KOA Team Black Belts:
1. Adam Bashista (29 October 2019)
2. Jaron Hampton (29 October 2019)
3. Anthony Garavalia (21 December 2019)
4. T (21 December 2019)
5. Brandon Cooley (31 May 2020)
6. Eric Crago (8 May 2021);
(Renzo Gracie present as officiate.)
6.5. Daniel Hasbrouck (16 September 2021);
(Awarded by Professor Michio Grubbs at Excel Jiu Jitsu, Oceanside, CA)
*Military orders brought Daniel to KOA in 2017 as a brown belt from Excel Jiu Jitsu. Professor Grubbs and Professor Grissom maintained close consultation while Daniel's family was stationed at Quantico to ensure Daniel's matriculation through brown belt and in September 2021 Professor Grubbs awarded Daniel his black belt with KOA Team's endorsement.
7. Chuck Berry (5 March 2022);
(Promoted at Chuck's alma mater, the US Naval Academy; event hosted by the USNA Jiu Jitsu Club.)
8. Jason Lee (21 April 2022)
9. Fred Thomsen (30 September 2022)
10. Shawn Parise (28 October 2022);
(Shawn's brown belt awarded by Professor Lance Glynn under Master Franjinha Miller at Paragon Jiu Jitsu, Santa Maria, CA in 2019)
11. Mohammed Munir Ahmed Yousif (19 March 2023);
("Mo" is the nation of Sudan's first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. He was promoted to black belt in Senegal at the 2023 "Championnats du Senegal Jiu Jitsu Bresilien" (aka the Dakar Open) hosted by the Bokk Jiu Jitsu team in Dakar. Shortly after Mo’s return home in 2023, the (current) Sudanese civil war started and he essentially lost everything as his family was separated by the conflict, including his hard-built school. Mo now lives and teaches Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai here in the US in the N. Virginia area at Beta Academy under the leadership of my friend and JJ mentor, Nakaphan).
12. Andre Salvanera (27 April 2023)
13. Craig Olszta (11 May 2023)
14. Nathaniel Strahle (6 June 2023)
(Nate's brown belt awarded by Professor Jason Izaguirre at Gracie Kailua, Oahu, HI in 2020)
15. Chris Weld (18 July 2023)
16. Matt Middleton (10 November 2023)
17. Miguel Marcano (16 November 2023)
18. Todd Fisher (13 July 2024)
19. Brian Collins (14 January 2025)
20. Malick Rupert (26 December 2024)
