Ep. 24: Coach Kelly Grissom on Operation Whalers, Combat Leadership, and the Path to Jiu Jitsu (Part 1)
What does leadership really demand, when the stakes are real and the consequences last?
In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, I sit down in person with retired Marine Major Kelly Grissom, known to many today as “Coach Kelly," to talk about the chapter of his life that shaped everything that followed.
Kelly shares his journey from enlisting in the Marine Corps to leading Marines around the world, including his role as Company Commander during Operation Whalers in Afghanistan in 2005. We talk candidly about leadership under uncertainty, the weight of command, and how public narratives often miss what leadership actually looks like on the ground.
We also discuss the transition home, why you don’t return from experiences like that unchanged, and how those lessons carried Kelly toward Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and yet another form of service.
This episode focuses on leadership, responsibility, and identity beyond the uniform.
👉 Part 2 drops next week, where we shift to the mat: lineage, coaching, training first responders, and how Kelly built KOA Martial Arts as a community rooted in discipline, humility, and purpose.
Stay tuned!