Meet the Team

  • A man with a beard and short hair, wearing a black martial arts gi, standing against a dark blue wall.

    Jesse Walker

    HEAD COACH

    CO-OWNER

    Jesse has been coaching since 2007 and co-founded Rough Hands in 2017. He is a black belt under 6th-degree black belt, Chris Haueter. Jesse is also a Krav Maga black belt, a featured TEDx speaker, and has an academic background in psychology, learning, and developing expertise. SafeSport Certified

    See Jesse’s Media Appearances

    Jesse is available for Private Instruction. Contact him.

  • A smiling woman with brown hair in a braid, wearing a maroon martial arts uniform, standing against a dark blue background.

    Shelby York

    YOUTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR

    CO-OWNER

    Shelby has been coaching since 2016 and co-founded Rough Hands in 2017. She is a BJJ Blue Belt, a Krav Maga brown belt, and a 500 E-RYT YACEP yoga instructor. She has a diverse background in dance, Thai boxing, BJJ, wrestling, Shamanic arts, & Krav Maga.

    Shelby is available for Private Instruction. Contact her.

  • A man with short brown hair and a beard wearing a blue martial arts gi standing against a dark purple wall.

    Derek Jones

    COACH

    Derek is a 2nd degree BJJ black belt under Bruce Shepherd and has been coaching since 2019.  A long-time educator, Derek holds a PhD in Philosophy and has taught in academic, military, and business settings.  He has published and given public talks on embodied cognition and the cognitive science of combat sports.  Derek joined Rough Hands in 2025. 

  • A smiling man with a beard and mustache, wearing a white jiu-jitsu Gi and a black rash guard underneath, standing against a dark background.

    Kettlebell Rob

    COACH

    BJJ purple belt, Coach Robert has been a certified Kettlebell instructor through the IKO since 2021 receiving instruction under Steve Cotter, Sergei Rudnev, Sergei Merkulin, Ivan Markov, and the legendary Denis Vasilev. He has competed in order to receive his certification and has been certified as a Level III coach in Kettlebell Sport.

  • Jeff Brown

    Jeff Brown

    COACH

    Jeff has been involved in martial arts for over 20 years. He has black belt rank in Japanese jujutsu, karate and aikido. He started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2010 but could not find a school that was a good fit. In 2018 he found Rough Hands and has been training with Coach Jesse Walker since that time. He is presently a purple belt and helps out with our foundations classes.

  • A middle-aged man with a shaved head and light facial hair standing against a blue background, wearing a black martial arts gi.

    Jim Mahanes

    COACH

    Jim has studied martial arts since he was 14 years old. He began his study of Japanese-based ju jitsu in 2000 and holds the rank of fifth-degree Black Belt. Jim also holds a black belt ranking in Wado Ryu Karate and Chito Ryu Karate, a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and was a high school wrestler.

    Jim is the head coach on Rough Hands JJJ

  • Shane Wallen

    Shane Wallen

    COACH

    Shane has been training with Jesse since 2015 and coaching since 2016. He has a background in wrestling, boxing, and Krav Maga. He will round out the “think street” mindset by adding some standup tools.

  • Sarah Heimbrock

    Sarah Heimbrock

    ASSISTANT YOUTH COACH

3048 Bardstown RD

Louisville, KY 40205

Phone
(502) 791-9970