Ventura County · Ojai
Self-defense & MMA in Ojai
Private MMA and self-defense sessions up the 33 in Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Oak View. Fitness with a purpose, in the valley.
Ojai has plenty of yoga. Places to learn to defend yourself are harder to find. Rex calls what he teaches "full contact yoga": breath, balance, flexibility and focus, with the one skill most practices leave out.
The valley is spread out and a drive from the nearest MMA gym, which is exactly why the coach coming to you makes sense. Train on your land, in your studio or under the oaks.
It is also longer than it looks on a map. Oak View and Mira Monte sit at the bottom end near the 33, Meiners Oaks spreads west toward Matilija, and Upper Ojai is up past Dennison Grade on its own entirely. Getting from one end to the other eats more of your evening than people expect, which is half the reason nobody here wants to drive down the hill for an hour of class.
So Rex drives up instead. It is about twenty five minutes from Ventura, straight up the 33 past Casitas Springs, and most days it is a pleasant drive. He can take a morning session in the valley and be back in town by lunch. Summer afternoons up here are no joke, so mornings and evenings are the smart bookings.
Space is rarely the problem in Ojai. People have land, barns, studios, a flat patch of shade under the oaks. If you already practise, you have the mat, the room and half the movement vocabulary. What is missing is the contact: what to do when somebody is actually holding on to you and not letting go.
Who Rex trains in Ojai
Yoga and movement people who want the martial side, ranch and rural families far from any gym, and teens in Oak View and Meiners Oaks.
Why people in Ojai don't start, and how Rex fixes it
The three things in the way
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Full contact yoga
You already know how to breathe and hold a position. The missing piece is contact: a grip, a takedown, a way out from underneath. Rex teaches it slow and hands on, and nobody spars until they ask to.
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Up the 33, to your land
About twenty five minutes from Ventura, past Casitas Springs and into the valley. Your property, a barn, a studio, or the grass at Libbey Park and Sarzotti Park. Book a morning or an evening and the summer heat stops mattering.
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Twenty five years of it
Three black belts: first-generation Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kenpo and Tang Soo Do. Coaching since 2008, pro debut at 42, and six fighters who reached The Ultimate Fighter and the UFC. All of it checkable, which is more than most wellness credentials manage.
Questions
Training in Ojai
Do I have to drive down the hill to train?
No. With private mobile sessions Rex drives up the 33 and you train in the valley, on your own schedule.
What is full contact yoga, actually?
It is what Rex calls his own approach, and he means it literally. Breath, balance, flexibility and focus, the same as any serious practice, plus the skill of handling another human being who is not cooperating. Same discipline, one more subject.
Can we train outside on my property?
Yes, and most Ojai sessions do. Flat ground, shade if you can find it, and Rex brings mats for anything that goes down. Book mornings or evenings through the summer. The valley gets hot enough to ruin an otherwise good session.
Rates are discussed personally with Coach Rex through Instagram direct message.
Ask Coach Rex
Questions from Ojai
Start here
Talk to Rex
first.
Every plan is built around the person, so the first step is a conversation, not a checkout page. Tell Rex what you're after and he'll tell you exactly what he'd do with you and when.
- Reply the same day, usually within the hour
- No contract, no sign-up form, no sales pitch
- Gloves, pads and mats provided for your first session
- Beginners welcome. So are fighters.
- Rates are discussed one on one with Rex in your Instagram DMs
Or just call or text805-759-1133
Send one line. Rex takes it from there.
- “I want to learn to defend myself”
- “I want to get in fighting shape”
- “I want to compete”
- “I have a point Muay Thai or boxing match and need a corner”
- “My kid needs somewhere to put that energy”
- “Women-only sessions, please”
Prefer email? Rexyrnr@gmail.com