Scott Steer
Scott is an Australian Army combat veteran, serving in Afghanistan & Iraq. He had a very successful grappling career as a fighter before joining the Australian Defence Force back in January 2005, part of the Special Forces Direct Recruiting Scheme.
Starting Judo & Jiu-jitsu in 1987 he achieved a black belt (dan grade) in August 1999 & State, National & International champion spanning a 30 year period.
Scott has represented as a player & coach for Vic, WA, Qld, as well as the Aus/NZ National Judo teams. Scott was also a tackling coach for the Gold Coast Suns AFL team and a Sports Head Trainer. He is also a qualified Yoga Instructor, Kinetic Fighting instructor, KAPAP instructor, and Jissen Budo 4th Dan Black belt.
Daniel Brown
Daniel is a physiotherapist who also holds a Master of Medical Research and is currently completed a Ph.D., investigating combat sport-related head and neck injuries. With extensive experience as a physiotherapist working with veteran populations for the past 5 years, he has spent the past few years working alongside a multidisciplinary team managing complex physical and mental conditions through providing evidence-based therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation programs.
Daniel was previously a part of the physiotherapy team at the Gold Coast Titans NRL team and now consults as part of a health professional team for professional combat sports athletes.
Luke Meir
A life long martial artist on the Gold Coast, Luke began with traditional martial arts, Karate and Kung Fu before transitioning into more reality-based fighting systems. With over 20 years of martial arts experience, Luke has fought as both an amateur and professional around the world and has been awarded blackbelt, instructor level qualifications in BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing. He is also a qualified Kinetic Fighting instructor and Jissen Budo Black Belt.
Luke has nearly a decade of experience in health and fitness as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, working with veterans providing evidence-based therapeutic exercise programs for conditions ranging from cardiac disease to chronic musculoskeletal conditions to mental health and understands the unique circumstances faced by veterans.
Aaron Steffens – Coach
Since starting Judo at the age of 10, Aaron has progressed through the junior, and senior ranks. He has much competition experience including at the national level. At 21 Aaron joined the ADF as a communication technician, this enabled Aaron to travel and train at many clubs and compete around the country. In his 14 years of service, he saw many operations including 4 tours to the Middle East serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since leaving the military he is now a biomedical engineer installing and maintaining linear accelerators.
Has experienced many injuries during sport and in military service including dislocating both shoulders which threatened his martial arts journey. The Veteran grappling program has allowed Aaron to share his experience while continuing to practice and coach Judo/kata and further his BJJ experience.
Aaron Johnston CSM – Ambassador
Aaron’s service in the Australian Defence Force began in 1992 which includes active duty overseas. Aaron holds a number of roles in the ADF including, Combative Sergeant Major of the 7th Brigade Combative Centre, Vice President of the Australian Defence Force Martial Arts Association, and President of the 7th Brigade Integrated Combat Club.
Aaron holds Black Belts in Brazilian JiuJitsu, Jissen Budo, Freestyle Martial Arts, and Kwon Bop Do. Supporting the philosophy of Martial Arts, Aaron is researching how the principles of Martial Arts can be applied to life outside the sport, and he is currently focused on developing community programs utilising martial arts to assist our veteran’s community.
Dylan voncina – Ambassador
Dylan is a current serving Adjutant at Norforce, Larrakeyah Barracks, NT.
He started training in Traditional Japanese JuJitsu in 2006 at the age of 8, and Judo in 2011 aged 14. He attained his black belt in Japanese JuJitsu in 2013, and Judo in 2014. He has represented both Queensland and Australian in both of these sports, winning a bronze medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2013, as well as both Bronze and Gold medals at the Oceania Judo Championships in 2013 & 2014 for Judo, as well as multiple medals at the National Judo Championships from 2011-2015. In 2015 he represented Australia at the World Council of JuJitsu Organisations World Championships in Geneva, Switzerland where he won 5 gold medals, and was subsequently named fighter of the tournament. In 2017 while studying at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he decided to take up Brazilian JuJitsu. He has since attained his Blue Belt and continues to train in Darwin.