INSTRUCTORS
JOSH PECASTAING |
10PSM HEAD COACH
Josh started his martial arts journey 25 years ago, studying and training in Zen Do Kai Karate where he achieved his Shodan Ho (black belt) rank at the age of 15. Continuing his journey in martial arts, he began studying Koryu-Uchinadi Kenpo Jutsu where he holds his 2nd Degree Black Belt. During his time studying both Zen Do Kai and Koryu-Uchinadi (KU) Karate, he also undertook extensive Muay Thai kickboxing training.
In 2006, Josh began his 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu journey under Master Eddie Bravo, travelling up to twice a year to train and learn at 10th Planet HQ in Downtown Los Angeles. He is committed to visiting HQ regularly to keep his knowledge sharp and ensure the highest quality instruction is delivered on his mat in South Melbourne, Australia. He holds the rank of Black Belt under Master Eddie Bravo.
While Josh teaches 6 days a week at his South Melbourne academy, he is also a qualified remedial massage therapist, with a number of those in the jiu jitsu community choosing to see him as a practitioner with his knowledge and understanding of the body and assisting them in achieving optimal results to support their own jiu jitsu journey.
Josh carries extensive experience in:
Personal training & group fitness instruction (qualified)
Wrestling
Stand up striking / kickboxing / Muay Thai
MMA training and preparation
Strength and conditioning
Josh has also dipped his feet in the MMA scene, most notably competing on a BRACE card in Sydney in 2014. He regularly competes in no-gi jiu jitsu tournaments around Australia.
TOM DAVIS |
10PSM COACH
Tom fell in love with jiu jitsu when he started training in 2015, falling into it by accident. Originally training in kickboxing as a teen and continuing his path at a new gym, Tom did his first jiu jitsu class and found himself humbled after repeatedly being submitted and ‘man-handled’ by significantly smaller and lighter training partners. From here, he became obsessed.
Jiu jitsu has become an anchor in Tom’s life as it allows him to the best possible version of himself. He enjoys learning the 10th Planet jiu jitsu system as it continues to demonstrate how a smaller, weaker person is able to control a much larger opponent.
Tom regularly competes in no-gi tournaments around Australia, holding a number of gold medals from his divisions including 2 gold medals after competing in Lockdown Series competitions. He holds the rank of brown belt under Josh Pecastaing.
Off the mat, Tom enjoys spending time with his family.
LAURA DORGAN |
10PSM COACH & sports nutritionist
Laura began her martial arts journey in 2008 starting her training in the Peter De Been system at a Kickboxing / BJJ gym in Sunshine. She sought out some kind of self defence training as a response to being physically threatened by a male co-worker. She trained in the gi for 1 year before being introduced to 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu by a friend. At the time, she didn’t know what ‘10th Planet’ was, or what impact it would have on her life.
She began her 10th Planet journey under Frank Barca. Her focus was her jiu jitsu training which is where she committed most of her time. She also undertook kickboxing and wrestling training and became very passionate about her own fitness, strength and conditioning, seeing her eventually work out of a boxing gym in the western suburbs of Melbourne as an instructor while running her own personal training and boot camp business.
Laura began competing in state and national tournaments, eventually finding herself any opportunity while travelling overseas to train on any mat that ran a no-gi class. In 2015 she made the trip out to 10th Planet HQ in Downtown LA training under Eddie Bravo in what she describes as ‘the trip of a lifetime’.
“Training has provided me with a stability and ‘mental toughness’ I don’t believe I could have developed in any other way than on the mat. Training taught me adversity, resilience and persistence. It served me to apply this off the mat in everyday life and made everything easier. Being the smaller, weaker and in most cases, the only female on the mat taught me how to deal with whatever was thrown at me.” Through jiu jitsu, she also developed many great friendships.
Laura loves her training and can’t picture her life without it. She currently holds the rank of brown belt within the 10th Planet system.
You will find Laura behind the desk at 10th Planet South Melbourne and on the mat where she teaches jiu jitsu, Ladies Only Self Defence and various conditioning classes. Laura is a certified 10th Planet Women’s Self Defence coach and teaches workshops and corporate seminars.
She is a fully qualified Personal Trainer with a background in strength & conditioning, pre-hab and mobility where she enjoys helping people achieve their fitness goals. Laura is also a nationally registered Sports Nutritionist under Nutrition Council Australia. You can contact her directly through Elite Nutrition Solutions.
ANDREW BINSOL |
10PSM BOXING COACH
Andrew started training in Boxing in 2000 at the age of 12 after discovering his father was a boxer, wanting to follow in his footsteps. Andrew was attracted to boxing as it provided him with something he could focus on. His lifestyle allowed him little distraction growing up with living for his training. Life became wake up, go to school, go to training, eat, sleep and repeat.
Andrew also developed an interest in MMA after beginning training under Josh when he first started teaching in the mid-2000’s.
Inside the ring, training has provided Andrew the ability to learn from his mistakes, deal with problems when they arise in the moment and an open mind to learn from others. Outside of the ring, boxing has given Andrew a solid sense of mental fortitude. This allowed him to face and overcome certain challenges life has thrown at him and still hold the line. ‘What is dead may never die’.
Andrew enjoys boxing more as a coach as he enjoys teaching and watching his students learn and improve. Seeing them perfect a technique and develop their skill set is an equal reward for Andrew. Andrew placed 1st in the VABA L.H.W Victorian Novice/Intermediate championships 2012.
Outside of coaching, Andrew works as a disability carer and holds a Bachelor of Physical Education & Sport Science (Secondary School). He also enjoys playing Overwatch (Reinhardt Main) and working on his own business www.OGNERDLIFE.com
MICHAEL PLATZ |
10PSM COACH
Michael began his martial arts journey in 2008 at the age of 14. Originally starting out in Shi-Gan Taekwondo in the Hunter Valley, Michael undertook Taekwondo as a response to being bullied as a child. Michael seeked to further expand his training and tried Wing Chun, jiu jitsu, Freestyle wrestling and MMA at a local club in Newcastle.
His family made the decision to move to Melbourne during Michael’s early adult years where he came across 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu South Melbourne and discovered that the 10th Planet style would be the best for him to further his development in the art of jiu jitsu and found it effective in his pursuit to hone his MMA skills.
Michael appreciates the skills he has learnt so far and believes jiu jitsu is the only martial art where you can spar with your training partner without harming one another. Jiu Jitsu has provided Michael with a sense of calm which he carries with him in his everyday and helps him stay calm under pressure. Michael holds the rank of brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu under Josh.
Michael has competed in local and state tournaments and holds an amateur MMA record of 1-0-1. He is currently working towards his next fight.
Off the mat, Michael is a barista and cabaret performer, enjoys staying fit and his other passion, restoring motorbikes.
JULIAN PITTAS |
10PSM COACH
Julian started his martial arts journey in 2007 training in Koryu Uchinadi Kenpo Jutsu Karate and then moving onto jiu jitsu in 2009. Playing Tekken as a teenager saw Julian’s love of martial arts grow because he wanted to fight like the characters in the game.
Learning martial arts helped Julian’s confidence along with keeping him in shape over the years.
Training has taught Julian that if you want to become great at something, it comes down to how dedicated you are. There are no shortcuts and consistency is key. Julian enjoys the relationships he has built over the years with his training partners, some of whom he has trained with since the age of 15, when he first started.
In 2018, Julian won in his superfight at the Boa Super 8 4th Edition. He has competed at various state level tournaments taking 1st and 2nd place. Julian eventually ventured to 10th Planet HQ in Los Angeles training under Eddie Bravo.
Julian holds the rank of black belt under Josh Pecastaing. Julian is Josh’s first ranked black belt.
Off the mat, Julian is a Cloud Software Engineer. In his spare time when he is not training, he enjoys programming and hiking & camping with friends.
TONY Antoniou |
10PSM kickboxing COACH
Tony started his martial arts journey as a teenager at the age of 14 in ITF Taekwondo where he fell in love with martial arts training. He became very competitive, entering and winning the majority of tournaments he entered at each rank, all the way to black belt which was awarded to Tony at the age of 18. After a missed opportunity to represent Australia in the 1996 World Championships hosted in Malaysia, Tony transitioned into kickboxing.
With Tony “The Westside Wonder”s burning passion now deep in the realm of kickboxing, he moved from amateur to professional competition with a total of 15 fights, with only two losses over a seven year period. He trained under Pat Christofi out of Westside Kickboxing and later under John Scida at Team Ultimate. Tony started to dabble in jiu jitsu from 2002 where he was awarded his blue belt in the gi, before taking a break from martial arts training.
In 2005, Tony was part of an event demonstration to help legalise MMA combat in Victoria to showcase the emerging art at the time.
Over the next ten years, Tony kept fit with his own training and worked as a group fitness instructor.
Tony re-commenced his love of martial arts training in 2019 at 10th Planet South Melbourne where he continued his journey. In 2023, Tony was awarded his purple belt in 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu by Josh Pecastaing.
As a kickboxing instructor on the coaching team, Tony enjoys passing his knowledge along to students at 10th Planet South Melbourne.
All of our instructors are available for private and group private instruction. To learn more about this, click on the button below.