Miha Perhavec
Trusted, experienced black belt.
Miha Perhavec is a Slovenian jiu-jitsu competitor and instructor. He holds first degree black belts in both judo and jiu-jitsu. He has competed in the biggest tournaments in the world, as well as professional shows, such as Polaris and Who's Number One.
Rank: Double Black Belt
Co-Founder: Legion AJJ
CJI & UFC BJJ judge
Trained In: 20+ countries
Multiple time No-Gi Europeans medalist
Well-rounded, aggressive, cerebral grappling
Key Expertise & Achievements
Legion AJJ black belt
First ever black belt awarded by Keenan Cornelius
Judo black belt
Achieved rank of black belt in Slovenia at age 18
International Competition Experience
Miha has competed on big stages like Polaris, WNO and IBJJF Worlds
Creator of the Legion 5-Week Beginner Course
The most successful beginner program in the world.
MMA crossover experience
Amateur fighter with 11–1 record.
Academic Success
Miha holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
The beginnings in judo
Miha Perhavec was born in Kranj, Slovenia where he started training judo at the age of ten. It was the first sport that truly interested him and he pursued it all the way to black belt. During this part of his grappling journey, he participated in several high-level judo camps as Slovenia is a European judo powerhouse. He admits that he never truly excelled at judo with his best results being 2nd and 3rd place in the National Championship at the junior and cadet levels respectively.
In 2010 Miha made the difficult decision to quit judo. The reason could be found in the increasingly restrictive rule changes, which made him question how he would do in a fight.
Leaving Slovenia in search of tougher training
One of the reasons why Miha Perhavec decided to pursue jiu-jitsu to the fullest was the fact that he was still in school finishing his Bachelor's in International Relations, which meant he needed and wanted to use his mind to achieve things. That meant that a sport where getting a shin to the head is an accident and not a highlight reel finish was the safer choice.
In 2013, Miha used a European student exchange program to relocate to Warsaw, Poland, for a year, where he got to train with higher-level training partners under the guidance of ADCC World Championship veterans. By this point, competitive training partners in Slovenia were hard to come by. After a brief return to Slovenia and a stint training in Oslo, Norway, it was time to relocate again.
The Emerald Isle, followed by the world trip
From 2015 to 2017 Miha lived in Dublin, Ireland training at East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy where he earned his brown belt under Darragh O’Conaill, as well as a Master’s degree from Dublin City University, but the brown belt meant 10x more.
By this time opportunities to compete in professional events like Polaris Pro were starting to materialize, as well as the chance to train abroad, specifically in the United States, which were previously out of reach.
Creating Legion American Jiu-Jitsu
Miha's long-time business partner and American jiu-jitsu superstar Keenan Cornelius called on Miha to settle in San Diego and help him launch a disruptive professional academy in the middle of the most jiu-jitsu-saturated city in the Northern Hemisphere. Not shying away from a challenge Miha accepted and in November of 2019 the first class was held.
Nothing bad would happen in the next few months and no one was stressed about having a 10,000sqf social closening facility unable to operate during a global pandemic. After the first two tumultuous years the academy experienced rapid growth with the introduction of the 5-Week Beginner Program, which is a departure from how most jiu-jitsu academies approach beginners.
Miha's journey story
Why learn from Miha?
Real-World Competition Experience
Polaris Pro, National Championships, MMA Record
Global Grappling Perspective
Trained in 20+ countries across 4 continents
Structured Teaching Approach
Academic background + built Legion’s 5-week system
Teaching impact
Miha has taught thousands of grapplers at his school in San Diego, CA.
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