Kevin Howell
Black Belt, Third Degree/Head Instructor
Kevin Howell started jiu-jitsu for all the wrong reasons. His competitive nature drove him toward the sport, but his love for the art of jiu-jitsu has kept him invigorated for the past 20 years.
He grew up in Huntington Beach, and moved to Hawaii for college because he couldn’t find another school with better surf. There, he trained jiu-jitsu, surfed some more, and met his wife Haley in a series of circumstances that can only be described as fate.
After undergrad, Kevin moved back to Huntington Beach and dove face-first right back into jiu-jitsu. He attended grad school at CSULB and earned a Masters degree in Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations. He taught college-level Poli Sci for awhile, but lived like a mat rat as he trained jiu-jitsu like a madman and wrote jiu-jitsu books, including the all time best-selling books Jiu-Jitsu University and Drill to Win, as well as jiu-jitsu articles for magazines and websites.
After teaching college kids, Kevin realized his driving passion was for teaching jiu-jitsu and serving as a mentor to the next generation of jiu-jiteiros. He opened The Jiu-Jitsu League with Haley and hasn’t looked back. He earned his black belt under his jiu-jitsu mentor, friend, and legendary head-coach of team Atos, Andre Galvao. Now, he does jiu-jitsu for many reasons, among them, being a “positive role model and outlet for my two sons, Oliver and Milo.”
When he’s not at the academy, you can find him at the beach or in the mountains and he always has a smile on his face. He loves to surf and snowboard, and tinker with his Harleys. You can almost always find him at The Jiu-Jitsu League, though, sharing his insane breadth of knowledge in his daily Advanced-level classes, as well as in the Tuesday and Thursday AM All Levels classes. He tries to bring a breath of fresh air to his curriculum, so you just never know what you’ll stumble upon when you show up to his class, but you can always expect to have a great time!
HALEY HOWELL
BLACK BELT, First Degree
Haley Howell started training because she was tired of getting rolled up at home while dating Kevin. Her competitive nature brought her to the academy, where she decided to learn as much as she could to try and beat her boyfriend at his own game. Now, married to Kevin with two sons, she does jiu-jitsu to stay in shape and keep up with her young boys.
She grew up in San Diego, spent some time in New York and Hawaii, and finally settled in Long Beach with her family. Together with Kevin, she runs The Jiu-Jitsu League. Though she’s married to el jefe, don’t sleep on “Whoosks”, with nearly twenty years dedicated to the art she has the skill and experience to make her classes a huge hit.
Juan Arreguin
bLACK belt
Juan Arreguin is one of our exceptional kids coaches at The Jiu-Jitsu League. He has years of coaching experience leading our young champions. Juan came to jiu-jitsu after his son started training as a very young child, quickly rising through the ranks to become a youth champ. Always on the sideline, Juan quickly learned he needed to train jiu-jitsu, too, if he wanted to understand the intricacies of tournament jiu-jitsu for his son.
Now, Juan’s areas of expertise are fundamentals and drills for kids of all levels of jiu-jitsu training. He spends his free time dedicating himself to the kids program, studying and working tirelessly to help them improve on the daily. He specializes in supporting our youngest students to be the best little grapplers they can be!
Steven rodriguez
Brown belt
Steve has dedicated years to the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning the rank of brown belt. With a passion for sharing the art, Steve focuses on teaching the next generation and welcoming new members to the BJJ community.
As the lead instructor for our kids program, Steve creates a fun, safe, and disciplined environment where children learn not only self-defense and technique, but also essential life skills like respect, confidence, and perseverance.
For adults, Steve leads our Basics No-gi program, specializing in breaking down the core principles of BJJ for beginners. His patient and detail-oriented teaching style ensures that every student builds a strong, technical foundation in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere.
Steve believes that Jiu-Jitsu is for everyone and is committed to helping each student, young or old, discover their potential on and off the mats.
Paul Poompan
BLACK BELT
Paul is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt who discovered his passion for the art in 2002. For him, jiu-jitsu is more than a sport—it's a moving puzzle and a powerful tool for personal development.
His teaching philosophy for the intermediate program focuses on building a strong technical foundation. The classes are designed to bridge the gap between fundamental movements and advanced competition-level techniques, with an emphasis on the underlying principles that make them effective.
Students in Paul’s classes can expect a disciplined, detail-oriented approach to learning, where concepts are broken down systematically to foster rapid and intelligent progression on the mats.