THREE young students of Trench Tech’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ class — Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, Edward Diaz and Kevin De Torres — earned belt promotions on Thursday at the Trench Tech gym.
Iakopo, 15, was promoted to the rank of orange belt which is like a blue belt but for teenagers under 16 years old, said Trench Tech owner and operator Cuki Alvarez who holds a black belt in BJJ.
“In the past three years, Filomenaleonisa has shown tremendous growth in her BJJ skillset,” he added. “She is also one of the girls who join sparring sessions and spar against all the guys. She is getting a better understanding of the technical aspects of the sport and is also able to put them together…during sparring to find submissions.”
According to Alvarez, “Since she is only 15, technically she cannot be promoted to blue. But an orange belt is pretty much the same thing, but for young adults under 16.”
Edward Diaz, for his part, was promoted from orange to blue belt.
“Edward has been with us for almost three years — he joined BJJ as a yellow belt with a black stripe at age 13,” Alvarez said.
A yellow belt is the next level above white belt for children, and a yellow belt with a black stripe indicates that he is more skilled, he added.
“I promoted Edward to orange belt when he turned 14 and he was an orange belt for two years,” Alvarez said. “Once he turned 16, he qualified for his blue belt. Certainly we didn’t just promote him because he turned 16 — we promoted him because he earned it through consistency and hard work, and for showing commitment to learning and advancing his skill set.”
As for 27-year-old Kevin De Torres, he was promoted to blue belt.
“He has been with us for almost a year,” Alvarez said. “But even as a white belt, he had already displayed an advanced skill set. I could tell he had some prior experience based on his knowledge and understanding of basic guard game, guard passing, and he had very sound but basic submission attacks in his arsenal. I decided to promote him because in my opinion, he has the talent to continue growing in his game and improving.”
Alvarez added, “I know in my heart that if all of these three athletes continue to train, whether with me at Trench Tech or anywhere else, as long as they don’t stop, they will all become black belts, and that’s just a fact.”
He said Trench Tech “congratulates these fine young athletes and encourages them to keep striving.”
Trench Tech offers BJJ kids classes for children 5 to 12 years old every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:35 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., and adult BJJ classes every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Call 783-4MMA for more details on how to enroll.
Wearing their new belts following a promotion ceremony, Edward Diaz, left, Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, 2nd left, and Kevin De Torres, right, pose for a photo with Trench Tech’s Cuki Alvarez on Thursday at the Trench Tech gym.
