
Tommy Costa
Head Instructor

Randy Jones
BJJ Instructor
Randy Jones is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and Okinawan Kenpo Karate Black Belt. A lifelong martial artist, Randy started training in the martial arts when he was five years old. His initial goal was to become a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Randy first trained at Don Garon’s Pennsylvania Karate Academy in McMurray, PA where he was exposed to a wide variety of martial arts including Karate, Muay Thai, Kali/Escrima, Jun Fan, and Combat Submission Wrestling. After achieving his Black Belt in Okinawan Kenpo Karate, Randy began to teach as an assistant instructor at the academy during high school. While attending college at Carnegie Mellon University, Randy began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was one of the founding members of the CMU Grappling Club, earning his blue belt in 2006. Relocating to the Washington, DC area after college, Randy began training with Tony Passos in Sterling, VA. Randy trained with Tony for eight years, earning his Purple, Brown, and eventually Black Belt under Tony. Now having moved back to the Pittsburgh area, Randy is honored to be able to share some of his knowledge at High Ground Jiu-Jitsu. Randy remains an active BJJ competitor in the Master 1 Black Belt division.

Dave Marghella
Jiu-Jitsu Coach
Dave Marghella is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. He has been training at High Ground Jiu-Jitsu since we opened our doors in 2009. Dave teaches our BJJ Foundations class on Monday evenings. His dedication to the art of Jiu-Jitsu is unparalleled. He is an intelligent and articulate instructor that specializes in simplifying the complex movements of BJJ so that new students can grasp them with ease. Dave is also small business owner and much of his family trains here with us, including his son and brother. Also an active competitor, some of Dave’s recent accomplishments include: 1st place 2016 NAGA Pittsburgh, 1st place 2016 IBJJF Miami Open, and he is also 2-1 as a pro Black Belt with the Fight 2 Win Pro organization.

Greg Olsen
MMA Instructor
Greg Olsen is our resident MMA and Kickboxing coach and BJJ brown belt. A lifelong fitness enthusiast; he competed in amateur power lifting contests through his teens and 20’s; daily cross training with surfing, ocean swims and trail running. His first venture into martial arts was Kempo karate.Years later, Greg tried mixed martial arts (MMA) and has been hooked ever since. Intensive training began at Und1sputed in San Diego, Ca. and progressed over the last decade to the preeminent southern California MMA fighting school; San Diego Combat Academy. The focused training regimen of legendary 7 time WBO feather weight champion Priest ‘Tiger’ Smalls and BJJ Black Belt & Vale Todo fighter Manolo ‘Hurricane’ Hernandez, UFC fighter Liz Carmouche. Greg has competed in kickboxing and BJJ over his career and has been with our team at High Ground Jiu-Jitsu for nearly a decade. His classes are a maintsay at our academy!
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