Lachlan Sven McDonald Giles (born 17 June 1986) is an Australian

grappler Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Should th ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor and coach. He is a bronze medalist in both the

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tournaments in the world ...

and

World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship is a no- gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the IBJJF commonly held at California State University in Long Beach, California. It was most recently held December 11-14, 2024 in ...

Early life and education

Lachlan Giles was born on 17 June 1986, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. Growing up he was a huge fan of

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean Martial arts, martial artist and actor. With a Jet Li filmography, film career spanning more than forty years, Li is re ...

's martial arts movies and trained in

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

initially. One year into his training he saw a tape of

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on Novembe ...

which was won by

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

. After watching the event, he was convinced that BJJ was the best form of self defense and shortly afterwards joined a BJJ academy to focus on it. Giles’ first BJJ instructor was Tyrone Crosse who trained Giles from white to

purple belt Purple Belt may refer to the following: *Purple belt, a rank in martial arts (see Kyū) **Purple belt (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), a level in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system *A road in the Allegheny County belt system#Purple_Belt, Allegheny County ...

. However Giles suffered from a severe knee injury and was forced to stop his training for a year. When he returned, the academy had a new coach, John Simon. Simon promoted Giles to brown belt and in 2012 promoted him to black belt. Giles attended

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

where he earned a Bachelor of

Physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

in 2008 and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Physiotherapy in 2016.

Grappling career

In 2015, Giles competing at Eddie Bravo Invitational 5 where he came third place after defeating Nathan Orchard and

Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in the Bantam ...

before losing to

Garry Tonon Garry Lee Tonon (born September 12, 1991) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and has won titles at ADCC submission wrestling championship, IBJJF World and Pan Americ ...

Armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

. In 2017, Giles competed at the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship where he came third place after being defeated by

AJ Agazarm AJ Agazarm (born July 26, 1990) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. A multiple-time champion in colored belts, Agazarm is a black belt world no-gi champion, Pan American no-gi champion, Brazilian national no-gi ch ...

by points in the semi-finals. In the 2019 ADCC World Championship, Giles defeated

Kaynan Duarte Kaynan Casemiro Duarte (born 24 January 1998) is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. Duarte is a four-time champion at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship and two-time champion at th ...

and Patrick Gaudio before being submitted by

Gordon Ryan Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American Submission wrestling, submission wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, considered by many to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his many accomplishments. Ryan is a seven-time ...

. Giles defeated Mahamed Aly by

leglock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the human leg, leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglock ...

to earn a bronze medal in the absolute category. Giles' achievement was considered notable as he was much smaller than his opponents who came mainly from the Heavyweight divisions and outweighed him by around 20 kg. In 2020, Giles made a post on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

stating those who have won medals while using PEDs should relinquish those titles. Gordon Ryan made a response accusing Giles of using PEDs. After some back and forth, Giles challenged Ryan that he would bet $500,000 of his own money against just $5,000 of Ryan's that he would pass a drug test right now. Ryan did not respond to the challenge. Giles teaches BJJ as well. He was the coach of fellow Australian grappler, Craig Jones whom he awarded a black belt in 2016. He will now serve as the head coach for Team Australasia at the Craig Jones Invitational 2 in 2025.

Grappling competition achievements

* 3rd place ADCC World Championship (2019) * 3rd place

World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship is a no- gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the IBJJF commonly held at California State University in Long Beach, California. It was most recently held December 11-14, 2024 in ...

(2019) * 3rd place Eddie Bravo Invitational 5 (2015) * 2nd place UAEJJF Grand Slam Abu Dhabi (2018)

Instructor lineage

Carlos Gracie Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França a ...

→

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * He ...

→

Carlos Gracie Jr Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie Jr. (born January 17, 1956) is a Brazilian 8th-degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, instructor, and coach. A member of the Gracie family, he is the son of Carlos Gracie, one of the founders of Br ...

→

Jean Jacques Machado Jean Jacques Machado (born February 12, 1968) is a Brazilian Jiu jitsu practitioner. He is one of the five Machado brothers ( Carlos, Roger, Rigan and John). Machado is nephew of BJJ co-founder and Grandmaster Carlos Gracie, and lear ...

Rigan Machado Rigan Machado (born 2 July 1966) is a Brazilian-American martial arts instructor. He is an 8th degree red and White belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his rank under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is a former Pan American Champion (1996, 1997 weight a ...

→ John Will → John Simon → Lachlan Giles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Lachlan 1986 births Living people Martial artists from Melbourne Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian submission wrestlers Australian male sport wrestlers People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Submission grapplers La Trobe University alumni Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportsmen