John Goforth – Head Coach
John has practiced jiu jitsu for 15 years and has coached jiu jitsu for 12 years at his academy here in McMinnville. John was awarded his black belt in 2017, after training under Michael Chapman since 2009 and is now a 2nd degree Black Belt.
John played football and wrestled in high school. It’s in the Willamina High school wrestling room that John grew a love for Grappling. He found Impact Jiu Jitsu in March of 2009 and started Impact McMinnville in 2012. John has an extensive competition career and has made podium at some of the largest jiu jitsu tournaments in the world. His favorite submission is split between the paper cutter choke, and the clock choke. John says, “jiu jitsu is a great vehicle for exposing your human potential. The confidence I’ve developed and ability to take risks on the mat has translated to my daily life and in business. Jiu jitsu has helped me be better at everything I do. An interesting fact about me, I wanted to be a motivational speaker before starting Impact Jiu Jitsu and Goforth Inspired.”
Some of John's accomplishments in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu include...
White Belt
Oregon Open Championships Gold Medalist 2009
Blue Belt
The Revolution Gold Medalist 2009
Alive MMA submission tournament Gold Medalist Jan 2010
United Combat Sports Submission Tournament 2010 Gold Medalsit
United Combat Sports Submission Tournament 2010 Gold medalist (Open weight)
Sub league qualifier #1Feb 2010 Silver Medalist
Sub league qualifier #1 Feb 2010 Gold medalist (Open weight)
The Revolution March 2010 Silver Medalist
Sub league Championships May 2010 Gold Medalist
Oregon Open Championships October 2010 Gold Medalist
The Revolution November 2010 Gold Medalist
United Combat Sports Submission Tournament January 2011 (Purple belt division as a Blue belt) Gold Medalist
Team Quest BJJ Classic- Feb 2011 Gold Medalist
Team Quest BJJ Classic - Feb 2011 Gold Medalist (Open weight)
Sub league qualifier #1-Mens Advanced April 2011 Gold Medalist
Sub league qualifier #2-May 2011 Gold Medalist
Sub league Championships June 2011(Weight division, Absolute, and Advanced nogi) Gold Medalist
Las Vegas International Open 2011 Gold Medalist
Las Vegas International Open 2011 Bronze Medalist (Open weight)
Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships 2012 Silver Medalist
Las Vegas International Open 2012 Silver Medalist
Las Vegas International Open Gold (Open weight class)
Purple Belt
Oregon Open 2012 Gold Medalist
Oregon Open 2012 Bronze Medalist (Open Weight)
US Open 2012 Gold Medalist
US Open 2012 Gold Medalist(Open weight)
Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship 2014 Bronze Medalist
Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships 2014 Bronze Medalist(Open Weight)
Brown Belt
Pan Ams 2017 Silver Medalist
Chris Pasto - Coach
Chris was introduced to jiu jitsu in 1994 at Black Tiger Muay Thai in San Diego, and continued his journey with Team Quest in 2001 with an MMA career. He came to Impact Jiu Jitsu in Dec of 2009, where he has received all of his belts from White to Black. Chris was awarded his black belt in 2021 by John Goforth. Chris' most recent competitions include Bronze at the Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships in March of 2016 (Purple Belt division) and Silver in the 2014 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships (Blue Belt division).
Chris has been coaching at Impact Jiu Jitsu since 2012, prior to that, he has 10 years of assistant coaching under his belt. Chris says, “I am an Oregon native and a father of two amazing young people, Bella & Tristan. My kids are my life, and they inspire me to be a better man. I served in the United States Navy for 4 years. I love to hunt and fish, along with all outdoor activities. My favorite submission is the one that works at that moment. An inspirational quote that I like to use, ‘Do the best you can with the abilities you have, and I will teach you the rest!’ An interesting fact about me is I majored in Art in college.”
Mike Smith - Coach
Mike started his training with short stints at a few jiu jitsu and judo gyms in the 2000s, but found his home with Impact Jiu Jitsu McMinnville in 2014. Training consistently since then, he has gone from a white belt up to his current black belt under Head Coach John Goforth.
Mike loves jiu jitsu for the consistent challenge training provides and the relationships he has formed along the way. His favorite submissions are armbars and head & arm chokes.
Mike moved to Oregon in 2011 and works in property insurance claims, specializing in catastrophe response. When he is not training or working, he is home raising his four kids.
James Bowers- Coach
Jake Stepisnik - Coach
Jake started training in 2012 for a brief period at Zanshin Martial Arts in Salem. Jake then started training again in August, 2014 at Impact Jiu Jitsu McMinnville. Jake has been coaching since 2017. In high school, Jake played football, basketball, baseball, wrestled, and ran track and field. Jake says, “wrestling and watching MMA sparked my interest in grappling. I have now trained for almost 10 years under John Goforth. Some of my most recent competitions include, IBJJF at Master’s Worlds, Vegas International Open, Seattle Invitational, Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship, and more local tournaments than I can count. My favorite submission is Kimura and the Darce. To anyone wanting to start jiu jitsu, the hardest part is starting. The longer you train, the more benefits you will physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and able to translate those into your everyday life. The best thing jiu jitsu has taught me is that when in times of extreme stress, I need to react with logic and reason, and not emotions.”
Jake was born in Oregon and has spent most of his life here, with the exception of a few years in Colorado. Jake has two sons- ages 4 and 11. He played the saxophone and was in the chess club.
David Voigt- Coach
David has been training jiu jitsu since 2017 and has been formally coaching since 2022. He also co-founded a jiu jitsu club while in grad school, where he taught classes in a more informal setting. He discovered jiu jitsu in his late twenties and instantly loved it, despite having no martial arts or grappling background. David initially trained at 10th Planet Portland until moving to McMinnville in 2020, and as such he specializes in no gi jiu jitsu. David’s favorite submission is the rear naked strangle.
To anyone thinking about starting jiu jitsu, David says, “is just that — start. People will say ‘I’ll wait to start jiu jitsu when I…’ You will get in jiu jitsu shape by doing jiu jitsu. You will develop the necessary abilities for jiu jitsu by training jiu jitsu — while also having an awesome time!'“
Philip Wade Avallon - Youth Coach
Philip started his journey with jiu jitsu in 2021 at Impact Jiu Jitsu McMinnville after watching his daughter flourish in the youth program. He was awarded his blue belt in 2022 by John Goforth. Philip was born in California and moved to Oregon in 2019. Philip has done competitive sports for 30 years, including wrestling, baseball, tennis, soccer, and football. He has dedicated a lot of time and effort into jiu jitsu in a short amount of time and has acquired a strong set of balanced skills and has a proven track record of success. Philip has been coaching since the end of 2023 and his favorite submission is a Gogo Plata. When asked what he would say to someone thinking about starting jiu jitsu, Philip said, “If jiu jitsu was easy, everyone would do it.” An interesting fact about Philip is he is a diehard Boston sports fan.
Tumbling Coaches