journeyjjbluebelt

Once again the ancient tradition continues. Like so many times before, thousands and thousands of years, the recognition of the transfer of knowledge from master to student occurred last night. This tradition stretches back thousands of years and many continents.

Same as last year, it was another great Winter Belt Ceremony at Valente Brothers; however, this year was a little different. Royce Gracie brought four or more brown belts from his academy. Royce had his brown belt students black belt tested at Valente Headquarters and those that passed received their black belts at the ceremony. After the belts were given out, the Mayor of North Miami Beach, whom is a purple belt, gave the Valentes brothers the key to the city for their help with the armed forces, law enforcement, and the betterment of its citizens through jiu jitsu training.

Pedro and Gui gave their speeches on jiu jitsu and its healthy lifestyle. The best speech was from Dr. Valente. As Pedro translated the email letter, the room became completely silent. Master Dr. Pedro Valente, red belt, could not make the trip this year but he emailed his speech and watched the ceremony via web cam. This is what I understood. The Valente Brothers Academy is comparable to the best universities in the United States. We are very fortunate to have this place and to have access to the teachings. Getting a diploma from Valente brothers is like getting a diploma from Havard, Yale, and MIT.