{"id":349117,"date":"2021-08-03T06:04:27","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T20:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=349117"},"modified":"2021-08-03T06:04:27","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T20:04:27","slug":"trench-tech-gym-promotes-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/trench-tech-gym-promotes-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Trench Tech Gym promotes 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"trench
From left, Brazilian jiu-jitsu Edward Diaz, orange belt Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, black belt Cuki Alvarez, and blue belt Kevin De Torres pose after the promotion ceremony at the Trench Tech Gym last Thursday. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trench Tech Gym has promoted Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, Edward Andres S. Diaz, and Kevin De Torres to higher belts during simple rites at the Mihaville gym last Thursday.<\/p>\n

BJJ black belt Cuki Alvarez said Iakopo was promoted to the rank of orange belt. \u201cThis is basically like a blue belt for teenagers under 16 years old. Filomenaleonisa just turned 15,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Edward Diaz, meanwhile, was promoted to blue belt from orange belt. \u201cHe turned 16 a few months ago. Both he and Filomenaleonisa have been training at Trench Tech for about three years,\u201d said Alvarez.<\/p>\n

De Torres was also promoted to blue belt. \u201cTrench Tech congratulates these fine young athletes and encourages them all to keep striving,\u201d said Alvarez.<\/p>\n

Iakopo said she took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu because of his father, CNMI Office of Veterans Affairs executive officer Stanley Iakopo.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been doing the martial art for about 10 years. He asked my brothers and I if we were possibly interested in trying it out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The daughter of Stanley and Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Priscilla said she hopes to grow more in BJJ and is lucky to have Alvarez by her side to instruct her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goals in this sport are to learn as much as I can to defend myself and continuously training to get better as an athlete, individual, and disciplining the mind. Professor Cuki always mentioned \u2018to never chase after the belt, the belt will come to you.\u2019 He is a phenomenal professor and instructor. I feel very blessed and proud of myself for getting promoted. Very eager and excited to only get better,\u201d said the incoming sophomore at Kagman High School.<\/p>\n

Diaz said what attracts him the most to martial art is how BJJ helped him develop both as a practitioner and as a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cBJJ develops you physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was also attracted by the whole concept of how BJJ, especially Trench Tech, incorporates family values with self-defense. I really respect and admire professor Alvarez and appreciate everyone who helped me get this far,\u201d said the 16-year-old incoming junior at Saipan International School.<\/p>\n

He said his promotion to blue belt is just the start of his BJJ journey. \u201cMy short-term goal is to compete. My long-term goal is to continue my BJJ journey and hopefully, the belt finds me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres, the registrar for Instructional Technology & Distance Education at the Public School System, said it was a great honor to have been promoted to a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will train hard and continue to pay my dues. It\u2019s been a great experience to learn from professor Cuki and the Trench Tech BJJ practitioners. I want to become more proficient in the sport and be a good influence to those around me. I initially wanted to try BJJ to become more physically fit and learn self-defense. I\u2019m grateful to have the opportunity to train here on Saipan and I highly encourage everyone to give it a try, the mats are open and the group is kind and welcoming, and the experience is one of a kind,\u201d said the 27-year-old.<\/p>\n

Trench Tech offers BJJ kids classes ages 5-12 every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:35pm to 6:20pm and adult BJJ classes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6:30pm to 8pm. Call 670-783-4MMA for more details on how to enroll today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trench Tech Gym has promoted Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, Edward Andres S. Diaz, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":349178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2842],"class_list":["post-349117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-trench-tech-gym"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}