On Friday, October 9th at 6:30 PM, Alliance BJJ Houston will come together for a special black belt promotion ceremony as Jeremy Woodin, Kailee Crossey, and Yuta Tamura receive their black belts from Professor Danny Duckworth.
Each of their journeys has been unique. Each has contributed to the academy in different ways. And each has earned the opportunity to take this next step in their Jiu-Jitsu journey.
This promotion isn’t simply about three new belts. It’s about celebrating the years of work that brought them here and the contributions they have made at Alliance BJJ Houston.
Jeremy Woodin
Jeremy started his Alliance journey as a white belt back in 2019. Since then, he has received medals in over 20 tournaments and gone 3–1 in superfights.
His journey is a great example of what can happen when consistency and commitment become part of your lifestyle. From his first days as a white belt to his upcoming promotion, Jeremy has continued to train, learn, and contribute to the Alliance community.
Jeremy has also become an important part of the morning training schedule. He teaches the 6:00 AM classes on Mondays and Fridays, providing instruction and guidance to the students who make the commitment to get on the mats early.
He has also stepped in on numerous occasions to help teach the kids’ classes, sharing his knowledge with some of the younger members of the academy.
On October 9th, he will receive his black belt and officially begin the next chapter of that journey. Jeremy has worked hard since he began back in 2019. He stepped up to teach and has put his Jiu-Jitsu to the test in competition, making Alliance BJJ Houston proud to call him a member of the team, even more proud to call him Coach, and eventually, Professor.
Kailee Crossey
Kailee Crossey’s journey began in 2013, when she first stepped onto the mats to train Muay Thai. Eventually, her path led her to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where she discovered an art that would become a major part of her life.
Over the years, Kailee developed as both a practitioner and a teacher. She has now been teaching Jiu-Jitsu for four years. She joined Alliance as a brown belt in 2024 and has proven time and again that she is committed.
She currently teaches the 11:00 AM classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and she also works with the academy’s youngest students in Tiny Eagles, helping introduce children ages 3–5 to the fundamentals of movement, discipline, confidence, and martial arts.
Kailee also co-teaches the 8:00 AM classes alongside Professor Martin Ochoa, continuing to develop students while growing as an instructor herself.
Beyond her regular classes, Kailee teaches the Women’s Self Defense Seminar, which is free and open to women of the community, regardless of their level of experience. The seminar provides an opportunity for women to learn practical skills in a welcoming environment, whether they are completely new to martial arts or have years of experience.
Kailee’s promotion to black belt represents more than her technical development. It reflects her evolution from a martial arts student into a teacher, mentor, and role model for the next generation of Alliance practitioners.
Yuta Tamura
Yuta Tamura started at Alliance in 2018 as a white belt with no martial arts background. What he brought instead was more than a decade of experience as a competitive breakdancer, and that background in movement and competition followed him onto the mats.
Yuta competes often, and the results have followed him up the belts. He has won numerous local IBJJF Opens. At blue belt, he took bronze at lightweight at the 2022 IBJJF World Master Championship. At purple belt, he earned bronze at Pans, then won gold in his division and bronze in the absolute at the 2024 Master Worlds. In 2026, he won Master Worlds gold again, this time as a brown belt.
On the mats, Yuta is known for his guard, and for his lapel guard in particular. He is a very technical practitioner, and he brings that to the classes he teaches in the adult Jiu-Jitsu program: Adult Gi on Mondays at 6:30 PM and Advanced Gi on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.
His work reaches beyond his own classes. Yuta runs the Alliance curriculum at the academy, and he helps coach its competitors, including the team that brought home 13 medals from Jiu Jitsu World League Houston XIX.
Off the mats, Yuta is easygoing and down to earth, with a passion for Jiu-Jitsu that is hard to miss.
On October 9th, eight years after his first class, he will receive his black belt. Yuta’s path from a white belt with no martial arts experience to a two-time Master Worlds champion shows what consistent, technical work can build.
A Celebration of Three Jiu-Jitsu Journeys
Their promotion is also a celebration of everyone who has been part of their journeys—the training partners who pushed them, instructors who taught them, students they have helped, friends and family who supported them, and the Alliance community that shared countless hours on the mats with them.
As Jeremy Woodin, Kailee Crossey, and Yuta Tamura receive their black belts from Professor Danny Duckworth on October 9th at 6:30 PM, the whole Alliance BJJ Houston community is invited to come together and celebrate this incredible milestone.
Come out to the Pearland academy on Friday, October 9th at 6:30 PM to celebrate Jeremy, Kailee, and Yuta and the years of work that brought them to this moment.
Congratulations, Jeremy, Kailee, and Yuta.