DEVIN HENRY

DEVIN’S STORY

Devin Henry joined the military in 1996 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for four years. After leaving the military, he attended Fullsail University in Winter Park, FL. 

He started his martial arts journey in 2012, training first in Universal Kempo where he ranked as purple belt at F.E. Warren AFB Branch in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 2014, the Air Force contracted with Rener and Eve Gracie to teach a one-week 40-hour trainer certification course for their pink belt program. Devin was lucky enough to get a spot and completed the course and took his test six months later, being awarded pink belt in 2014.

After leaving Universal Kempo in 2014, he began training BJJ and Combat Hapkido at the same time, splitting his training, giving two hours everyday to both, five to six days per week.

He then started to train in Combat Hapkido in Cheyenne after trying to find a new martial arts school that focused more on military-style self defense. He enrolled in the ground combative trainer course once at a high enough rank to do so. He trained, tested and received his ground combatives apprenticeship instructor certification.

Because of the closing he was able to train BJJ full-time at Cheyenne BJJ under Prof. Robert Wunderlich. He was addicted and never missed a class and competed four to five times a year. While under under  Prof Robert Wunderlich Devin was promoted to blue belt in 2016 and promoted to purple belt in 2017 by Professor Kurt Osiander. He found a spot on the Fight to Win Denver Pro card in 2018, where he competed at purple belt no-gi and won.

Devin is now co-owner of Black Label BJJ in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It opened in 2019.

His martial arts journey has been full of ups and downs. But it continues to help him grow to become a better person, each day learning something new. It is a permanent part of his and his family’s lives.