Gary Goodridge, Sylvester Wesson, and Paul Shemwell (left to right) teach at Dragons Den. Courtesy | Kiralyn Brakel

A martial arts center in Jonesville, formerly Shemwell’s Martial Arts, rebranded to Dragons Den Combat Sports in March. 

The studio still offers classes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing, and mixed martial arts but recently began teaching judo classes and a new “Mom Fit” workout class after bringing on new co-owner Sylvester Wesson in March.

At age 15, Wesson was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and told he had six months to live. He was told he would never have children. Now, nearly 20 years later, Wesson is a father of three, a coach, and co-owner of Dragons Den in Jonesville.

“Everything is just a blessing, the way my life is coming about now,” Wesson said. “The trials and tribulations and the hardships got me to where I’m at now. To be able to share that and to help others get through those days like I’ve been through is a blessing.”

Wesson has been doing martial arts for 16 years. The first time he walked into a jiu-jitsu gym, he was 20 years old.

“I was a knucklehead growing up,” Wesson said. “I was rough around the edges. I was always fighting. I was always on the street getting into something. When you are living that life, you find out that nothing comes out of it but trouble. And I walked into a martial arts gym, like I said, and I got humbled very quickly by guys smaller than me.”

Wesson said taking a more disciplined approach gave fighting a whole new meaning.

“Being a martial artist doesn’t just mean I know how to fight and defend myself,” he said. “It means I know how to avoid situations that don’t involve me. I’m disciplined enough that if I’m mad at somebody, I can just walk away.”

Wesson said the discipline that comes from martial arts has made him a better person, father, role model, partner, and friend.

He hopes to share that discipline with as many kids as he can.

“I hope to save more kids off the streets by just getting them into martial arts,” Wesson said. “Bring them on in. The rougher they are around the edges, the better for me. I was not a perfect kid, it took a lot of work to get where I am now, so I’m perfectly fine doing the same.”

Wesson plans to work with the local schools to start anti-bullying after-school programs and summer camps in the future. He has also reached out to the juvenile boys detention home and hopes to offer them martial arts training.

Wesson said he would also love to offer training to local law enforcement and first responders.  

“I wish that we could offer more to our police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, all those people that put their lives, their freedom, out on the line for us every day,” he said.

In March, Wesson joined Paul Shemwell as a co-owner of the Dragons Den location in Jonesville. The new hiring came after the arrest of one of the previous co-owners in a sex predator sting in January.

“We were looking to rebrand,” Shemwell said. “And we were looking to pick up a new instructor, so I reached out to him, and he was on board, and we brought him in back in March.”

Wesson is the primary jiu-jitsu instructor, and Shemwell is the primary Muay Thai kickboxing instructor.

Shemwell began martial arts in middle school while living in Oklahoma.

“I was in Oklahoma City, and getting bullied, and we found a place,” Shemwell said. “We didn’t know it at the time, but it was a great place to start.”

Dragons Den recently started teaching judo classes, as well as a “Mom Fit” class, which is a more general women’s fitness class. In addition to jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, they also offer boxing and MMA for all ages and experience levels. 

Sharon Shleif, the first woman in Michigan to ever receive her black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is the black belt in charge of Dragons Den, according to Hillsdale College Assistant Professor of Biology Kiralyn Brakel.

“She regularly comes over from Detroit to give seminars, and it is such a delight to learn from another woman of such high caliber, who paved the way for women in this male-dominated sport,” Brakel said.

Brakel has been doing martial arts for 15 years.

“I got into martial arts in high school because I had done ballet for about 10 years and thought it might be fun to channel all of that grace and coordination into a more aggressive sport,” Brakel said. “I found I loved it, and I stuck with it.”

Brakel trains at Dragons Den and said Shemwell and Wesson are great at working with all levels of students. 

“They are excellent human beings, in addition to being really great fighters,” Brakel said. 

Brakel has a black belt in karate and in taekwondo and just earned her blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“It was hard learning ground fighting after many years of practicing different stand-up arts, but it’s been so rewarding training in BJJ,” Brakel said. “It’s amazing how quickly you build community with people when you spend four to six hours a week beating each other up — I love both the fighting and the connections I’ve made with such a variety of people in the area.”

In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, blue is the first colored belt after white and usually takes two to five years of training to achieve, according to Brakel.

“The ranking system moves more slowly in BJJ than most other martial arts in America, which makes any promotion much more meaningful,” she said. “In another 15 years, I might be testing for my black belt.”

This year, Brakel won gold at both tournaments she competed at.

“She’s brought home three golds and one of the championship belts we have hanging in our gym,” Wesson said. “We got them hanging up in the window. If you drive by, you’ll see them. They’re pretty awesome.”

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