Grading Christmas 2022
We had our biggest ever grading at Christmas, with our first ever black belt and a load of brown belts. Wave is maturing as a gym and we are looking forward to 2023. Let’s get acquainted with all the new grades at Wave. We will start in reverse order with the blue belts first.
Ryan - Blue Belt
Ryan is dedicated he trains twice a day when he can and had a broken finger when he came in for the grading. He keeps his head down and trains hard, the epitome of a lack of ego (I wish I had that :) ).
Kate - Blue Belt
Kate came in a more timid approach, it took her no time at all though to build confidence and love BJJ. She has competed already and is finding her stride now. We know there will be a lot of good things for Kate at blue belt as she develops further and continues to push forward. Well done Kate!
Joe - Blue Belt
Joe is deceptive, he seems nice but he has a passion for martial arts, he has trained Judo and traditional jiu jitsu and moved to BJJ. He may be not as young but don’t mess with Joe! He also competes with people way bigger than him for fun (or he just loves his food). Well done Joe!
Lucas - Blue
Lucas is tall!! (as you can see from the picture :) ). He has long legs and loves to triangle you with them. He is determined in competition and has done well, lots more competing in 2023 with this new challenge. Well done Lucas!
Nick - Blue
Nick is our oldest blue belt at 61 (he keeps reminding me how old he is so it’s hard to forget). He may be old, but he has that old man strength and years of boxing, kickboxing and stick fighting behind him, as well as hip flexibility that would make younger men cry. He keeps going and has the fighting spirit to back it up. Well done Nick!
Conor - Purple
Conor has been training at lunch times consistently and pushing hard, he has trained around his family and has a methodical approach to everything he does, we see big things for his future in BJJ. Well done Conor!
Jamal - Purple
He has a long spidery game that lures you into his triangle. He has gone through struggles in the last couple of years but he always pushes forward. Well done Jamal!
Bonnie - Purple Belt
Bonnie is well known for her tough to pass guard, she isn direct and to the point and will smash up the competition scene in 2023.
Ruaidhri - Brown
Ruaidhri has managed to overcome the hurdles of life that normally get in the way of your training. Fatherhood, job changes, losing motivation and the huge shift we all recently suffered. He has kept training consistently and didn’t quit when life threw him grapefruits he said “nah, I want lemons as i prefer lemonade” (Am sure this is accurate words from his own mouth). Well done on your brown Ruaidhri!
Franck - Brown
If you train at lunch on Thursdays you know how Franck is already. He is disciplined, motivated and his game is classic and straight to the point of submission. He has cardio for days… weeks… years and always has a smile on his face. Well done Franck on your Brown Belt!
Misha - Brown
Misha is light, strong and can keep going till you tap or quit, there was a big sigh of relief when he got his brown belt. You can meet Misha in the evenings weekends and if you come for our beginners course classes. Well done Misha!
Dan - Black Belt!
Well this one is a big one. The first Wave black belt and one of our longest serving students. He has seen Wave grow from renting space in a dance studio to our permanent space and we have been there through all his life changes. Let’s not talk for him though, as every black belt has to give a speech, let’s hear what Dan had to say about this special day :)