
Professor Clement Shields
Jiu Jitsu is a lot of different things to Clement Shields. It is a sport
and he enjoys competition as a test of knowledge and skill. He also sees
it as a fitness and social activity. First and foremost, however, Jiu
Jitsu is a fighting art to Clem and he always tries to teach and use Jiu
Jitsu with that in mind.
Clem started wrestling at 7 years of age. He continued wrestling in
youth clubs and competitively in high school. Along the way, he also
learned the basics of boxing and aikido. Clem started training Jiu Jitsu
in 2002 and earned his black belt in 2009. He liked Jiu Jitsu
immediately. It resembled wrestling in the regular sparring and that
techniques were performed against a resisting opponent, but he liked it
more due to the submissions and complexity.
Clem has been the training partner of many notable fighters, including
his brother Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez, and Nick and Nate Diaz.
Among the Jiu Jitsu teachers he has had, he cites Marcelo Garcia and
Paul Schreiner as particularly influential.