(Schultz [far left] and Irvin [third from left], alongside other members of Team Lloyd Irvin. Photo via JordonBJJ.com)
When two students of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guru Lloyd Irvin Jr. were accused of the brutal rape of a female teammate this past New Year’s Eve, it kicked off a chain reaction of bad publicity for Irvin, which included renewed attention in his own connection to a 1989 gang-rape, the loss of some of his top students and affiliates, and the perception that Irvin was trying to spin the entire ugly situation to his financial benefit. And unfortunately for Irvin, the fallout isn’t over yet.
The latest member of Team Lloyd Irvin to end his association with his former coach is BJJ rising star and educator Jordon Schultz, who trained with Irvin for over a year. Six months into his association with Irvin, Schultz was brought on for an unpaid mentorship in which he would be trained to do Internet marketing. As it turned out, Schultz’s specific duties were to create websites that would bury unflattering search-results about Lloyd Irvin’s past connections with the aforementioned sexual assault cases. Recently, something even more disturbing came to Schultz’s attention, which spurred his exit from the team.
Here’s the tl;dr version: On multiple occasions over the span of a couple months, Irvin had allegedly asked a female student to do “sexually inappropriate things” with Irvin, and questioned her loyalty and dedication if she hesitated. (According to Schultz, Lloyd Irvin trains his students to be “androids” — following every command given to them by their “programmer” — and demands confidentiality in regards to anything that is privately said between him and his students.) Once Irvin progressed to outright propositions of sexual intercourse, the female student broke down and confided in Jordon Schultz what had happened. Schultz is now sharing her story to help prevent similar situations from occurring. In addition, Schultz claims that Irvin often slept in the same bed with other female students during trips for jiu-jitsu tournaments, and asked them to massage him alone in his hotel room.
Jordan’s complete statement is below, via Bullshido.net…
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Recently a fellow team member came to me she was burdened and confused. She sought me out as a confidante a person she could trust. She had been battling with a situation morally inside her head. She explained the details of secret interactions she had with her martial arts instructor and employer.
She started with the question “Are you suppose to do anything to become a World Champion?” I replied, “Yes, there are sacrifices you must make to become a World Champion and you are going to have to do some things that other people won’t do to become a World Champion”. She began to cry as she explained.
She said that when she first joined the team she was given a set of rules. She was told exactly how she should act. Everyone on the team follows the principle of the Android. An Android does what they are commanded with no question and no hesitation. Whatever the Programmer says the Android does. According to the Martial Arts instructor this correlates to Martial Arts if the coach gives a commanded and the athlete hesitates or questions for a moment it can cost them the match. That is the importance of being an Android.
Second rule, your word is your bond. If you do not keep your word you are a liar. If you do not follow what you say you are a faker. If you do not keep your word you are definitely not serious about what you are trying to accomplish.
Third rule, confidentiality whatever you talk about with your instructor stays only between you and your instructor it is a form of trust. She explained the Instructor has been deceived and hurt a lot in the past so it was difficult to prove your trust and loyalty to your instructor.
When first coming to the team her instructor automatically judged her, told her that “I have a weird feeling that you are lying and you do not want to be a world champion, you came for alterior motives”
I noticed that the woman was always getting scolded or on thin ice with my martial arts instructor. She always seemed to be messing up tasks that were given to her as her job. She always seemed afraid that she was going to be kicked off the team and sent home. Every team member that comes from another state can be kicked off the team and sent home at any time. Any member of the team will confirm this. This is a consequence that looms over all the athletes.
At one point I thought she really was being sent home.
She had been trying to tell me, and others. She asked us hypothetical questions like “would you do ANYTHING to be a world champion” and she’d tell me she did some things she wouldn’t normally do but her instructor asked her to do it and he said she was proving he can trust her. She explained the things she did for her instructor was a test to see if she would really do anything to be a world champion. That she would keep her word to him and do anything he asked her to do. And she would do it without hesitation to prove her loyalty and that she was an android. I always thought it was something different, like she messed with someone’s credit card or something but I was so wrong.
Her instructor would both ask and instruct her to do sexually inappropriate things with him. Re-affirming his instructions with things like “I thought you said you wanted to be a world champion, and you said you would do anything I tell you to do without hesitation”. He would make her repeat to him over and over that she loved him like a script.
If she ever hesitated or questioned he would call her a liar and say that she didn’t really want to become a world champion and she wasn’t serious about her goals.
This activity went on for a couple months and then he asked her is she would give herself to him sexually, and if she would have sexual intercourse with him.
That’s when she broke down and came to me she was so wrapped up and confused about the tests and hazing she came to me for guidance. And I am happy she did so that nothing else bad happened to her.
What he has asked of her and made her do is disgusting and abusive. I am so grateful she came to me and I was able to open her eyes. To explain to her that it was wrong, that she did not have to do those things to prove she really wanted to be a world champion.
I think, but cannot confirm that there are other victims on the team. I would see the instructor sleeping in the same hotel room in the same bed at tournaments with other female teammates. Multiple teammates have also been called to his room to give him massages alone together with him in a hotel room, which I always thought was a little inappropriate considering he is there Martial Arts Instructor.
I trained with the team for over a year. 6 months into my stay there I was offered a unpaid mentorship as his internet assassin, and I would be trained to do internet marketing.
The rules on the team were “no inter team dating” and “you always follow instructions 100%” now that I think about it, both rules together breed the perfect environment for the martial arts instructor to take advantage of his female students sexually. Dangle the dream of being a world champion in front each member of the team to control their every move.
The instructor never did anything to me, the training environment was not the healthiest at times, but I was never harmed. And I cannot speak for other male members, but each has their own story. In addition several of my teammates have left the environment within hours of hearing the story I told them. This confirms that each of them had their own suspicions of what was going on.
I was in charge of a project to make several websites, with the soul purpose of covering up the google search results of keywords.
I now realize that it was wrong to do that. And people need to be informed before they choose to associate with the instructor.
I apologize to the female team member and the other female team members I have spoken about. I had to break her trust and warn others about the situation. She confided in me and was not ready to tell anyone about it. But as my moral responsibility the world needs to know. And I encourage anyone who has been affected or controlled by Lloyd Irvin to speak out.
In closing, I have left the team for good, I have ended all ties with team lloyd Irvin and will never have anything to do with it again in any capacity. I came to the team thinking it would be the best thing for me, plenty of good training partners, hard training, and to learn marketing. I was a fool, and I apologize to anyone that may have been affected by my actions while on the team.
Jordon Schultz