TIM DAWSON

Coach Tim Dawson is an enthusiastic competitor who teaches structured, high-intensity classes to students interested in improving their Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). His high-energy coaching arms students with a powerful and fluid style that melds both offensive and defensive techniques for sport BJJ. As a varsity wrestler and gymnast in high school and now BJJ competitor, Coach Tim has a long history of preparing for and successfully competing in intense individual sports and activities that require a combination of strength, speed, flexibility, and mental toughness. Coach Tim is an IBJJF certified Black Belt in BJJ under the late Dave “The Rock” Jacobs, an east-coast BJJ legend, and has competed frequently and successfully since 2011. In addition to BJJ, Coach Tim is a strong believer in wrestling as a powerful tool to attain positional dominance in sport BJJ and his wrestling instruction is designed to ensure students are able to use wrestling to dominate the initiative, immediately put opponents on their heels, and put themselves in a strong position to win the match.

Abbreviated Credentials

● IBJJF Certified Black Belt under David “The Rock” Jacobs
● 2x World Master Champion
● 5x NY Open Champion
● 2x DC Open Champion
● F2W Pro Winner
● WKA Amateur MMA National Champion (2014)
● Multiple-time U.S. Grappling, NAGA, and Grappling Industries Gold Medalist in both Gi and Nogi

MAIA MATALON

With a background in high school wrestling, Coach Maia started training BJJ in California in 2009. In 2013 Maia moved to train under Ryan and Jen Hall at Fifty/50 Martial Arts, earning her black belt in 2017. An avid competitor at the colored belts, Coach Maia ran into a series of injuries that benched her from the competition mats and became an opportunity to grow as a BJJ coach. Coach Maia enjoys teaching all levels of BJJ, but you’ll find her most often teaching the High Noon Kids; her passion has always been encouraging the smallest grapplers to learn confidence and resilience through BJJ.

Competition Highlights:

Brown Belt
IBJJF World Absolute 3rd Place (5/30/15)
IBJJF World Heavyweight Champion (5/30/15)

Purple Belt:
IBJJF No-Gi World Heavyweight Champion (10/4/14)
IBJJF No-Gi Pan American Absolute Champion (9/27/14)
IBJJF Pan American Championship Absolute Champion (3/14/14)
IBJJF Pan American Championship Heavyweight Champion (3/14/14)

Blue Belt
IBJJF World Championship Heavyweight Champion 2010
IBJJF World Championship Absolute Champion 2010

COACH LEAH

Coach Leah has been training BJJ in the DC area since 2010, earning her purple and brown belts from David “The Rock” Jacobs. In October 2020, Leah received her black belt from High Noon’s head coaches, Tim Dawson and Matt Miller. During that time frame, she has competed at all of the colored belt levels, medaling at multiple tournaments, including IBJJF Masters Worlds, IBJJF DC Open, IBJJF New York Open, and many local U.S. Grappling tournaments. Leah especially enjoys teaching and coaching newer grapplers, helping them to learn how to train and aiding them in starting their own competitive journeys.

GRAHAM SMITH

Coach Graham started training in January 2014, spending four years training under the late David “The Rock” Jacobs, a BJJ legend on the east coast. After The Rock passed in 2018, Graham continued under his lineage with Coaches Tim and Matt – both David Jacobs black belts – at High Noon BJJ.

He earned his brown belt in April 2021, followed by his black belt in 2023, and focuses on improving in all facets of grappling while assisting with the development of the High Noon team. Coach Graham has also competed in many local and IBJJF tournaments, most notably the IBJJF DC and Atlanta Opens.

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TYLER MURPHY

Our resident leg locker, Coach Tyler began training in December of 2013 after dropping into a class at Kaizen MMA. He received his purple belt from Coach Kyle Dalton in 2017, who shortly after retired from coaching due to injury concerns. As he searched for a new gym to call home, Coach Tim reached out about the opening of High Noon and he has been here ever since. In 2023, he received his black belt from Coaches Tim and Matt in recognition of his toughness, skill, dedication, and hard work, and currently teaches a submission grappling class focused on leg locks on Monday nights.

An avid competitor, Coach Tyler can frequently be seen competing in local events and super fights, and has racked up multiple medals over his years of competition. He is constantly working to refine his game and evolve the use of leg locks in the sport, and can be found at the gym training with his peers almost daily.

CALEB KNEPLEY

Caleb is a dedicated martial artist with a passion for training and coaching. He embarked on his martial arts journey in 2016, initially as an MMA fighter, where he honed his skills and gained invaluable experience in the cage. In January 2022, Caleb earned his brown belt. With a deep understanding of various disciplines and a keen desire to help others succeed, Caleb is now sharing his knowledge and experience as a coach to empower aspiring martial artists on their own journeys.

In addition to his BJJ and MMA knowledge, Coach Caleb is also a credentialed strength and conditioning coach and regularly provides high level services to his clients. If you’re interested in having Coach Caleb help you improve your mobility, strength, and overall cardio and conditioning, please do not hesitate to reach out!

NATE MARSH

Coach Nate is a former college wrestler, brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and currently coaches wrestling at Fairfax High School. Nate is a dedicated BJJ student and an excellent wrestling instructor for the High Noon community. You can find Coach Nate on the mats assisting Coach Tim with wrestling instruction during our Tuesday/Thursday no gi classes, at Saturday open mat, and teaching his fantastic wrestling class on Sunday mornings.

CHRIS ROUND

Chris Round has taught judo for the better part of two decades. A black belt under 2x Olympic Coach and World Champion Jimmy Pedro, he underwent several years of instructor training before branching out to lead several programs. Chris has previously taught for Fenix Fight Club, Sport Judo, and ran the Indiana University Judo Club. After teaching at Pedro’s Judo Center, he went onto apprentice under Dr. Rhadi Ferguson and assisted in developing scouting reports for members of the 2016 US Olympic Team and 2019 US World Team. He has worked with elite athletes in judo, Brazilian jiujitsu, and mixed martial arts. He holds the ranks of Yodan in judo, black belt in BJJ under Rhadi Ferguson, and is certified as an international level coach under USA Judo.

As a competitor, Chris was a mainstay on the US Elite national roster for sixteen years. He was ranked as high 4th in the United States as a senior player, 2nd as a junior player, and was the number one ranked veterans player in the 30-35 year old division. He has finished several times in the top 8 at major tournaments like the Senior National Championships, US Open and Presidents Cup. He was a collegiate national finalist, U20 Junior National Champion, and a club level training partner for members of four Olympic teams.

JORDAN STONE

Jordan has been a judo practitioner his entire life. His father is a 5th degree black belt and would often bring him and his brothers to train every week at the various clubs he organized. In addition to Judo, he wrestled for many years. Right after high school, he joined the Marine Corps where he helped with the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and competed with the Armed Forces Judo Team. Jordan is currently a Brown Belt in BJJ and a 3rd degree black belt – Sandan – in Judo. Jordan has won the Maryland Open, Virginia Open, Keystone state games, Takemori Open, Ken Tamai Open multiple times. He has also placed 9th at the Senior Nationals, 3rd place at the Liberty Bell International Open, and 1st place at the AM-CAN International Open. In BJJ he has won the NY Open (blue belt), COPA NOVA, Silver at the DC Open (purple belt), and various other tournaments.

ALEX PAINTER

Alex Painter competed at the senior level successfully for roughly a decade, and currently is a successful national-level competitor at the veterans level. He completed 2022 as the number one ranked person in his division and has medals at the national championships, US Open, and President’s Cup. Alex has years of experience as a competitor and coach across multiple sports, including freestyle wrestling. Of note, he has spent many years working with kids where he has been able to harness his past experience as an academic teacher. His varied athletic background has enabled him to bring in a variety of perspectives for how he teaches.

HEIDI HOLZ

Heidi Holz began judo in her late 30s but is passionate about judo and progressed quickly. In 2022 she was named the USJA female veteran competitor of the year and was number one in her division on the USA Judo national roster. Heidi is currently an ikkyu brown belt working towards her black belt. She has traveled all over the United States supporting competitors and has coached at the US senior national championships. She enjoys working with all levels of judoka but specializes in working with adult beginners and kids.

COMPETITION POLICY

With lots of competitions finally back on schedules across the country, the High Noon coaching staff has developed a new policy regarding training requirements for competition.

“You can only fight the way you practice.” – Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings

PHILOSOPHY
Our coaching staff has decades of competition experience and one of the most important lessons we’ve learned is that you MUST prepare properly to achieve consistent success in competition. Even with proper preparation, success is STILL not guaranteed! Failing to prepare, however, does a huge disservice to the team you represent, the coaches and teammates that spend time and energy training with you, and, most importantly, yourself.

LOCAL TOURNAMENTS
Absolute minimum of two training sessions per week. For newer practitioners especially – Coach Leah has been an integral resource in game planning over the course of High Noon’s existence. She is an experienced competitor herself and a resource you should seriously consider consulting if newer to competition.

IBJJF/UAEJJF/SUPERFIGHTS/TRIALS/ETC.
Absolute minimum of three training sessions per week. Student will also discuss a training plan with Coaches Tim and Matt for approval.

The coaching staff puts forth a lot of effort to ensure that competitively inclined students have an opportunity to succeed. The above requirements assist in giving the student a baseline training load to be successful in competition. Please note, that the above requirements are minimums. Additional training sessions are always encouraged for students who are preparing for competitions.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Last, just so it is clear, we do not expect you to compete under the High Noon flag at any competition unless you have met these standards. You are, of course, ultimately free to do what you please (i.e. compete independently, etc.), but it is important for us to set a baseline standard of readiness for those that want to represent the gym in competition.

Please feel free to contact coaches Tim and Matt with any questions.

About Us

This gym is family. Such a great environment. The instructors are absolutely top notch – as people, coaches, teachers, and competitors. They challenge you physically and mentally, but in a way that truly gets the best out of you. I joined to learn BJJ and defend myself, but I discovered something much more important about myself, and I gained an incredible community of friends.

B.H. (from Google review)

Our Instructors

Tim Dawson

Owner/Head Instructor

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Maia Matalon

Black Belt | Kids Program Director

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Coach Leah

Black Belt | BJJ & YOGA Instructor

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Graham Smith

Black Belt | BJJ Instructor

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Tyler Murphy

Black Belt | BJJ Instructor

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Caleb Knepley

Brown Belt | BJJ Instructor

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Nate Marsh

Brown Belt | Wrestling Instructor

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Chris Round

Yodan | Judo Program Director

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Jordan Stone

Sandan | Judo Instructor

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Alex Painter

Nidan | Judo Instructor

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Heidi Holz

Shodan | Judo Instructor

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TRAINING AT HIGH NOON

At High Noon, our training philosophy is simple: “whistle while you work.” Whether you’re training for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions, self-defense, or simply looking to get in shape, we believe in an intense yet friendly training environment. Our martial arts classes in Alexandria, Virginia, are designed to push students to be fight-ready while maintaining a fun, welcoming atmosphere. During any session, you’ll find a room full of hard work, laughter, and good-natured camaraderie among teammates.

Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self-defense classes are structured to build highly adaptive martial artists who can apply their skills under pressure. We skip time-wasting warm-ups and repetitive drills against fully compliant partners. Instead, we focus on smart drilling, positional sparring, and live training. This ensures our students truly learn how to fight and apply techniques in real-world situations.

At High Noon, we believe the ability to perform martial arts techniques on resisting opponents is the hallmark of a great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy. Our training methods reflect this goal, making our martial arts classes the perfect fit for anyone in Alexandria, Virginia, looking to improve their skills—whether for competition, self-defense, or fitness.

ACADEMY RULES

*PLEASE NOTE OUR UPDATED COMPETITION POLICY BELOW

RESPECT

Be on time for class! Your teammates need YOU on the mats.
Greet the instructor when you enter the mat area.
If you are late, wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before you step onto the mats.

FOCUS

Refrain from chatter while the instructor is teaching.
Drill the techniques your instructor provides during class time.
Train hard! Your progress depends on your own effort.

HYGIENE

Wear clean, dry gi or nogi attire to EVERY class. BJJ is a close quarters sport and you owe it to your teammates to wear clean gear to class.
Always ensure your nails are trimmed and filed before coming to class. Excessively long finger and toenails can cause serious lacerations to your teammates.
Avoid coming to class if you are suffering from any type of communicable illness.

SAFETY

Tap early and often! Being healthy enough to continue training is always more important than escaping a submission in training.
Always apply submission holds with appropriate care and allow your training partners ample time to tap. Take care of each other!
Take care of yourself. If you’re injured, take the time you need to heal up before returning to training. I promise that BJJ will be there when you get back.

COMPETITION POLICY

Please click the link below for an explanation of our competition policy and philosophy.
High Noon BJJ Competition Policy

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Facility

85 S Bragg St, Suite 202
Alexandria, VA 22312

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Located inside Bragg Office building

3,400+ sq ft of mat space
Men & Women’s changing rooms
Showers
Ample free parking