John Will’s regular visits to our mat are always special, but November 28, 2015 was particularly memorable.

The session started with the awarding of brown belts to coaches Thomas Kwok and Mark Schatzdorfer.  Brown belt is a high level grade in BJJ which few attain, and these grades are just reward for the years of hard work and dedication shown by these two impressive practitioners of the art.  Technically advanced, learning focused and fantastic coaches, Thomas and Mark are lynchpins of the GroundControl culutre.

It wasn’t over there though, as John finished the session awarding the grade of black belt to head coach Mike Fooks.  The BJJ black belt is among the most significant accomplishments in modern martial arts, taking over a decade of dedicated training as a minimum.  With only a handful of homegrown black belts in NZ this was a proud moment for Mike and the club.