Marc Barton

Marc is the founder and head instructor of Kingston Jiu Jitsu.

He has trained in martial arts for most of his life. He began at a young age with ninjutsu, before moving into Shotokan karate in his late teens. He trained in Shotokan for many years and was awarded his 2nd Dan black belt. In 1999, karate took him to Japan, where he spent three months training at the Shotokan Headquarters in Tokyo. That experience shaped how he thinks about discipline, repetition, and long-term skill development.

Marc discovered Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2006 after joining the Roger Gracie Academy in London. The art quickly became his main focus. After a decade of training, he was awarded his black belt at the Roger Gracie Academy in December 2016.

Marc is one of a small number of black belts personally mentored by Mauricio Gomes, who introduced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to the UK in the early 2000s and is the father of Roger Gracie. He was promoted to 3rd-degree black belt by Mauricio Gomes in December 2025.