Black Belt Promotion — Taz
February 21, 2026
On Saturday, February 21, 2026, Taz received her Black Belt at Nova Geração Davis.
Her journey began on January 7, 2015. Over the next eleven years, she built her jiu-jitsu through consistent training, competitive testing, and service to the academy. She did not approach the art casually. She immersed herself in it.
For a full decade, she helped teach the kids program. For seven years—beginning at purple belt—she assisted in teaching the adult classes. Before COVID, she ran competition classes that regularly had more than thirty students on the mat. She coached teammates at more than a dozen tournaments. She competed in the Master’s Worlds four times and stood on the podium multiple times in various tournaments throughout her journey. She has also invested in the growth of the academy itself sacrificing both time, energy, and even financially into the growth of the program.
Her development extended beyond her home mats. She cross-trained with multiple academies to test and refine her skills. She has attended jiu-jitsu retreats and shared the mats with World Champion Black Belts. She traveled internationally to teach a seminar in Mexico.
Master Toco has described her jiu-jitsu as “beautiful.” The word reflects efficiency, timing, and clarity—qualities earned through years of repetition and refinement.
Black belt is not a recognition of attendance. It is acknowledgment of sustained performance, technical maturity, leadership, and character. Taz has demonstrated commitment to both the team and the academy, high-level ability, and consistency in how she carries herself on and off the mat.
On February 21, 2026, that work was formally recognized.
Taz is a Black Belt.