Meet The Team
Alex Scott
Black Belt 3rd Degree, Diploma Exercise Science, Certified Yoga Instructor, Certificate of Adult Education.
Alex has almost 30 years of experience as an elite level athlete and coach. He has represented New Zealand at both Commonwealth and World Championships in Fencing as a teenager then after a life changing injury he went on to compete and coach in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts and Submission Grappling. He has represented NZ at four Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and competed on professional BJJ events in Australia and New Zealand.
His early sporting career led him to develop a keen interest in the field of Sports Science and Education, studying Exercise Science at Massey University in Wellington and Adult Education at Te Wananga O Aotearoa. He has worked as a teacher and manager of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Sports Academy where he taught a certificate in sports leadership program for talented Rugby and Netball players. After moving to Australia he tutored and lectured at the Australian College of Physical Education for a brief stint and then focused on growing his own BJJ gym, Combat Room Sydney.
Alex has experienced the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu not only from a competitive sports aspect but also from a health and wellness perspective. After sustaining a serious ankle injury which required surgery and 13 screws in his heel bone he successfully healed with the help of meditation, physiotherapy and a lot of family support. To stay on the path of recovery he knew he needed to find a physical outlet that would help him stay strong not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well.
This injury and the new perspective on training it gave him marked the change in his path from Fencing to Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu. This journey of healing and self discovery cemented the importance of a daily physical and mental practice in order to develop a resilient, flexible and positive attitude alongside a healthy, balanced and strong body. Alex has found through experience that when these elements are balanced it is possible to enjoy life in a richer way and continue to grow into our potential everyday.
After his recovery he moved to Wellington to study exercise science at Massey University and helped to found the first Combat Room with Brian Morris, later headed by Vanderson Pires. At this time he also worked alongside a number of NZ and Australian representative rugby league teams as a tackle technique coach and trainer. After completing his studies Alex worked as a teacher and manager for the New Zealand Sports Academy for two years, introducing BJJ into the program and immersing in Maori culture and learning.
Alex received his black belt from his great friend and professor Vanderson Pires after 7 1⁄2 years of intensive training and a year later decided to move to Australia to compete and coach his own students, founding Manly BJJ with Ben Aldridge in 2011. Five years later he left to establish his own successful academy, Combat Room Sydney, with his wife and business partner Anna FitzGerald.
Coaching full time has really helped Alex to develop his coaching method and style. He has blended a detail oriented technical approach with a broad conceptual framework that has proven successful not only for competitive athletes but also children and hobbyists.
After putting so much time and effort into creating the Combat Room in Sydney and watching as the community flourished, it was with a very heavy heart Alex and Anna made the difficult decision to close and move out of Sydney. Covid was the catalyst for the decision as it was extremely difficult to operate but it was also an opportunity to start a new chapter in life with new challenges and experiences. Without a gym and living on the road in a van it was the beginning of Free Range BJJ.
Settling in the beautiful Northern Rivers of NSW Australia, new learning opportunities in Meditation and Yoga arose and living much closer to nature really helped to reset and revitalise Alex after ten years of city life. During this time devastating floods hit the area and Alex found himself in the thick of the community rescue efforts, hiking food and medicines into remote and cut off areas, cleaning up mud and debris and lending emotional support as entire houses and towns were destroyed.
Seeing the incredible community spirit and so many selfless acts of courage and compassion confirmed in Alex’s mind that our true wealth comes from healthy and connected communities, where we can contribute and feel a part of something larger, and when we need it we can lean on the community for strength and support.
His goal now is sharing this wealth of knowledge and experience to a wider Jiu-Jitsu community and bringing the benefits of Yoga, Meditation and Jiu- Jitsu to as many people as possible.
“It’s not what you’re going to take from martial arts, it’s what you have to give to martial arts. ”
Anna Fitzgerald
Black Belt – BSC of Development Studies and Anthropology – 200 Hr INSPYA Yoga Certification – 200 Hr Smart Flow Yoga Certification.
Anna has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2010, starting first in Wellington, NZ under coaches Vanderson Pires, Lindolfo Collor, and Brian Morris at Combat Room HQ. After returning from a solo overseas trip, Anna was encouraged to give BJJ a go as a means for gaining some basic self defence skills before travelling again. Having played a variety of sports growing up, but never a martial art, BJJ was a totally new and bewildering movement form. Anna was excited to find something so far from her experience, that was challenging, but also so rewarding, opening up her body and mind to a whole new way of moving, training, and interacting with others.
Guided by these early mentors and coaches, and finding a more holistic sense of wellbeing expressed through BJJ compared to other sports and activities, BJJ evolved to be much more than just a hobby, but a positive and fundamental part of Anna's life. Anna's BJJ journey continued over in Manly, Australia alongside, now Husband, Alex Scott, where they moved to open another academy and expand their experiences within the BJJ community in Australia and internationally.
As a blue belt Anna struggled with some chronic injuries and so began to teach kids classes as a way to keep her practice alive while not being able to fully participate. As is often the way, this was an unexpected gift and changed the direction of her focus and commitment within BJJ and in life. This was first hand experience of what it felt like to teach and to give back to the team and next generation. The realisation of that responsibility landed when one of the parents said in passing, “Oh, my daughter really looks up to you”, and it hit Anna that she was not just teaching physical techniques but also demonstrating how to be in the world. Anna's teaching became significantly more conscious after this realisation.
Teaching the kids classes was a gateway into taking more personal responsibility both on and off the mats. On the mats Anna wanted to continue to find ways to learn and grow, so alongside regular training she attended training camps, workshops, open mats, and competed. Anna really wanted to provide the best learning experience for the kids team, so this led Alex and Anna into establishing their own space into which they threw their full dedication and effort. In recognition of their roots and previous teachers we called our academy Combat Room Sydney, creating a Trans-Tasman link back to the NZ academies. We ran a full kids and adults program, and hosted an array of events including competitions, training camps and community fundraisers.
Off the BJJ mats, Anna had a fledgling meditation and yoga practice which has continued to this day to be a massive inspiration and guiding light through challenging times. Yoga and BJJ can have a beautiful partnership, providing that which the other lacks, and Anna will continue to blend her personal learning from both into her teaching. Both these practices have the meeting point of self growth, and this understanding of self is critical to help us engage in the world with more clarity, direction and grace.
After a decade in the big smoke, Alex and Anna left Sydney and changed their business name to Free Range BJJ to reflect their change in focus from running a local academy to facilitating training to a wider BJJ community. For the last 2 years they have been travelling, training, and teaching at gyms around New Zealand and Australia.
Anna received her black belt at the end of 2022 back in the home gym, Combat Room HQ, from her first coaches. Travelling has been an epic experience that reminded Anna of the expansive community that is such a fundamental and wonderful part of training BJJ. As Free Range BJJ we intend to run more events that connect us with this even bigger, global BJJ and Yoga community and family.
When Alex and Anna aren't travelling, their base is the Northern Rivers, NSW where they've recently been very focused on their yoga study and practice with an amazing teacher, Lance Schuler. The most recent deep dive into Yoga practice was a Teacher Training facilitated by INSPYA and Lance in Broken Head, which has transpired to a deeper understanding of the path BJJ and Yoga share, and the benefit one can bring to the other.
Every journey begins with a single step and the longer Anna trains the more she appreciates it's about self improvement and self discovery, and this is what she wants to share.
“Practice yoga and train BJJ if you want to change your mindset and change your life. Redefine yourself and redefine your limits one day, one step at a time. ”
