# Peter Polygenis

> Australian 4th degree black belt under Peter de Been, long-time competitor, and founder of Bayside BJJ in Mordialloc, Melbourne.

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- **Last updated:** 2026-07-18

## Identity

- **Name:** Peter Polygenis
- **Full name:** Peter Polygenis
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Bayside Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Mordialloc)
- **Nationality:** Australia
- **Weight class:** Competed across multiple divisions; later career and Masters heavyweight (≈91–97 kg+)

## Biography

Peter Polygenis is an Australian Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, coach, and academy founder based in Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs. He began training in 1996 under Peter de Been—widely regarded as one of Australia’s BJJ pioneers and a black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr.—and started teaching within about a year of his first classes. That early start put him among the longer-tenured instructors still active on the Victorian mats, with the academy describing more than 29 years of experience and a current rank of 4th degree black belt (black belt awarded in 2010).

As a competitor Polygenis built a multi-decade record on the Australian circuit rather than the modern international pro scene. His early medals came in lighter divisions (Victorian Championship gold at 61–67 kg and absolute silver in 1998), before he moved through heavier brackets and absolute fields. Standout results include Pan Pacific gold at 91–97 kg and absolute in 2002, NSW Circuit absolute success in 2003, Pan Pacific gold again in 2008, and a double gold (weight and absolute) at the 2016 Australian National Championship in Masters 2 at 91–97 kg. That same year he was listed as the #3 ranked Australian male black belt in Masters gi. Competition highlights below are drawn primarily from Bayside BJJ’s instructor page.

In 2016 he founded Bayside Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Mordialloc (6 Bond Street), where he remains head coach and person in charge on competition registrations (Smoothcomp). The academy markets itself as a family-friendly, ego-light room for kids and adults—gi and no-gi, seven days a week—with an emphasis on technical precision, inclusiveness, and individual student pathways rather than a pure competition-factory model. Secondary lifestyle coverage (e.g. Man of Many’s Melbourne gym roundups) has listed Bayside among notable local academies; rank and start-year details in older press pieces lag the academy’s own biography, which is the primary source for belt degree and 1996 start date.

On the mats he is known for a signature gi finish called the Polygenis Choke: he picks up the opponent’s gi pants, stacks them, and finishes the choke by grabbing the gi lapel. Polygenis’s public profile is primarily that of a community coach who still leads by example: he has coached students to state, national, and Pan Pacific medals, is regularly in students’ corners at local events, and has spoken about building a durable club culture on the Roll or Die podcast (Episode #119, 2022). His published lineage follows the de Been / Gracie Barra line: Carlos Gracie Sr. → Carlos Gracie Jr. → Peter de Been → Peter Polygenis. He remains active on Instagram as @peterpolygenis and through the academy accounts for Bayside BJJ.

## Lineage

Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Peter de Been > Peter Polygenis

## Instructors

- Peter de Been

## Major achievements

- 1st Place Australian National Championship — Masters 2, 91–97 kg and Absolute (2016)
- #3 Ranked Australian male black belt, Masters gi (2016)
- 1st Place Pan Pacific Championship — 91–97 kg and Absolute (2002)
- 1st Place Pan Pacific Championship — 91–97 kg (2008)
- 1st Place Victorian Championship — 91 kg+ (2002)
- 1st Place Victorian Championship — 61–67 kg (1998); 2nd Place Absolute (1998)
- NSW Circuit — First Round Gold Absolute and 85 kg+; Joint Champion Absolute (2003)
- 2nd Place Pan Pacific Championship — 91–97 kg (2001)
- Multiple Victorian Championship medals (1998–2013) across light and heavyweight brackets
- Founder and head coach, Bayside Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mordialloc (est. 2016)

## Colored belt highlights

- Black belt awarded 2010 under Peter de Been; later promoted to 4th degree (per academy bio)
- Competed and medaled at Victorian and Pan Pacific level from the late 1990s through colored belts into black belt

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peterpolygenis/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QHLJKAfsE9ORxTXJOKSWw
- Website: https://www.baysidebjj.com/

## Sources

- [Bayside BJJ — Instructor (Peter Polygenis)](https://www.baysidebjj.com/instructor)
- [Bayside BJJ — Home / About the academy](https://www.baysidebjj.com/)
- [Bayside BJJ — About](https://www.baysidebjj.com/about)
- [Smoothcomp — Bayside BJJ (person in charge)](https://smoothcomp.com/en/club/10308)
- [Man of Many — Best BJJ Gyms in Melbourne (Bayside listing)](https://manofmany.com/culture/fitness/best-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-gyms-in-melbourne)
- [Roll or Die Podcast — Episode #119 Peter Polygenis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgJOgsL7evc)
- [YouTube — Peter Polygenis BJJ Competitions (historical footage)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz3TFoDA4dk)
- [Instagram — @peterpolygenis](https://www.instagram.com/peterpolygenis/)
- [Instagram — @baysidebjj](https://www.instagram.com/baysidebjj/)
- [Wikipedia — Peter de Been (lineage context)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_de_Been)

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