Last Wednesday, July 13th, was the belt promotions ceremony at RGA. This is an event that occurs once a year, with lots of promotions being granted to worthy students. For the most part only belts are bestowed at this ceremony — the only ones who receive stripes are black belts, for obvious reasons. The event brings in lots of guests and visitors, including prominent figures from the sport. Naturally, the event is hosted by Prof. Renzo Gracie himself.
This year’s event awarded somewhere around 120 belts, give or take 20. I was really happy to see some folks I train with get the promotions they deserved. They had the opportunity to shake the hands of some 20 or so black belts under Renzo Gracie, including the renowned John Danaher and Roger Gracie. Prof. Roger Gracie flew in from London, and awarded one of his students his black belt at the ceremony. Among the black belts who received stripes were Jose "Zed" Chierghini, Magno Gama, and John Danaher (who wore a full gi uniform, pants included, to everyone’s surprise), all of whom are instructors at RGA. Prof. Renzo likes keeping people’s spirits high, and didn’t hesitate to share some great (read: funny) stories of his history with his star pupils.
Overall the event was great fun. Congratulations to everyone who got promoted!
Oh and I almost forgot the most important part: there was free food! Courtesy of The Meatball Shoppe, which I coincidentally tried out for the first time the Saturday before the event. Will definitely stop by there again. One of the owners trains at RGA, but I haven’t had a chance to express how impressed I was with the food yet.
Pics from the event to come soon, as soon as one of my fellow students gets a chance to send them to me! up now:
Here is a video from the black belt speeches during the event. Prof. Zed’s was particularly entertaining:
Remember: A black belt is a white belt who never quits.