3 get BJJ promotion

Trench Trench’s Cuki Alvarez, right (first photo), poses with Ray Santos, left, Lo Itibus, and Pali Rovnan after awarding the three Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners their blue belt during a promotional ceremony last Tuesday. (Contributed Photo)

Three Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners moved up to the rankings during the Trench Tech promotion ceremony last Tuesday night at the Trench Tech Gym in Garapan.

Pali Rovnan, Lo Itibus, and Ray Santos were promoted from white to blue belt after putting in the work to improve their BJJ skills amid the limited time of training due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Blue belt is the second rank in BJJ progression system. White is for beginners, while red is the highest rank and the holder is often referred to as grandmaster. After the blue belt, the next rankings are purple, brown, black, red/black, and red/white.

“Before the pandemic, all of our members were steadily improving in their overall skill set, but these three individuals showed a significant spurt and spike in their improvement and skills. And in the past month, when we opted to reopen our BJJ classes, they all put in hard work and dedication to get to this level,” said Trench Tech owner and BJJ instructor Cuki Alvarez.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cuki Alvarez, right, and Clint Dela Cruz, left, pose with Lo Itibus, Pali Rovnan, and Ray Santos for a group photo after the promotion ceremony at the Trench Tech Gym last Tuesday. (Contributed Photo)

“The timing was just right and they all earned their new color by showing patience, persistence, and consistency despite all the issues we are facing due to this pandemic,” added the black belt Alvarez, who presented Rovnan, Itibus, and Santos their new belts in a ceremony attended by several other BJJ students of Trench Tech.

Itibus has been working out at Trench Tech for four years and on her BJJ skills in the last three. She debuted in the mat in 2019 when she represented the CNMI and Trench Tech in the Asian International BJJ Federation Jiu-Jitsu Championships held in Japan. Itibus fought in the light-featherweight division and lost to her Japanese foe via arm-bar submission, but despite the setback, she remained committed to BJJ and continued to work on her skills with the help of Alvarez and other Trench Tech members

Cuki Alvarez awards the blue belt to Ray Santos. (Contributed Photo)

Santos has more years of training than Itibus, as he has been joining Trench Tech’s training sessions for over 10 years, however, he’s been working out on and off. The new blue belt holder is also into weightlifting, competing in local and international tournaments. Santos won three silver medals in the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei and has been a regular competitor in tournaments in Guam and the Philippines.

Rovnan is a relative newcomer at Trench Tech, as he has been with the group for only one year. He was entered in the absolute white belt men’s division of last year’s Art of War 14 Grappling Submission Challenge.

Meanwhile, Alvarez said more BJJ students would have been promoted if not for the pandemic that halted Trench Tech’s sessions. BJJ classes at Trench Tech have resumed last month, but only for adults, as the group adheres to the safety measures local and federal authorities have set to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.