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.