Founder of Older Grappler, Liquid Swords NoGi Sub Only, and co-founder of Kogen Dojo in Annapolis and Severna Park, MD, Robert Van Valkenburgh began his martial art training in traditional Korean hapkido in the late 1990’s, eventually earning the rank of 2nd degree black belt. After his hapkido teacher’s passing, Robert turned his focus to Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is currently a purple belt. Robert is a husband and father of one girl, has a bachelor’s degree in Humanities from University of Maryland, and has held a variety of leadership positions within both large and small organizations over the past 20+ years of his career. Currently, Robert runs Older Grappler 40+, Liquid Swords NoGi Sub Only, and leads Kogen Dojo’s jiu-jitsu competition team which has earned medals at multiple tournaments including PBJJF, The Good Fight, Newbreed, AGF, et al.