A LEGACY OF DISCIPLINE & HONOR

In 1969, a sixteen-year-old martial artist named Don Jacob opened a small training hall in the Belmont neighborhood of Port of Spain, Trinidad. The locals called it “Hell Yard”—a nickname earned through the intensity and seriousness of the training that took place there.

By 1970, the school received its official name: Purple Dragon International. What began as a single dojo in the Caribbean has grown into a global organization spanning Trinidad & Tobago, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

This was no small feat. At the time, non-Oriental practitioners were rarely permitted to establish new martial arts systems—especially in the Third World. But Grandmaster Professor Jacob persisted, guided by a singular vision: to create a system that combined the discipline of traditional martial arts with practical self-defense and mental fortitude.

That vision became Don Jitsu Ryu.

Born in San Fernando, Trinidad on October 16, 1954, Grandmaster Professor Anthony Don Jacob began his martial arts journey at nine years old under the guidance of Sensei Clyde Thomas. After earning his black belt in judo, he traveled to New York to train with the legendary Grandmaster Moses Powell in Jiu-Jitsu.

Over the decades that followed, he studied and mastered multiple disciplines—including traditional karate under Master Tusui Yoshitaka and small-circle jujitsu under Professor Wally Jay. These influences shaped the technical foundation of Don Jitsu Ryu.

His credentials speak for themselves:

Rooted in judo, jiu-jitsu, and traditional karate, Don Jitsu Ryu emphasizes practical technique over performance. Every movement has purpose.

Classical weapons training (bo, sai, nunchaku) and kata preserve the traditional arts while building coordination, focus, and respect for the craft.

The Dojo is a House of Knowledge. Training extends beyond physical technique to cultivate focus, emotional regulation, and personal accountability.

Purple Dragon ATL is the authorized representative of the Don Jitsu Ryu system in the greater Atlanta area. Under the leadership of Shihan Hayden, our Dojo operates with direct lineage to Grandmaster Professor Don Jacob and adheres to the same standards of discipline, technique, and character development that have defined Purple Dragon for over fifty years.

We are not a franchise. We are not a fitness chain. We are a martial arts school in the truest sense—a House of Knowledge where students of all ages come to learn, grow, and become stronger versions of themselves.

When you train at Purple Dragon ATL, you are part of something larger than a local gym. You are connected to a global community of practitioners committed to real training and authentic growth.