Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor is a former 3x All-American Wrestler for the University of Maryland Athletics team, with whom he won the Atlantic Coastal Conference Wrestler of the Year award on two occasions, being well known for his "Mat Wrestling" pinning style in the collegiate circuit. Outside his athletic wrestling career, Hudson Taylor founded Athlete Ally, a not-for-profit organization set to promote the inclusiveness of LGBT athletes in sports, while also conquering great success in the jiu-jitsu world, holding IBJJF World titles in the colored belt divisions.
Wrestling appeared in Hudson's life at the age of 6, and although not particularly successful in the beginning, Taylor kept at it. During 5th grade, the young Jersey wrestler placed a lot of effort into his grappling career, competing every weekend in both his age division and the age above simultaneously. The experience was grueling by his own admission, as reported to the BJJ Fanatics podcast, an interview released on January 31, 2019. He would constantly lose to his older opponents but grew tremendously from the experience, and by the time he entered 6th grade, his wrestling started to shine through.
During high school, Hudson Taylor boarded with the Blair Academy, a prestigious school, located in New Jersey, well known for its outstanding wrestling program. There he became one of the top wrestlers in the nation, particularly known for his pinning prowess, going on to be rated as the 17th-best recruit in the country by Intermatwrestle.com.
Following Blair Academy, Hudson's college career was spent at the University of Maryland, where he was a redshirt freshman, focusing then on his studies of Interactive Performance Art. Already regarded as one of the top Mat Wrestlers in the nation, once returned, Taylor's reputation only improved with the Terrapins singlet, holding All American honors on 3 occasions, and making the podium on 2 of those occasions. Hudson would also be referenced as the Atlantic Coastal Conference Wrestler of the Year in both 2007-08 and 2009-10.
It was while wrestling in college that Hudson had an epiphany. Playing a part in two very distinct worlds, that of the performance arts and of wrestling, Taylor experienced first hand both a very LGBT friendly environment and the testosterone-filled habitat of collegiate sports where homophobia ran rampant. To balance these two ecosystems and bring attention to the fight for equal rights, Taylor started wearing an equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear. A decision that gathered plenty of backlash from his wrestling peers but also support from the media and thousands of closeted athletes, particularly after Hudson started blogging about his experiences.
These tumultuous times eventually drove Hudson Taylor to found Athlete Ally, a not-for-profit organization set to help educate, encourage, and empower athletes to combat homophobia and transphobia in sports.
After college Hudson volunteered as an assistant wrestling coach at Columbia University. The coaching position allowed him to keep in touch with the sport and stay in shape, but as his duties with Athlete Ally escalated to a full-time position, Taylor was forced to leave his life as a wrestler to focus on the mission of his nonprofit. Unable to proceed at Columbia, Hudson joined Edge Wrestling in Hoboken, NJ, where he also picked up on jiu-jitsu.
It was at Edge in 2015 that Hudson met and befriended Bernardo Faria, a 4x jiu-jitsu world champion who incentivized Taylor to seek a deeper submission-grappling experience with a high-level team, leading Taylor to his friend Marcelo Garcia, another highly accomplished athlete and well-regarded jiu-jitsu coach.
Under the guidance of Marcelo Garcia, and although training on a part-time basis, Hudson was able to conquer several important jiu-jitsu events in the colored belt divisions, including an IBJJF World No-Gi title in the purple belt division (2017).
Hudson Taylor Pin Instructional
Hudson Taylor Wrestling
MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
High School
- Cadet Freestyle All-American (2002)
- 1st Place Cadet Freestyle Nationals (2003)
- 2nd Place Beast of the East Tournament (2004)
- 3rd Place Beast of the East Tournament (2003)
Collegiate
- ACC Wrestler of the Year (2008, 2010)
- All American Wrestler (2008, 2009, 2010)
- School Pins Record (87)
- 3rd Place NCAA (2008, 2009)
- 4th Place NCAA (2010)
- 1st Place West Virginia Open (2006)
- 1st Place Kent State Open (2006)
- 2nd Place ACC Tournament (2007, 2009)
- 3rd Place Southern Scuffle (2005)
- 4th Place Southern Scuffle (2006)
BJJ
- 1st Place World Championship Gi (2017 blue belt)
- 1st Place World Championship No-Gi (2017 purple belt)
- 1st Place Pan Championship No-Gi (2016, 2017 blue belt)
- 1st Place Pan Championship No-Gi (2016, 2017 blue belt open-weight)
Weight Division: 197 lbs
Teams:
- High School - Blair Academy
- University of Maryland Athletics
Hudson Taylor Biography
Herbert Hudson Taylor IV was born on January 13, 1987, growing up in Pennington, New Jersey. According to Wikipedia, Hudson descended from a long line of Christian missionaries, including James Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, built two centuries ago in China.Wrestling appeared in Hudson's life at the age of 6, and although not particularly successful in the beginning, Taylor kept at it. During 5th grade, the young Jersey wrestler placed a lot of effort into his grappling career, competing every weekend in both his age division and the age above simultaneously. The experience was grueling by his own admission, as reported to the BJJ Fanatics podcast, an interview released on January 31, 2019. He would constantly lose to his older opponents but grew tremendously from the experience, and by the time he entered 6th grade, his wrestling started to shine through.
During high school, Hudson Taylor boarded with the Blair Academy, a prestigious school, located in New Jersey, well known for its outstanding wrestling program. There he became one of the top wrestlers in the nation, particularly known for his pinning prowess, going on to be rated as the 17th-best recruit in the country by Intermatwrestle.com.
Following Blair Academy, Hudson's college career was spent at the University of Maryland, where he was a redshirt freshman, focusing then on his studies of Interactive Performance Art. Already regarded as one of the top Mat Wrestlers in the nation, once returned, Taylor's reputation only improved with the Terrapins singlet, holding All American honors on 3 occasions, and making the podium on 2 of those occasions. Hudson would also be referenced as the Atlantic Coastal Conference Wrestler of the Year in both 2007-08 and 2009-10.
It was while wrestling in college that Hudson had an epiphany. Playing a part in two very distinct worlds, that of the performance arts and of wrestling, Taylor experienced first hand both a very LGBT friendly environment and the testosterone-filled habitat of collegiate sports where homophobia ran rampant. To balance these two ecosystems and bring attention to the fight for equal rights, Taylor started wearing an equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear. A decision that gathered plenty of backlash from his wrestling peers but also support from the media and thousands of closeted athletes, particularly after Hudson started blogging about his experiences.
These tumultuous times eventually drove Hudson Taylor to found Athlete Ally, a not-for-profit organization set to help educate, encourage, and empower athletes to combat homophobia and transphobia in sports.
After college Hudson volunteered as an assistant wrestling coach at Columbia University. The coaching position allowed him to keep in touch with the sport and stay in shape, but as his duties with Athlete Ally escalated to a full-time position, Taylor was forced to leave his life as a wrestler to focus on the mission of his nonprofit. Unable to proceed at Columbia, Hudson joined Edge Wrestling in Hoboken, NJ, where he also picked up on jiu-jitsu.
It was at Edge in 2015 that Hudson met and befriended Bernardo Faria, a 4x jiu-jitsu world champion who incentivized Taylor to seek a deeper submission-grappling experience with a high-level team, leading Taylor to his friend Marcelo Garcia, another highly accomplished athlete and well-regarded jiu-jitsu coach.
Under the guidance of Marcelo Garcia, and although training on a part-time basis, Hudson was able to conquer several important jiu-jitsu events in the colored belt divisions, including an IBJJF World No-Gi title in the purple belt division (2017).
Hudson Taylor Pin Instructional