Last Updated on October 1, 2018.
Congratulations to Sensei Brandon Cuttino (TSMA East Brunswick) on his recent promotion to 2nd degree black belt!
Opening Thoughts From Sensei Garzillo
I’m very excited for this day. Someone I think has been a phenomenal Martial Artist for a long time and someone I’ve been excited to see move up in the ranks for a while. Someone I was blessed to know was part of my school for quite some time, and this individual has been a great instructor, teacher, and fighter, for our organization. He started his training way back in 1993 which is a hell of a long time ago before I was even in this organization. Back in the East Brunswick School he had eventually received his black belt in 1997 Under Sensei Hoffman. That’s over 20 years he’s had a first degree black belt. Poor guys’ been here every single week for every class. Not only that, but he came to my school, I got to know him a little bit and I trained with him in headquarters.
Brandon’s Journey
Brandon was looking for an opportunity to come in and actually teach. He lived really far away, drove an hour, every single day, just part time at first but eventually every single day. Talk about dedication – he’d drive an hour, teach all day, drive another hour home, on top of going to headquarters, on top of doing everything he had to do in his life. Brandon decided that he wanted to fight. His desire to train was as strong as his dedication to teach – he trained tirelessly at HQ, and in 2010 he went for his first amateur fight and in his first fight he actually won a title. Brandon trained hard and fought hard – continuing to master grappling and training and amassed an amateur record of 11-6. In addition to instructing and fighting, Brandon moved on with different roles in the organization, and in 2016 went pro and currently fights hard with a professional record of 4-1.
Final Words From Sensei Garzillo
I have nothing but good things to say about him. One of the things I judge a person on is their loyalty and character, and I always think on a personal level, when I went through a very difficult time in my life, he never changed how he looked at me, never changed the way he acted towards me. And he always showed a lot of loyalty and a lot of compassion for all he does, and I’m proud to call him a student of mine, and also a friend.
