The Clever Team
Professor Bill Schwartz
Bill began Jiu Jitsu with Victor Mcleod in 2003, and received his black belt from Julio Ceaser Fernandez Nunes while in Rio De Janeiro in 2016. Bill has a strong interest in exotic carnivorous plants, which provides an opportunity to travel and train martial arts across the world.
With a strong background in teaching, Bill offers a unique approach to instruction that accommodates all levels of experience, body type, and ability.
Bill’s strong interest in Jiu Jitsu, carnivorous plants and chess is what inoculated the growth of Clever Combat into what it is today.
Professor Jeff Hart
Jeffrey Hart, black belt in BJJ, is a home-grown Albany jiu-jitsu practitioner who studied for fifteen years under Victor Mcleod. He competed successfully in both gi and no gi competition through the rank of purple belt before shifting his focus from the tournament scene to family life. As a juris doctor and a lifelong chess and strategy game enthusiast, Jeffrey views Jiu-jitsu through a philosophical, structural, and strategic lens. Rather than prioritizing memorization of a long list of isolated techniques, his class focuses on illuminating the hidden mechanisms and principles that make jiu-jitsu functional and effective.
Professor Adrian Uribe
Black Belt Clever Jiu Jitsu Coach
Coach Benjamin Anastasio
Mr. Anastasio recognized early on that balancing an active business and family life can be challenging. To create that balance, Mr. Anastasio became actively involved in Jiu Jitsu in 2005. He has trained in Brazil under five time world champion Daniel Moraes and the Gracie Humaita Competition Academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He maintains a strong connection to both and makes an annual pilgrimage to Brazil to update his training. Mr. Anastasio has studied intensely over a ten year period and has achieved the prestigious rank of Brown belt.
Lineage is an important part of earning a belt in jiu-jitsu. Learning from people who are connected to ‘the source’ makes a belt more legitimate. A belt awarded in Jiu Jitsu is always linked to the person one trained with. Mr. Anastasio’s Lineage has at its foundation, the root of Jiu Jitsu. His direct lineage includes Daniel Moraes, Victor McLeod, and Bill Schwartz.
Teachers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu are careful and very selective when it comes to awarding belts as the person then carries the teacher’s name with them, potentially for a long time depending on where and when they get their next belt.
His home academy is Clever Combat Jiu Jitsu in Albany, NY where he continues to train and teach Jiu Jitsu to students from a wide spectrum of ages and abilities.
Coach Gary
Clever Jiu Jitsu Coach
Coach Brendon
Clever Jiu Jitsu Coach
Coach Matt Muschett
Kids class Jiu Jitsu Coach.
Adult Muay Thai Coach
Coach Anthony Doria
Kids Class Jiu Jitsu Coach
Phil Bazicki
Manager, Wrestling and Jiu Jitsu Coach. Being in wrestling from a young age has shaped Phil’s views on life and teaching. Phil credits his ability to take in, retain and reiterate information to others, to grappling. Having coached all ages from 4 – 55+, he has evolved into a great teacher for all, helping further expand his knowledge of grappling.
Although he had a good competitive career, Phil chose to focus on school in college, rather than competing. After finishing college, Phil began training with Professor Schwartz.
Combining efforts with Professor Schwartz, Phil is proud to host and teach at one of the top martial arts training facilities in the Capital Region.