The students and instructors of GMA Institute of Martial Arts gathered for a belt ceremony and end of year celebration on Saturday, Dec. 7. Photo: Personal Archive
The instructors at GMA Institute of Martial Arts in San Jose, CA led a celebration on Saturday, Dec. 7 and winter belt ceremony. Many students were promoted with stripes and white/blue belts that indicate they are close to being a blue belt and are eligible to participate in the most advanced class at the academy.
Those who were promoted to new belts are:
Brown belt: Ryan Brandenburg
Purple belt: Ashur Bourang
Blue belt: Phuong Huynh, Alejandro Cespedes, Israel, Marcelo Gomez
Both Osvaldo Augusto Queixinho and Flavio Meier received their first degree on their black belts from Caio Terra as well.
Instructor and academy director Samir Chantre says, “That day was very special, we had others promotions during the year but this one which was followed by a end of the year celebration made that day even more fun. All the guys who got promoted really deserved the belt, some that didn’t [get promoted] maybe deserved it too but for a detail or even a strategy we decided to make them hold on a little more. We have a very good, friendly, competitive and dedicated group. Days like this one make us very honored and proud.
We look forward to 2014, our school is still new and our association is a little bit more than a year old. We have a lot to grow and we are already tearing it up out there placing and sometimes winning a lot of tournaments as a team, and we give the credits to our amazing group of students and staff.”
Check out more about Caio Terra Association and his Institute of Martial Arts at www.bjjsanjose.com
