James began his martial arts journey in 1987 at the age of 10, studying a form of American Karate called Aam-Ka-Jutsu. He trained with the Aamerican Colleges of Karate (ACK) in Kent, Washington for nearly 10 years earning the rank of 1st degree black belt in Aam-Ka-Jutsu.

In 1996, James had his first experience training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) at Mohler Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts in Irvine, Texas. It was at this time that he met his life long friend and mentor Allen Mohler, and decided to shift his focus to training BJJ. He trained and/or held rank under several world class instructors from many different BJJ affiliations including Allen Mohler (Alliance Jiu-Jitsu), Marcelo Alonso (Carlson Gracie Team), Marcio “Mamazinho” Laudier (Gracie Barra), Giva Santana (formerly Lotus Club Jiu-Jitsu now co-founder of One Jiu-Jitsu), and Juliano Prado (Brazilian Top Team).

In 2003, James became an affiliate of Lotus Club Jiu-Jitsu and began his career as a full time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor. In October of 2005, he achieved the rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Giva Santana and Juliano Prado (both under Lotus club at that time). He currently holds the rank of IBJJF & USBJJF certified 4th Degree Black Belt under Giva Santana and One Jiu-Jitsu.