Elijah James McCaughen

Elijah McCaughen is the founder and head instructor of Lion Up Martial Arts Academy in North Port, Florida, and has spent more than three decades in martial arts. He began in 1993 with Karate and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, earning a brown belt, then devoted many years to Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, earning 5th Dan after testing in Japan in 2004. Since 2004 he has also trained extensively in Russian Systema under Vladimir Vasiliev in Toronto. In 2009 McCaughen became a police officer with the Ontario Provincial Police, and in 2012, seeking an effective grappling system for law enforcement and self-defense, he began Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Loyalist Martial Arts Academy. He earned his BJJ black belt in 2022. His teaching combines his martial arts and law enforcement background with a focus on a positive, family-oriented training environment.