Promoted to Purple Belt!

I received my purple belt the other night from Professor Marra and Gustavo. It is definitely an honor and I am very excited to be able to compete next year at a higher level. I have been training for about 3.5 years now. It has been a tough journey with multiple injuries and deployments which stalled my training. I am not one to chase belts and wouldn't really have cared if I stayed blue, but I have won my last 3 tournaments and placed 2nd the two before that so I feel like I am ready to compete at purple.

I would like to thank Professor Marra and Gustavo, I have learned so much from them this last year. It is tough moving to a new place, but luckily I am in a city with a great Jiu Jitsu academy. Everyone at the academy is real friendly and opened up to me the second I walked through the door. I would also like to thank Daniel and Danny at Capitao. This is the school I was training at prior to Texas. Daniel is a passionate coach and believed in my jiu jitsu. I love his style and my game came straight from him. Lastly, I would like to thank my teammates from both Marra Senki and Capitao, everyone is real tough and dedicated and I was pushed to the limit every training session. although you compete one on one, Jiu Jitsu is truly a team sport and I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for all of you.

Now, my next decision will be whether to cut weight or gain a few pounds for this next tournament. I currently weigh 184 and will have to weigh in at either 181lbs or 194lbs (with a gi on). When I am in the 170s, I feel and look too light. I think the best choice for me is to slowly gain weight through lifting and eating right. Another reason to gain weight is that I will have a slight advantage when I compete in the open weight division.

I will have till next week to decide. This is when I will start my focused training for the Houston Open. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there. Be safe and stay healthy.