Congratulations to all Optimus Academy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students who received their Belt & Stripe Promotions this month. As a jiu-jitsu family, we celebrated 55+ youth & adult students who demonstrated the commitment & discipline required to advance to the next level in their jiu-jitsu practice. In addition to the ceremony, Professor Mauricio “Tinguinha” Mariano, owner of Tinguinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and my Professor, taught a special jiu-jitsu seminar to all those in attendance. I was also honored to receive my own promotion to 2nd degree black belt from professor Tinguinha.
As a Professor, I look for my students to consistently demonstrate three specific behaviors in order to qualify for their next promotion:
- Attendance in Class
- Accumulation of Knowledge
- Application of Knowledge During Live Training
All of the students who received a promotion met or exceeded this criteria making their stripes and belts hard-earned well-deserved marks of their personal progress.
Practicing jiu-jitsu not only takes commitment, discipline, and focus — both on and off the mat — but, it requires mental & physical fortitude as it is simultaneously challenging and rewarding, humbling and empowering. A student’s journey through jiu-jitsu will have peaks and valleys; and, it will not be linear. Some stripes and belts take longer than others to achieve, even for the most dedicated student. However, those students who stay committed to their martial art practice, maintain mental fortitude, and keep their sight set on the long-term will be able to endure the plateau to discover their next breakthrough.
Recognizing students for their ongoing effort, endurance, and resiliency is an important part of the jiu-jitsu journey. Below is a list of those students we celebrated during this past Belt & Stripe Promotion. Congratulations!
Kids Stripes
Chasen Colwell
Hudson Colwell
Jacob Malkosh
Joe Sandoval
Kourosh Zarif
Hollan Breaux
Luke Bittner
Sam Hill
Mason Mullinix
Anthony Chade
Andrew Chade
Kids Belts
Jet Roberts
Beck Winters
Benjamin Kruse
Daniel Kruse
Alondra Perez
Adult Stripes
Nick Bahr
Matthew Carlson
Nicholas D’Alba
Bryan Grebbin
Jeremiah Verhines
James Taylor
Jon Zillmer
Andrew Delio
James Howorth
Donovan Montoya
Wade Sheperd
Mathew Welch
Blaine Burch
Matt Bedolfe
Robert Chade
Bobby Aschtiani
Sean Bittner
Jason Cazarez
Alex Cho
Phill Culshaw
Brian Duzet
Armando Gaeta
Dylan Ogle
Gavin Peterson
Alexsander Vasquez
Andrew Jung
Clay Miller
Eric Persson
Henry Pan
Adult Belts (White to Blue)
Cheyne Tilly
Eric Wharton
Asher Enoch
Jeremy Verhines
Greg Scherer
Kevin Nerison
Greg Carlson
Zach Woliver
Eugene Kim
Clayton Scherer
Jeremiah Verhines
Adult Belt (Blue to Purple)
Joe Chin
To all: keep persevering! The journey is for life.
– Professor Grant