The Black Belt Survival Guide

Hint: You're probably not going to make it.

One of the rare surviving images of me in a gi as a black belt — Circa 2021

I got my black belt in April of 2021, and I thought it was the end of a long journey.

I was at the end of a 7-year ride through the different belts in Jiu-Jitsu, and toward the end of my brown belt, I had some really big wins in competition and in my life.

I started this newsletter as a brown belt, I became a ghostwriter and a full-time athlete, I had a deep run in the ADCC Trials, and just 4 days before I got my black belt, I won a $5000 check in a tournament.

Life was good. I thought that black belt was “arriving”. I thought I had made it in BJJ by that point.

I was teaching seminars, competing in massive events, doing well, and living the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle.

But then, literally a week after I got my black belt, I got knocked on my ass when I lost in the quarterfinals of the ADCC European Trials. I continued to get knocked on my ass regularly for the next 2 years.

Welcome to the Black Belt Survival Guide. It probably needs a new name.