San Jose - CA July 13th drew 75 competitors from 12 academies in San Jose, California, United States. 16 gold medals were awarded across all divisions. View full results, brackets, and academy standings below.
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ | Cayden Ancheta | 4,680 | Acevedo Jiu Jitsu | 13-2 |
| 2 | Liam Cortez | 3,014 | Jg Academy - Tracy | 9-6 |
| 3 | Jacob Galindo | 1,420 | Jg Academy - Tracy | 1-5 |
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ | Cayden Ancheta | 4,680 | Acevedo Jiu Jitsu | 13-2 |
| 2 | Sophie Kuo | 3,950 | American Elite Grappling | 22-8 |
| 3 | Liam Cortez | 3,014 | Jg Academy - Tracy | 9-6 |
| 4 | Bryan del Angel | 1,468 | Salinas Team Take Flight | 1-1 |
| 5 | Jacob Galindo | 1,420 | Jg Academy - Tracy | 1-5 |
| 6 | Paden Branca | 1,222 | Warrior Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | 1-4 |
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ | Sophie Kuo | 3,950 | American Elite Grappling/aka | 22-8 |
| 2 | Ariana Lagura | 2,206 | By Any Means Jiu-jitsu | 6-12 |
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yosgarth Garcia | 2,792 | Mindset Martial Arts | 11-9 |
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ | Sophie Kuo | 3,950 | American Elite Grappling | 22-8 |
| 2 | Emilia Bailey | 1,008 | Claudio Franca BJJ - Santa Cruz | 0-2 |
| # | Name | JITS | Academy | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lily Tellado | — | Ragnarok Athletics | — |
| # | Academy | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vital Brothers BJJ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Mindset Martial Arts CAIO TERRA | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Hollister Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Chute Boxe Academy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | JG ACADEMY - TRACY ASPIRE TO INSPIRE | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| JITS | Fighter | Academy | Record | Medals | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,950 | Sophie ( Six 7) Kuo | Aka Elite Grappling | 22-8 | 941 | 22-89 golds14+ monthsTop 4% |
| 3,262 | Fernando Nava | Club Tracy | 13-6 | 33 | 8+ months |
| 3,262 | Fernando Nava | Club Tracy | 13-6 | 33 | 8+ months |
| 2,796 | Brandon Young | Hollister Brazilian Jiu-jitsu | 12-3 | 331 | 14+ months |
| 2,633 | Trey Kainoa Tugaff | Open Mat Academy | 49-20 | 11103 | 49-2011 golds22 comps14+ months |
| 2,633 | Trey Kainoa Tugaff | Open Mat Academy | 49-20 | 11103 | 49-2011 golds22 comps14+ months |
| 2,407 | Christian Young | Hollister Brazilian Jiu-jitsu | 12-4 | 33 | 14+ months |
IBJJF has three promotion timelines, and even the slowest one moves a white belt to grey in under 12 months. Their fastest system? Five months. An active competitor who is regularly entering tournaments and winning should be promoted significantly faster — not held back to medal farm off noobs.
There is no legitimate reason for a competitive athlete with 15+ wins and multiple gold medals to still be at white belt after a year. None. If they’re good enough to win that consistently, they’re good enough to be promoted. Every gold medal they continue to win at white belt is taken from an athlete actually competing at their real level.
This is killing youth BJJ.
A kid who shows up to their first tournament and gets smashed by someone more experienced doesn’t sign up for a second one. They quit. Their parents pull them out. And the sport shrinks so that a handful of people can pad their medal counts for Instagram.
The IBJJF recognized this exact problem at the adult level in 2022 and eliminated minimum time-at-belt for dominant competitors. Youth brackets — where the damage falls on kids — have zero protection.
What you can do: If a flagged competitor is in your child’s bracket, contact the tournament organizer before the event.