BERLIN — On Friday, March 29, Valiant Martial Arts in Berlin, CT held a belt award ceremony where 15 youth students earned belt promotions in judo.
Prior to promotion night, Valiant's black belt instructors, including owner Karol Stekowski, Ralph Messite, Tom Knowlton, Dave Chapman, Bob Sisti, and Josh Weinstein, will A pre-test and parent evening was held on the 27th of the month. I explained to my parents what the instructor taught me, and the instructor observed it. If children can successfully teach their parents what they know, they are ready for promotion. As a result, there were many participants in the youth class.
The 15 students promoted Friday night were Evan Byrd, Jaxyn Staton, Sofia Schabrowsky, Lucio Gianni, Christian Butulga, Julia Tutka, Olivia Tutka, Isabella Urguiles, Drew Tranter, Brooklyn Sheehan, Sean Sheehan, Gracyn Sheehan, Trenton Stekowski, Elana Mendez and Logan Chapman.
The instructor called the students one by one, removed their existing belts, and put on their new rank belts. Students and instructors then bowed and shook hands to congratulate and honor the new class.
Mr. Mesite, one of the youth leaders, was very proud that 15 students were promoted on Friday night. He said this group was learning the fastest of any youth group he had coached, and he was amazed by their dedication and progress in judo in the first few months.
“Words cannot express how happy all of our instructors are to see this group of students exceed expectations,” Messite said. “Typically, students wait at least six months for their first promotion and a year for promotion (if they were previously promoted). We have never experienced before how quickly they caught on. They say they love judo and can't wait to take part in judo. We have a special curriculum for each rank. Each student performs differently, so students and instructors It requires a lot of one-on-one time with students. We are always looking at each student individually. Students are also helping each other.”
Mesaite instructs the students who have been promoted to the belt to use what they have learned to hone their skills. He also plans to teach young students the philosophy of judo and begin introducing randori, a method of throwing and pinning an opponent in one-on-one situations.
Although Mesite and his group enjoy teaching children the art of judo, their mission is much more important than teaching children how to defend themselves in an effective manner. While teaching judo to children, they also incorporate ways for children to increase confidence, focus, motivation, social skills, coordination, and most importantly, respect.
“One of the main goals of judo is to help students develop respect, a willingness to take chances, collaborate with others, deal with everyday challenges, initiative, and better social skills. It’s about helping them learn,” Mesite said. “This will help them with any problems they face in life. Perhaps they will become a judo instructor or a judo referee.”
