Promotions at my school have always been taken very seriously, and maybe that's why they have always been a long-awaited moment for the students being promoted, their training partners and, of course, for me.
In these 14 years of teaching I've held some memorable promotions for everyone who was there, but this was truly the first one with a view like this.
On March 10, I promoted my first student at Top Brother Florianópolis, and the scenery is truly breathtaking.
Check out the video of that moment, with the kind of view only Top Brother Florianópolis can offer!
First belt promotion at Top Brother Florianópolis
Promotion criteria
At my school I've always been very strict with promotions, and my students even joke (with that hint of truth) that with me it's better to just train and forget about promotions, because they won't come any time soon hehe. Jokes aside, I've always demanded a lot from my students, and I'd rather keep a student a bit longer at a given rank than move them up too early.
I hardly need to say it, but my first criterion will always be meeting the minimum time required by the CBJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Confederation). Once the minimum time is met, I look at several factors and compare what the student was like when they started with where they are now. This comparison is always of the student against themselves; after all, everyone has their own goals in Jiu-Jitsu, their own limitations and very specific characteristics.
By the way, if you haven't read the article What are the Jiu-Jitsu belts? yet, go check it out, because I talk about what the belts are and the minimum time required for each one.
Besides all the technical requirements of our well-defined curriculum, which must be shown not only in the exam but also in day-to-day training, I look at whether the student attends class regularly and has commitment, discipline, respect, camaraderie, humility, loyalty and other values that are essential to our team.
As the rank goes up, the requirements also go up, but this progression is gradual and very natural at our school.
First promotion in Florianópolis
Because of the pandemic I haven't opened a class here in Florianópolis yet, but I have two students who also lived in Pelotas-RS and now live here, and I'm training with them by the beach.
One of them is André Lima, who has been training for more than two years and was promoted with this spectacular view during our 6 a.m. training session.
Congratulations to our newly promoted student.
Questions
So, what did you think of this amazing view where I held the first promotion at Top Brother Florianópolis?
Leave a comment telling me if you've ever taken part in a promotion outside the academy.
I'd also like to invite anyone who wants to learn Jiu-Jitsu and lives in the south of Florianópolis island to come and get to know my work a little better and book a private lesson.
OSSSS
Jiu-Jitsu video lessons, articles and stories with Matheus Zimmermann
The teacher → Private class or seminar →
