JJ Racaza

Simon “JJ” Racaza was born in Cebu City, Philippines on April 16, 1980. He started shooting at approximately 6 years old with a bolt action single shot air rifle. At about the age of nine, his father, who was an A class shooter (1 class below a Master) started bringing him to his practice sessions and minor matches. Being a typical kid idolizing his father, “JJ” mimicked his father’s shooting. “JJ”s father noticed his skills and decided to hone it. With that, his Dad had him try shooting. “JJ” stepped up, held the 1911 .45 cal. and fired his first pistol shots. Shot after shot, he couldn’t miss and with everyone watching it, his firing seemed effortless. After that first day of shooting, “JJ” never looked back. That was the beginning of Simon “JJ” Racaza’s blossoming career. Sadly, due to financial reasons, his father gave up the sport and decided to train “JJ” full time to compete. From junior titles to man vs. man — well at that time it was really boy vs. man events, “JJ” developed his confidence. He started to win and dominate his division as a junior by large margins within a few months. With confidence rising, strict training, and hard-work, “JJ” was consistently placing in the top 10 of the overall competitions by the age of 11 years old. Unmistakably, by the age of 13 “JJ” established himself a name to be reckoned with in the Philippine shooting industry.

JJ Racaza is a highly accomplished trainer, world-class competition shooter, and former Federal Law Enforcement Officer.  JJ is a 3-time world speed shooting champion and he has broken and held multiple world speed shooting records, won multiple US National Titles as well as a myriad of international major championship wins.  As a 4-time US Gold Team Member for the World Shooting Championships, JJ led the US Team in 2011 and 2014 to a Gold Medal.  In 2011 he was ranked #2 in the world in the open category, in 2014 he was #2 in the production class and in 2017 he was ranked #2 in the open category.  And finally, in 2022 he was able to achieve the #1 ranking in the world, by winning the World Shoot Championships in the Production Optic Division.  JJ is a Quadruple Grand Master in the USPSA, a Distinguished Master SSP Division in IDPA and he was also a high-ranking competitor on the History Channel’s Top Shot television program. JJ’s secret to success was his drive to learn and master both the fundamentals and movement. Not having the ability to shoot as much as his competitors, he needed to find other ways to remain competitive by identifying aspects of his shooting that he could improve without needing a range to do so. Through many years of trial and error and constant work and development, JJ is now known throughout the industry for his movement capabilities.  These concepts that JJ has spent his shooting career developing, he shares with his students in these classes. 

JJ’s instructor and professional credentials are equally impressive.  He is a former Federal Law Enforcement Officer with the Department of Homeland Security.  During his government service, among other aspects of his job, he served as a Lead Firearms Instructor, Field Training Officer, and law enforcement academy instructor.  JJ is certified from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) as an instructor in firearms, non-lethal training, and defensive tactics. He is currently working with some of the most elite military groups and also introduces a lot of his concepts to the Law Enforcement world.