Professor Ernst holds the rank of 2nd degree Black Belt. He is Lynchburg’s only IBJJF Champion Black Belt – and is the founder of the B.E. Jiu Jitsu Team association. He has been training full time since 2005, in both Virginia and New York under instructors such as Victor McLeod and Ryan Clark. He received his Black belt from Tim Mannon in 2015. He remains an active competitor, and he is 2021 Pans No Gi Silver Medalist & 11x IBJJF Black Belt Open Champion. In addition to being the Professor at Forge, he is also the founding professor at Nomad Jiu Jitsu in Lynchburg, VA.