Jonathan Whaley
Arts taught: Judo and Aikido
Jonathan began martial arts in 1993 when he found a flyer on the ground for Fayetteville Tae Kwon Do during career day at school. Seeking a higher discipline and control, he began practicing Tae Kwon Do and Aikido at that time. He has since trained a variety of combat arts including wrestling, fencing, and kendo before joining Sooner Judo Club in 2011.
Training Judo under Dr Joel Holloway and Steve Kenton, Jonathan has earned the rank of Nidan through USAJudo. After a self defense demonstration and with the encouragement of Kenton, Jonathan returned to Aikido to continue training. He has earned a Yondan in Aikido from the Kaze Uta Budo Kai training under Jack Burdett of the Stepwaters Dojo.
Jonathan has been active as a competitor in the state since 2011. In 2019, he began focusing on his coaching certification through USAJudo. As an instructor he seeks to make Judo more accessible to everyone whether they are focused on competition, kata, self defense, or are just looking for a fun activity for kids and families to participate in together.
Jonathan’s goals as the head instructor are that others may learn from his experiences and improve upon their own character and skill sets.
James Fuller
Arts taught: Aikido and Judo
James Fuller is a life-long martial artist, beginning his study of the arts with Taekwon-do in 1987. He has experience in several martial arts, with an emphasis on practical self-defense and the integration of techniques across arts.
In July 1999, he joined his current Taekwon-do school, where he began studying Ch’ang-Hŏn Taekwon-do. As of November 2025, he holds a Sixth Degree (Rokudan) black belt.
In October 2008, he joined his current Aikido school, where he began the study of Tomiki-ryu Aikido. As of July 2025, he holds a Sixth Degree (Rokudan) black belt from the Kaze Uta Budo Kai.
In December 2019, he joined Sooner Judo Club. As of March 2024, he holds a Second Degree (Nidan) black belt through USAJudo, and serves as an assistant judo instructor. Additionally, in January 2024, he began teaching Tomiki-ryu Aikido classes at Sooner Judo Club, serving as the senior aikido instructor.
In addition to the ranks listed above, he has experience in: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Modern Arnis, Bujinkan Taijutsu, and Xingyiquan. James’ goal is to continue to learn, and to help others learn and enjoy the martial arts.
Joshua Matanane
Arts taught: Jiu Jitsu
Joshua found his first martial art in junior high school through wrestling, building a solid grappling foundation that he carried throughout high school. This early experience sparked a lifelong curiosity for other martial arts. He began training in Kenpo Karate in 2000, then transitioned to Hung Gar Kung Fu in 2002 under Sifu Leturia, where he competed and won several tournaments over four years.
Drawn back to his affinity for grappling, Joshua began studying Japanese Jujutsu under Shihan William Thurston in Oklahoma City in 2004. Within eight years of dedicated training, he earned ranks in several forms of classical Jujutsu, including a Shodan in Kazoku Ryu and a Nidan in Toshu Kakuto Kempo Jujutsu.
Seeking to further explore ne-waza (ground techniques), he began training under Ty Gay of Redline Jiu-Jitsu in 2006. He quickly grew to love the randori and pressure testing inherent to the art, stepping onto the competition mats to actively test his skills in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Driven by a desire to train more intensely and share his knowledge, he was encouraged by Professor Roy Dean to open his own school, Quest Grappling, offering both Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. While operating his club, he also continued his own education, training in Judo under Sensei Greg West and earning his Shodan in 2025.
Today, the style Joshua teaches is a seamless blend of practical traditional Jujutsu and modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques and principles. He considers it his duty to pass on a complete, holistic expression of the art.
Nidan- Toshu Kakuto Kempo Jujutsu – Certified by Shihan William Thurston
Nidan- Brazilian Jiujitsu – Certified by Professor Roy Dean
Shodan- Judo – Certified by Sensei Greg West
Shodan- Kazoku Ryu Jujutsu – Certified by Shihan William Thurston
Gracie Jiujitsu – Instructor – Certified by Ryron & Rener Gracie
Progressive Fighting Systems – Rapid Assault Tactics Instructor – Certified by Sifu Paul Vunak
Certified USA Wrestling Coach
Assistant Instructors
John Carter
Arts taught: Judo
John has over 15 years of Judo experience, he started judo in 2007 at Missouri State University and joined Sooner Judo Club in 2019.
Andrew Thiel
Arts taught: Judo
Andrew Thiel is an assistant judo coach of shodan rank (via USAJudo). His introduction to martial arts began with Taekwondo around 1998 (Leopard Chung, then several years later, Master Kim, and more recently, Joseph Netty-Marbell). He got into judo in 2009 through an OU judo class taught by Steve Kenton, and continued at Sooner Judo club with Dr Holloway. He is learning aikido from fellow instructors at Sooner (primary: James Fuller) and Jack Burdett at Stepwaters Dojo. His martial arts focus leans towards self defense application, maintaining mobility and conditioning, and efficiency of movement.