Are you in a hurry? It took this guy 16 years to reach Black Belt.

I hope everyone's goal is to reach black belt.  It may not be your first goal, but it should be something you want to reach none the less. I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when I was 36, I thought a realistic goal would be to reach black belt by the time I turned 50. That gives me 14 years and I think I'm right on schedule. However, I see some of my BJJ friends and classmates already clambering for their next belt. I recognize that BJJ can be competitive. But the real competition is with yourself.  It can be frustrating to see a new student come in and pick up Jiu-Jitsu quicker than you did.  Their first day you were schooling them on the mat, a few weeks later they’re harder to sweep, a month later you can only catch them with your best submissions, and then suddenly you can’t submit them at all.  And then you come to realize that they have surpassed you in skill.  Am I doing something wrong?  No.   That guy (or girl) has half the mat time that I do, but is already better than me! Maybe.  The fact is we’re all on a different path to black belt.  Some people’s path is longer than others.  So if you accept that as the truth, what’s the rush?  What makes more sense?  For YOU to go your instructor and ask to be promoted or your instructor coming to you and telling you that it’s time for you to be promoted.  The last thing you want is a belt that doesn’t fit.  That’s one of the things that makes BJJ different.  Anyone can wear a colored belt around their waist, but you want yours to mean something.  So if it takes you 3 years, 10 years, or 16 years to reach your goal, You want it to be legitimate.



That’s one of the best things about Jiu-Jitsu is that we can all start on this path at different times of our lives and still make it to the goal.  Ed O'Neil is 65 years old, he said it took him 16 years to make it to black belt, so that means he started training around 48 or 49 years old.  You’re never too old to start and we’ll all get there if we just keep going.   



The crazy part is that black belt is just the beginning…….