Itinerant Graduate Student Graduates to Green Belt
The path from white belt to shodan (first degree black belt) is long and often difficult, taking several years of study. Many judoka take a meandering path in their studies, dropping out as life events require and returning when able. Cordell is one such example, having recently tested for, and on March 4th, 2026, being awarded with, his green belt and the rank of yonkyu. Cordell began his study of judo in approximately September of 2023, working from then until now to achieve this rank, which is significant for being both the halfway point to black belt and the last rank at which a judoka is typically considered a novice.
Left to Right - Joe Swede, Cordell, Sensei Chaye Thompson
Cordell’s journey into the art of judo has not always been consistent, having frequently been interrupted due to family duties and his studies. His work towards his masters in psychology has frequently called him away from the dojo for extended periods of time, and left him with limited opportunities for competition. Despite that, when away Cordell strives to keep up on his training by working on familiar skills as home with his grappling dummy. After obtaining his master, Cordell intends to spend some time working in his field to gather experience before pursing a Ph.D. in Psychology, with the goal of working in diagnostics.
On the mat, Cordell can typically be found at 5:30pm adult judo classes, as well as in the 7pm fundamentals classes. His favorite part of Judo is not only throwing, but being thrown, which he describes as “kinda fun”. His favorite technique is o-soto-gari.
Graduate Student Judoka ends Absence with Promotion!
Left to Right - Sensei Formaro, Jaehyeok, Sensei Suhr
One of the constants in Judo is diversity. From the numerous variations on each technique, to the variations in strategy and style, to the judoka themselves, practicing judo is an exploration of diversity. Despite that, it’s often easy to forget that diversity also manifest in each person’s path of progression.
Jaehyeok’s (Jae for short) journey with judo has been eccentric. He first came to the Des Moines Judo Academy in early 2024, progressing through “gokyu” or orange belt. Unfortunately, at that time Jae’s situation led him to returning to school for graduate studies at ISU. While he was fortunate to be able to practice with the ISU judo club, Jae chose to continue to attend classes at our dojo, and delay promotion until he could do so at his home dojo. While this choice may have delayed his promotion, it finally came on Monday, June 9th, 2025, when he was promoted to “yonkyu” or green belt.
Jae has been a frequent competitor, representing and claiming medals across the Midwest since his earliest competitions. He favors a highly mobile style of play and high collar grips, often using foot sweeps to set up uchi-mata, harai-goshi, or o-soto-gari. Jae prefers to avoid newaza if possible, relying on his throws to seize victory. Outside of judo and his studies, Jae is a fitness enthusiast with an (over-)fondness for neck exercises, a love of parties and a taste for fine alcohol.
Jae is a true example of the adage “all that wander are not lost,” and we’re glad to see that, although his journey has taken him on a more meandering path, he is still progressing and moving forward. Congratulations!
Mass Promotion on Monday
Four members who regularly attend Monday classes were all promoted on Monday, December 16, 2024.
Christian Wilson and Kasten Lappe both recieved their first promotion, moving from white belt, which has no Japanese name in the USA Judo ranking system, to yellow belt or “rokyu.” Both young men began training a few months ago, and have wrestling backgrounds, which have benefitted them in transitioning to judo. Both have worked hard, with Christian having already experienced his first competitive win at the Governor’s Cup in November of this year.
Logan Ballanger and Jacob van Cleaf both recieved their third promotion, transferring from orange belt or “gokyu,” to green belt or “yonkyu". The training partners and rivals made fast friends upon first meeting in their first week of training at the Des Moines Judo & Sambo Academy. Since then, they’ve committed to making this journey together, being consistently promoted at the same time, with each at times delaying testing to allow the other more time to prepare and be certain of success. The bantering pair can frequently be found training together, both in our dojo and attending open mats elsewhere to test and further develop their skills.
Both pairs are featured in photograph, along with several of the instructors who helped them make it this far.