first learned several classic Haueter terms such as "meat computer", "lizard brain", and "snot box." I had a great time at this event, and when I tell people about this seminar, I often refer to it as a "performance." 

Here is a video of one of the techniques from Knee on Belly that Haueter taught at this seminar.

Training in "Haueter's Garage" (AKA "Combat Base") 

In June of 2023, I took a trip to California with my friends Chris Burns and Jack Taufer for a week of training. The day after I got there, I drove over from Long Beach where Jack and I were staying around 6:00am for a 7:00am training session with Chris Burns, Joe Mendoza, and our friend Nori. This was more of a prep session on what not to mess up before the group private session with Rickson. I was on Arkansas time, and I was awake early and arrived in Redondo Beach for training over an hour early. While driving around looking at the ocean, I coincidently spot Chris Burns jumping into the Ocean. We linked up and trained all morning at Haueter's and at our friend Brandon's airport hangar. 

Group Private Lesson with Rickson Gracie 

Chris was at my first group private lesson with Rickson Gracie. I'll never forget Rickson showing a north-south kimura defense to us and looking over and seeing Chris visibly get his mind blown and say, "it's the dialectic!" A special part of this memory was also getting to roll with Haueter as well as Chris Burns from the North-South kimura before Master Rickson went over the escapes with us. 

Learn the "Dialectic Kimura Escape" and subscribe to the Forca Martial Arts YouTube Channel for martial arts and fitness content uploaded regularly.  

First Private Lesson with Chris Haueter  

My first private lesson with Chris came after I had already arrived in SoCal for the group private lesson with Master Rickson. Haueter was out of town when we all first got to Cali and I wasn't able to talk to him about a lesson but through harassing my good friend Chris Burns, was able to get things set up and Chris and I were able to get a session in literally on my way to the airport. 

Jack was able to be at the first part of this lesson but had to catch an uber to the airport for his flight. Working off a growing interest I had re-developed from his first seminar, I asked him to teach me some of his favorite techniques from knee on belly. He showed me several things I have been able to add to my game.

Second Private Lesson with Chris Haueter 

My second private lesson with Chris Haueter was special because I got to share the experience with my coach and fifth degree black belt, Danny Dring of Team LDMA. Dring and I were both in SoCal for a group private lesson with Master Rickson and were able to get some face time with Chris where we worked on base, connection, grip fighting, and takedowns. After the lesson, Haueter answered questions and gave us a tour of Combat Base HQ and told us stories about his art, jiu-jitsu, and a lifetime of martial arts. 

In this video, I talk about some of the base and grip fighting concepts Dring and I worked on during our private lesson with Chris.

Listen to Chris Haueter discuss his life on the mats and his training philosophies with Brian Wilson on Life Unraveled Podcast. 

American Originals and Pioneers of Jiu-Jitsu in the United States Chris Haueter and Richard Bresler are both featured in this classic jiu-jitsu documentary over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Southern California.

"A documentary we put together following a short trip to California in late 2014. We met some amazing and inspiring people in the short time that we were there and this film is a slight glimpse into the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle in Southern California. We hope that at some point in the future we will have the opportunity to visit more schools and places in the state and put together a more in depth film. Hope you enjoy it. A collaboration film between Eat Films & Progress Jiu-Jitsu"