June 12, 2011 in News by Gumby

Big Belt Promotions happened in June!

June has already seen tons of action and hard work paying off on the mats of Heroes Martial Arts.

Firstly, two of our mainstays, Joey and Gabe have earned their well deserved blue belts!

Joey “Digi” Ruiz was actually among the very first student to sign up at Heroes Martial Arts when we opened the doors.  A fixture on the local skate boarding scene and the cameraman editor behind some big projects (including the first skate movie shot entirely in HD), Joey has traveled the globe but has his home here on the mat.  Much like a freestyer, Joey’s transitions in Jiu Jitsu have become especially dangerous (and fun to watch).

Gabe Toci isn’t the most vocal person in the room, but he always has a presence when he is on the mat.  The Hawaiian native is a combination of both finesse and raw strength and had game has developed to high level quickly.  It might surprise you to know that Gabe is a ceramics instructor and artist.

Two BIG promotions as Chris and Viking received their purple belts!

Chris Martinet is becoming famous as the journalist behind the “Ask a Black Belt” video series, where he has interviewed many of the top Jiu Jitsu personalities in both the Bay Area, and around the world, even scoring an interview with Royce Gracie while visiting Abu Dhabi!  It’s a role and calling that Gumby himself found himself in many years ago as one of the founders of OntheMat.com (where Chris’s videos are now posted)  It’s in pursuit of knowledge that Chris acts, and in the few years that Chris has been at Heroes we’ve seen Chris eagerly learn as much as he can, apply it and be willing to share what he has.  Chris has become one of the academy leaders and it is with great pleasure to promote him to faxia roxa.

Finally, Mark “Viking” Nielsen has been a longtime student of Gumby’s, working together at three different locations!  From Gumby’s comp class at their first academy (where Viking was the most consistent student) to the infamous “warehouse” days, to laying down the mats at Heroes, Viking has been a stalwart student and friend.  He’s worked extremely hard to get where he’s at; it goes without saying you don’t want to be underneath Viking, but he’s also developed his bottom game and defenses as well.  Viking is proof that you should never judge a book by it’s cover, and you you never know what one is capable when they first walk in the door.  Gumby freely admits that he wasn’t sure if Viking was going to survive the first month of training, and when it cam to sparring “we had the phone pre dialed to 9-1 when Viking was on the mat just in case”.  Viking preserved and succeeded however, because his heart has always been his biggest attribute (although his mouth and his stomach are in a close race for second).  In all seriousness I couldn’t be more proud and happy to present Viking with his well deserved purple belt.

Congratulations to Joey, Gabe, Chris and Viking!  Keep training hard!