Meet your coaches

Professor Charles Cherry, known to students simply as “Coach,” is a lifelong martial artist with more than 40 years of training across multiple disciplines. He began studying kung fu with his father at age 5 and went on to Tang Soo Do, Shito Ryu Karate, Western Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Filipino Martial Arts, Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

He wrestled at Norfolk State University and in the US Army, and was a two-time member of the US Judo team roster. He has coached youth wrestling, assisted at the high school level, and trained Wrestling, BJJ, Muay Thai and MMA competitors.

Off the mat, he is a disabled US Army veteran and a retired federal law enforcement officer with more than 28 years of service. He has trained federal agents in defensive tactics, firearms, active shooter response and use of force, and serves as an adjunct defensive tactics instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

He holds master’s degrees in Business and in Applied Behavior Analysis, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and uses that training to help students with autism, ADD and other developmental differences thrive on the mat. He wrote Bully Proofing Your Child, and in July 2024 he was inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame.