Profile: Chris Haueter

Chris Haueter is a dynamic Jiu Jitsu fighter, instructor, referee and illustrative artist. He is one of the first Americans to earn a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, cementing his place among the BJJ Dirty Dozen under the tutelage of the great Rigan Machado.

Haueter has been an avid competitor for many years,  where his aggressive style can be seen on YouTube,  and has also worked as a referee for Metamoris. In addition to Jiu Jitsu he has practiced karate, wrestling, Muay Thai, JKD (under Dan Inosanto) and Boxing. He is accredited with coining the term “Combat Base” in reference to the seated, one knee up position used when in someone’s guard, and his Californian school is also called “Combat Base“.

Haueter’s teaching style is very fundamentals based, it has a heavy emphasis on being the aggressor in a fight.

He is known for a few Jiu Jitsu colloquialisms that are revealing to his teaching style:

1. “ABC” = Always Be Choking. Haueter maintains that no matter what you’re working for in a particular move, if you can simultaneously threaten a choke it will make the move more effective.
2. The “Golden Rules of Grappling”
   • • Be the guy on top.
     • When on top, stay on top.
     • If you’re on the bottom, have a guard they shall not pass.
     • Never forget Rule #1.

   • “Think street, Train Sport, Practice Art” – Haueter maintains that one should always be rolling with an awareness of what your partner could be doing if the roll was a street fight, so that you know what moves would be effective in that situation. Though he emphasizes the importance of thinking street, he also enjoys the sport aspect of the game, and is open to exploring and creating new moves to experiment with what is possible in jiu jitsu.

I  had the great fortune of attending one of Chris’s seminars. I walked away from that seminar with a new understanding of some fundamental jiu jitsu principles that I was able to immediately apply to my game. His aggressiveness while standing, always “bothering” the gi, and always looking for chokes and angles were explained in a way that made a lot of sense to me. I would say of all the great seminars I’ve attended, this is the one that stuck with me the most. In addition to the techniques he showed, Haueter also had an endless treasure trove of funny stories to tell, and was an all around great guy to hang out with. Having a gregarious personality, he hung around long after the seminar was over to talk with the participants, answer additional questions and take pictures with the students. Anytime he is teaching within driving distance you can bet that I will be there.

Chris is also a great artist, check out this video showcasing his skills.

 

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