First Stripe

Thursday marked an important day in my brazilian jiu-jitsu training. Along with a handful of other students, I received my first promotion in the gentle art. As many of you have heard or read, I felt I had plateaued in my training, and was struggling for answers. In the ceremony, Luis "Sucuri" Togno explained how this was natural for students, and further went on to explain how proud he was of all of his students.

The interesting thing about Team Alliance from my vantage point is that, unlike many schools, Luis is very interested in the student's advancing through strict adherence to the details of each technique. He does not promote in order to run a profitable business and maintain student tuition. This is extremely important for the real world defense of the art and the skills of the practitioner. Too often we read about students at other schools being promoted to blue after 6 months or so. However, in many cases, these students do not understand the roots of the art, the accomplished fighters, or the reasons why details are so important.

I am proud to have received my bar and stripe this week, and sincerely look forward to the day I can look back on this and provide that new student, struggling in his or her own training and provide the motivation to continue on, regardless of how difficult it may seem.

Check out Alliance of Charlotte and reach out to Luis "Sucuri" Togno for more information about the academy.

Good night!