Black Belt Graduation!

Four New Black Belts!

What a fantastic and eventful night it was.  Serge and Stuart we're masterful at surprising everyone that was wearing a brown belt.  Four Black Belts awarded to the most awesome guys.  

My Journey started 10 years ago with the help of Danilo David. Danilo invited me to go take a trial class with Douglas Santos.  I was hooked at the first class.  This is where I met Stuart and Serge.  I was so out of shape and my health was deteriorating.  Cholesterol was off the charts and I weighed in at 100kg.  I was suffering from depression as well. 

In the beginning I could only get through half of the warm.  It took close to 6 months before I could finish the warm up without feeling like hurling all over the mats. Serge was the first person to recognize that my fitness was improving.  That was a moment of encouragement that boosted my confidence and kept me in the sport.

The first thing I realized is that my diet had to change. The level of intensity demanded of me in training required a better diet.  Within 2 years I brought my weight down to 85kg.  Over the last year I've been able to cut down to 75kg and start gaining muscle. I recognized that to be a Black Belt that I needed to bring my fitness up to a higher level.  I've never felt better in my life.  

After 8 years with DS Team I made the choice to change Dojo and instructors.  I was starting up a kids BJJ Dojo and needed to have a Black Belt to continue my learning and run my Dojo legitimately.  Stuart and Serge were very helpful and gave me a lot of guidance that allowed me to get up a running very quickly.  Changing Dojo and instructor can be a stressful event in ones martial arts life.  Stuart and Serge made it less stressful and were all to happy to help out.  Thanks to both of you for all the help and mentoring over the last few years. 

I want to thank everyone that I've trained with over the years.  Without your help this would not have been possible.  A big thanks to all of my students' and parents' that came out for the graduation.  It was a lot of fun to see the kids mix it up in the free rolling session.  I was very proud to have parents and kids see the environment where I train.  My hope was for the kids to feel connection with the Onehunga Dojo. 

Another round of thanks to my family for supporting me through my Jiu Jitsu journey.  

 

Last photo with my brown belt at Auckland Kids BJJ

What a great group of people to train with!

New belts!