Michael Trasso

Michael began his journey on the mats in his hometown of Lyndhurst, NJ. At just five years old, Michael started learning “Freestyle Jiu Jitsu” at Rising Sun Martial Arts: a style of Jiu Jitsu that is of Japanese origin and includes a mixture of both catch wrestling and sambo. What began as a way to break his shyness as a young boy quickly became a passion for the art.

Starting in 1999, Michael broke into the Jiu Jitsu competition circuit and a year later began wrestling for the Lyndhurst middle school program. After eight years of training at Rising Sun and receiving a black belt, Michael embarked on a new journey in expanding his Jiu Jitsu. In 2003, he began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) under Mike MrKulic — a student of Louis Vintaloro and a representative of the RGDA (Royler Gracie/David Adiv partnership).

Michael's incredible pace as an adolescent earned him a feature in the 2003 summer edition of Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine, where he was ranked top kids & teens competitor (World and US respectively) for the aforementioned BJJ promotions. His 55+ tournament gold medals also paved the way for Michael's “Top Teen Grappler” award by NAGA/Grappling Hall of Fame Gala (2005).

Michael continued his wrestling career at Saint Mary's & Queen of Peace High School under head coach Scot Weaver while also investing in private lessons with Purdue University's All-American, Jason Silverstein. Michael credits a majority of his wrestling development and future success to Silverstein. Michael's team went on to win three State Championship titles and his other high school accomplishments include District 16 Champion, Region 4 Champion, and NJSIAA State Qualifier.

In 2008, Michael was recruited by Rhode Island College Anchormen's head wrestling coach, Jay Jones. Trasso dedicated most of his time to wrestling throughout the next five years, but he never lost sight of his BJJ training goals. Trasso was the Anchormen's starting 141-pounder for three years and in 2011, was ranked #9 in the nation. Starting his senior year, he served as one of the Anchormen's captains as well as their starting 149-pounder. Michael ended his college wrestling career as a 4x “All New England” medalist with 229 career takedowns. He is the 12th wrestler in the program's history to receive 100+ career victories.

After graduation, Michael landed a full-time job in the IT staffing industry and a role as assistant wrestling coach for Hope High School in Providence, RI. In his spare time, Michael trained at Tim Burrill BJJ under Tim Burrill & Jimmy Connor. In 2016, Michael accepted a career opportunity in San Diego, California. This opportunity allowed Michael to move to one of the biggest grappling hubs in the world and take full advantage of its competition scene. In San Diego, he trained under Gracie Humaita's team leader, Regis Lebre. It was there where Michael would receive his black belt, instruct classes and accomplish some of his most notable awards in Jiu Jitsu competition while training part-time. Michael Trasso was ranked on FloGrappling's “Top 20 No Gi Adult Black Belt Middleweights in the World” in 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, Michael made his way back to New Jersey where he began training under World Champions Gianni Grippo, Paulo Miyao, and João Miyao. It was here where Michael also started his online instructional video series, The Merge, and opened Trasso Jiu Jitsu & Wrestling.

Off the mats, Michael enjoys running, lifting, and listening to Classic Rock & 80's music.