Ali Alex Saleh

Ali Saleh, known at the academy as Master Ali, is the head coach of A-Team Jiu-Jitsu in Garden Grove. He started his martial arts career in 1997 at age 19 and has trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for more than fifteen years and Muay Thai for a decade, competing in jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA. He is the highest-ranking American student of Leandro Vieira of the Vieira brothers, and the first American black belt of Team Checkmat. Saleh's focus is on teaching and building competitors. He is best known for developing one of the top kids' competition teams in the sport, producing multiple World and Pan American champions, and A-Team under his leadership has won North American, All American, Kids Pan American and World championship team titles. Coach CJ Herrera, a black belt under Saleh, serves as the academy's head coach alongside him.