This last Friday I had the privilege of awarding two great Coaches their new BJJ belts.

From left to right, Karl, Kress, Tom and Travis this last Friday at the fights.

First up was Karl Tanswell. I have known Karl for about Eight Years now, and those of you that have worked with Karl already know he is a world class Coach. Whether you have seen his work on BODOG with Rosi, or had the pleasure of attending one of his workshops recently to see the innovative MMA curriculum he has developed, their is no doubt Karl is one of the top MMA Coaches in the world at the moment.

What you may not know is Karl is equally skilled with a gi. He can teach the entire Art of BJJ, gi, no-gi, MMA, and the self defense applications. And his own game has become really solid in the past two Years. He has helped Coach multiple world Champions, and the UK SBG athletes consistently dominate in both submission and MMA events.

That stated, it was an honor for me to award Karl his black belt this last Friday July 20th. I have only awarded two black belts prior to this, Luis Gutierrez and John Kavanagh. And the skill of both men speaks for itself. I am very proud to add Karl to that extremely short list.

On the same night I was also very happy to award longtime Portland Coach Travis Davison his well deserved brown belt. Travis's game is rocking, and his understanding of BJJ is top notch. But he has also become one of the best teachers (if not the best), to ever come from my own Portland Gym so far.

Travis has been a regular feature at the Portland Gym for about Ten Years now. He recently moved to Montana, where he will be opening the first ever Montana SBG, as well as taking over Coaching duties for the Mountain and Midwest regions of the USA. It is a huge loss for us here in PDX, but a huge gain for everyone else that will be able to experience Travis's classes.

I am proud to have these guys represent the best of what SBGi is about, and also honored to call them friends.