Dan Covel is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Phil Migliarese and a Judo black belt, and the founder and head instructor of Dan Covel Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City. Training since 2002 and having worked extensively with Marcelo Garcia, he is known for his innovative "Black Magic" closed-guard system and has released popular instructional DVDs on the position. He has multiple gold medals at IBJJF Masters No-Gi Pan American Championships and has competed at professional events including Polaris Pro.