My Jiu Jitsu Story

I’m Peter Hulce, a 2nd-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu.

I was born in Kona, Hawaii, and my family moved to Southern Oregon before I turned two years old, and I’ve called this place home ever since.

I came to jiu jitsu at 13 years old. At the time, my parents simply thought it would be good for me to have a disciplined physical outlet and a healthy place to direct my energy. So I started training at Higs Performance Academy in Central Point, Oregon.

Back then, the academy was a little bit of everything. We trained Tae Kwon Do, no-gi grappling, and even parkour. Over the next several years, I immersed myself completely in movement and martial arts. I earned my black belt in Tae Kwon Do while competing successfully at local tournaments, but it was jiu jitsu that eventually captured my full attention.

When we began training traditional gi jiu jitsu, something immediately clicked for me.

The complexity, creativity, timing, and problem-solving aspects of the art fascinated me. Every round felt different. Every training session revealed another layer to explore. It challenged me physically and mentally in a way I had never experienced before.

At 15 years old, I progressed quickly through the youth ranks, eventually competing in the adult white belt division as a green belt and winning gold. Shortly after my 16th birthday, I was promoted to blue belt. Over the following years, I continued training, competing, teaching, and slowly deepening my understanding of the art through each stage of progression from blue belt to purple, brown, and eventually black belt at 21 years old.

Competition was always an important part of my development. It taught me discipline, composure, resilience, and how to remain calm under pressure. But over time, I realized the deeper value of jiu jitsu extended far beyond medals, belts, or tournament results.

Jiu jitsu shaped the way I think.
The way I handle adversity.
The way I communicate.
The way I learn.
The way I relate to other people.

To me, jiu jitsu is far more than a martial art. It is a lifelong practice that develops the body, sharpens the mind, and strengthens the heart.

Today, as a husband and father of three, I value balance, intentionality, and meaningful community more than ever before. Those values became a major part of why I created PHD Jiu Jitsu.

What began as a simple place to train with friends gradually became something much deeper: a calm and intentional training environment where people can grow, challenge themselves, build meaningful relationships, and experience the lifelong practice of jiu jitsu together.

PHD was never created to be the biggest academy.

It was created to be a thoughtful place to train.

A place where people feel welcomed.
A place where training partners become friends.
A place where serious training and genuine community can exist together.

Because after more than 16 years on the mats, I’ve come to believe that the best jiu jitsu environments are not only defined by technical skill, but by the culture, humility, and heart of the people within them.

That is the kind of place I hope to continue building for years to come.