Was lucky enough to attend a Royler Gracie seminar this past weekend and had the pleasure of seeing one of my instructors, Darren Branch of Gracie Humaita Cleveland, receive his blackbelt. He did get a little bit emotional, but it was completely understandable since I know how hard he’s worked and how much of his life he has dedicated to BJJ. It was a long time coming and I’m proud to have been there to see him get promoted.
Obtaining a blackbelt is a process that takes 8-10 years of regular training so it would be hard not to succumb to emotion at such an event!
This was my first time seeing this tradition where the promoter (Donald Park) and the promotee (Darren Branch) each pull opposite sides of the old belt that was tied in a knot. This tradition was performed with everyone else that received promotions as well.
Royler also showed us some great self defense, closed guard passes, and half guard to back take moves that I’m eager to apply. We’ll see how well I paid attention in my next few training sessions! Of course I asked Royler to sign my book as well.
