Instructors

Shane Weinreis (Professor, GJJ Black Belt - Head Instructor Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Billings)  has been doing martial arts for 36 years. He was thrilled to train in any art that he could find, starting with Karate and Kung Fu in his early teens. While serving in the US Marine Corps, Shane taught Marine Corps Hand to Hand Combat to Security Forces Marines (not USMC certified), served as a HRST Master (Helicopter Rope Suspension Training), served as an EMT, Rescue Swimmer, and member of a Hostage Rescue / Reconnaissance Team. While living in Japan, Shane took up kickboxing with some very talented Japanese Kickboxing Instructors. Shane had his first introduction to Jiu-jitsu in 1995 from a very talented Marine 'Vince'.  After the Marine Corps, Shane focused on Tae-Kwondo and Judo. After receiving his brown belt in Tae-Kwondo and his 2nd Black Belt in Judo, Shane began his Jiu-Jitsu journey in 2000 under Sylvio Behring. He has competed in numerous martial arts tournaments with many 1st and 2nd place wins. He has taught Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwondo, and MMA. As a law enforcement officer for 18 years, Shane served as a SWAT Operator, certified Law Enforcement Defense Tactics Instructor, and a state certified Ground Fighting Instructor. In 2013 Shane became a certified Gracie Instructor through the Gracie Academy in Torrance CA, under Ryron and Rener Gracie. Shane’s passion is helping adults and children learn how to defend themselves before they need it! Shane’s real world combat experience combined with his martial arts experience, and phenomenal instructors enable him to teach Real World Self Defense to people of all ages, sizes, and abilities.

Marc Snider has a martial arts background including Taekwondo and Judo but fell in love with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu when he began training with Coach Shane Weinreis several years ago.  Growing up in the small town of Harlem Montana, Marc spent his summers competing with the Federation Swim Team where he finished in the top 5 in the state in his events every year.  When he turned 18 he became the coach of the Harlem Swim Team, leading his 22-member team to a 2nd place finish at State, despite the fact that many of his swimmers began the season not knowing how to swim!  Marc was inspired to pursue a career in Law-Enforcement after a friend lost his life in the line of duty.  Marc has been a police officer with the city of Billings since 2009. In addition to patrol duties he holds specialized positions as a Fatal Crash Investigator, Field Training Officer, Firearms Instructor, Yellowstone County Multi-Jurisdictional Alcohol Enforcement Officer, and assists with defensive tactics training at both Billings Police Dept. and the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena. Marc has a strong drive to ensure that everyone in class learns the techniques by keeping the atmosphere fun and family friendly.  He is looking forward to the challenging journey that is jiu-jitsu and can't wait to continue to teach the students.  Marc's favorite quote: "don't forget to breathe."

Emarie Skelton (amazing kids Instructor) thought that being a martial arts master would be cool when she was a kid, largely due to 'The Karate Kid' and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She never studied martial arts, though, taking up a passion for soccer instead. After ten years of competitive soccer interspersed with other seasonal sports, like tennis and swimming, Emarie was reintroduced to martial arts by a friend in college who had just started studying jiu-jitsu. Two years and a cross-country move to Montana later, Emarie decided to give it a try and became a student at SK Martial Arts. Jiu-jitsu turned out to be everything she hoped a martial art could be: fun, challenging, encouraging, and competitive, and has the added advantage of being practical. It really is the foundation for every-day self-defense, which is important to Emarie, since she walks to and from work in downtown Billings. Emarie earned her blue belt in June of 2017 and continues to participate in every class SK Martial Arts offers. Years of experience working with kids in summer camps and youth programs have equipped her to be an engaging, high-energy kids' class instructor. She loves her students' enthusiasm and watching them grow in confidence through jiu-jitsu. "Those kids are the highlight of my week, every week." Emarie became a Level-1 Certified Gracie Combatives Instructor in January of 2018 and looks forward to being a student of jiu-jitsu for the rest of her life.

Joel Sebastian was born in McAllen, Texas. He began his athletic career playing football, basketball and track. During his college years, Joel further explored his physical fitness interests and became a certified personal trainer, managed a gym, and played college football for Oklahoma Panhandle State University. While working as a personal trainer in 2010, Joel’s manager suggested that he cross-train his weight-lifting regimen with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He took his manager’s advice and has been hooked ever since. After years of practicing his new-found passion, Joel has helped train several Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighters with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focus. He has also crossed-trained in other martial arts fields: Chinese Kenpo Karate, Russian Sambo, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Russian Systema. Joel strives to uphold the Gracie quality of teaching and relay the information as accurately as possible. He believes any serious athlete to the beginner gym enthusiast should take the opportunity to learn and practice Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.