About Us
Welcome to Cortez Full Circle Martial Arts
"We welcome you to scroll through our website, FB and IG pages and if you feel this is a good fit for you, we welcome you to take the next steps and reach out to schedule a Free Trial Class. We opened our doors to our first academy in 2001 in Manteca, CA. At that time, we only taught Mitose’s Kosho-Ryu Kenpo. In 2008, we added the Brazilian Art of Jiu-Jitsu and relocated to a larger facility. We always look for ways to accommodate our students, so when they requested Muay Thai, we delivered by adding this program in 2018 at our much larger facility. We have now also added Youth Wrestling and an MMA Class. We invite you to stop by and check out our 4500 sq ft facility in Lathrop and see what all the fuss is about!
"See YOU on the Mat!“
Meet Our Staff
About Jason and Lillie
We have owned and operated our academy for 20+ years. During this time frame, we have seen many students come and go. We are proud to have made a positive difference in their lives.
Our motto has always been and continues to be, “To Positively Change Lives ..One Student At A Time.”
About Professor/Sensei Jason Cortez
Professor/Sensei Jason Cortez, is the owner and head instructor at Cortez Full Circle Martial Arts. He has been in martial arts since the young age of 10 years old. Sensei Jason is a 3rd Dan Black Black in Kosho-Ryu Kenpo under Soke Thomas Barro Mitose with several Black Belts under him, including all 3 of his children.
He received his Black Belt from Soke Mitose in 2001. Professor Jason Cortez, is currently a Second Degree BLACK BELT in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He received his Black Belt in 2016 under Master Charles Gracie. He continues to train with the Charles Gracie Team at least 2 times per week.
As a Kosho-Ryu practitioner, he has always been interested in utilizing pressure points and small joint manipulations as a form of street self defense and pressure point fighting. By combining this with the concept of “fulcrum, lever, base” he has come up with his own unique style of teaching that he applies to both his Kenpo and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Classes.
About Professor Jason Murillo
Professor Jason Murillo started training jiu jitsu after signing his children up and watching them train. As an avid fitness and amateur bodybuilding competitor he found jiu jitsu as a unique challenge where strength, muscles didn’t matter as much. Professor implements his nutrition background as a Registered Dietitian (BS, Food and Nutrition Science) and learnings from bodybuilding to help with his jiu jitsu training.
He teaches the morning classes and assists with other classes as needed. He has been training Jiu Jitsu for almost 12 years and is the first student of Sensei Jason Cortez to be promoted to a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. He was promoted in 2019. When not teaching or training jiu-jitsu, Professor Murillo can be found hanging out with his wife and kids at golf or baseball.
About Coach Samuel Merz
About Coach Eric Cortez
Coach Eric Cortez has grown up in the martial arts. His father, Professor Bernard Cortez (Kajukenbo), taught him his foundation and fundamentals. This solid foundation allowed him to advance very quickly to the rank of Blue Belt in Kosho-Ryu Kenpo, under Thomas Barro Mitose. At that point in his life, he moved away for a career as an entertainer which eventually landed him in Las Vegas, NV. Once in Las Vegas, he began training in Muay Thai under world renown Master Toddy. This continued for several years.
Now that he is back in California, he looks forward to sharing his knowledge, skill and love for the martial arts with all of you.
About Coach Steven Osuna
Coach Steven Osuna is a San Jose Native. For the past 25 years, Osuna has been a practitioner of the following arts: Boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing , and Jiu-jitsu. In 1993 Osuna began his boxing career, earning, 9 victories, 1 defeat, and two Junior Olympic Gold Medals.
During Osuna’s nineteen-year tenure as an Investigator in the Private Sector, he was introduced to the Academy of Self Defense (ASD) Santa Clara, CA. In 2005, Osuna began his journey under the renown coaches- Kirian Fitzgibbons and Jivoni Jordan. During this time, ASD “Art of War Fight Team” and “ASD Fight Team” was affiliated with Pat Miletich (First Welterweight UFC Champion) Fight System, world class -Master Toddy’s Muay Thai, International Fight League(IFL), Strikeforce Kickboxing, Strikeforce MMA, World Kickboxing Association (WKA), International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), International Muay Thai Federation (IMF), and the United States Muay Thai Team.
As a competitive fighter, Osuna competed in several fight venues including- Stikeforce Kickboxing. Osuna has been a licensed coach under the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF)- issued by the State of California. Osuna has respectfully served as a Referee for Battle of The Badges- Alameda, in support of Health and Safety to Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters as they competed in the respective venue. In 2013, his jiu-jitsu training began at Guerilla Jiu-jitsu under the well-respected Sensei’s Matt Darcy and Dave Camarillo for approximately four years.
As a resident of Central Valley, Osuna will be continuing his growth and advancing his skill level at Cortez Full Circle Martial Arts. “It is my Privilege and Honor to share my knowledge and experiences with my students, teammates, Community, and staff”. Sa-wa-dee-ka
About Coach Joe Patton II
Coach Joe Patton II has been training grappling since 2014. He first started his training through High School Wrestling, which he immediately developed a love for. Joe wrestled Varsity for 4 years and was a 3X Division and 1X Sections Qualifier. After high school, Joe wanted to give back to the sport that had done so much for him. He began coaching Youth wrestling in 2019. He has been assistant coaching with the East Union High School program since 2021. Aside from wrestling, Coach Joe has been training in the art of Jiu-Jitsu under Sensei Jason Cortez since 2021 and received his Blue Belt in 2022.
He is an active competitor and looks to apply his wrestling experience in jiu jitsu competition. Coach Joe’s goal is to develop the techniques, discipline mindset and athleticism of his athletes so that they can excel in high school wrestling and any other sports/arts that they may choose to compete in. He likes to teach the techniques of wrestling specific to each individual athlete so that they may utilize their background, body type and athletic abilities in order to be a successful grappler.
About Coach Joe Patton
Coach Joe Patton has been training wrestling since the late 1990’s. He also studied Kung Fu and kickboxing in the early 2000’s. Coach Joe coached his first elementary school wrestling team while training in wrestling in high school. Coach Joe has dedicated his time over the past decade mentoring the local youth in our community. He has served as an executive board member for Little League Baseball for the past 5 years. He is a Certified USA Wrestling Coach since 2018.
Coach Joe’s goal is to have a fun and safe place to teach the fundamentals of wrestling while preparing the athletes for the next level of competition. He enjoys teaching the athletes to push themselves mentally and physically to provide the confidence needed to excel in difficult situations.
About Coach Jose Perez
Jose Da Bullet Perez Amateur kickboxing 2-1 Amateur MMA 3-2-1 Pro MMA 2-2 Coach Bullet Started kickboxing in 2006 with champion Travis Johnson and World kickboxing, and Strikeforce champion Cung Le. After 4yrs, he decided to move into MMA where he trained under champion Anthony Antdawg Figueroa and his brother Angel Ko Figueroa for 13yrs. He then started his Amateur and Pro MMA career. Coach Bullet has also had the pleasure of training with Muay Thai master, Champion Rudi Ott, who he learned Muay Thai from.
Coach Jose Da Bullet Perez has fought in some great promotions including Dragon house MMA and Bellator MMA. He is eager to pass down his experience and knowledge to the young MMA practitioners from the academy.
About Sensei Aysia Cortez
Sensei Aysia grew up in the dojo from the age of 4 years old. She began her training at age 7 under the instruction of Sensei Jason Cortez in the art of Kosho-Ryu Kenpo. She received her Black Belt in Kenpo at the age of 17. She also received her Blue Belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Aysia attended Life University in Marietta, GA with a wrestling scholarship. She achieved All American Collegiate Wrestler Status during her tenure at Life. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and is currently a Manager at Amazon in Florida.
Aysia currently trains at American Top Team, Coconut Creek, FL. Aysia is a Professional Fighter who has just signed to Bellator MMA. We look forward to watching her career blossom but more importantly we look forward to her visits to the academy where she always finds time to get on the mat and teach as many classes as she can.
About Jeff DeHart
Jeff started training taekwondo at west coast world martial arts when he was 7 years old. In 2009 Jeff enlisted in the Marine Corps where he expanded his training with the Marine Corps martial arts program where he obtained his black belt. After separating from the service Jeff found Cortez Full Circle Martial arts academy in 2019 and began training in Jiu-Jitsu under Sensei Jason Cortez. He has competed and medaled in multiple Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Jeff likes to use his background in weightlifting to implement strength and explosiveness while also being technical with his movements. Jeff is now a brown belt and he teaches the 6am Gi and No Gi classes. The response to his teaching skills in those early AM classes has been amazing. If you’re an early riser, you are going to want to catch at least one of his classes.
