Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been a passion of mine for more than 4 years. It was a real honor to be promoted by my teacher Chris Civello to the rank of purple belt last night. I am truly humbled. To the teachers and professors who have instructed me both at Kioto and now at Sakura, I’m always thankful for your teachings. All my teammates and friends who have trained and rolled with me, thank you. Even though a large part of martial arts is about self-improvement, no one can do jiu-jitsu alone and we all make each other better.

Walking onto the jiu jitsu mat for the first time more than 4 years ago has led to one of the most rewarding journeys in my life so far. As in Jiu Jitsu, life can be challenging at times but there are always things we can improve on, whether it is our approaches, actions, or thoughts and responses. I will continue to train and get better in jiu jitsu and hopefully become a better person in the process too. But hey, talk is cheap, let’s just show up to the classes first. :)

-Oliver Sha