12 Years to Black Belt | All Access Ep. 3

All Access · Episode 3

Episodes 1 and 2 were about the classes. For Episode 3, Coach Nick and I sat down and talked. Nick just got his black belt after 12 years of training, and we hadn't done one of these since. We talked about what new people get wrong, what it takes to get to black belt, our favorite days competing, and what it means to be there for your team. Austin also teaches his old school sweep, with two dog fight options from the week's classes.

The biggest mistake new people make

New people tend to go one of two ways. Some roll like the loser dies. Others won't push at all and roll like a dead fish. Very few land in the middle, and the middle is where you get better.

You do need to be tough, but you also need a game. One day you'll be older, slower and weaker, and if all you have is toughness you'll eventually run out of it. The goal is to still be triangling people at 85. That takes skill, not just effort.

We also talked about surviving versus winning. Making it to the bell without getting tapped isn't the same as trying to win. If this were boxing, you wouldn't get hit a thousand times and feel good because you never got knocked out. In practice it's okay to lose. Lose 9,000 times in practice so you learn how not to lose when it actually matters.

The ideal training partner

Someone who gives you real resistance. Someone you can talk to between reps but who wants to actually drill and train. Not someone who lets you do everything, because that's like playing with cheat codes, and the game stops being fun.

12 years to black belt

Nick started in 2014 and spent three years at every belt: three to blue, three to purple, three to brown, three to black. That's consistency. We always talk about being disciplined instead of motivated, and his 12 years had no big gaps, even with two surgeries at purple belt. When he came back he played bottom side control for six months because it was the only thing he could do, and he still got promoted on schedule.

Getting from white to black is mostly monotony. Like Austin always says, little by little, a little becomes a lot. And black belt isn't the finish line. Nick compared it to prestige in Call of Duty: you start over and keep going. He just wants the room to treat him like one of the guys so he can keep rolling and drilling.

Favorite days competing

Nick's first tournament came about eight weeks into training. He drew a purple belt, couldn't submit him, and lost 2 to 0 in the third round. His best day came later, an overtime match against the toughest opponent he ever faced, where he got to the back and finished it.

Mine was as a brown belt, at a tournament during the Arnold with a division of all brown belts: five matches and five submissions. My most flawless day of competing. We also tell the story of a tournament in Indiana. Nick was going to drive there alone so nobody would know if he lost. Austin drove over an hour to his house, then three and a half hours to Indiana with him. Nick won gold. That's what showing up for a teammate looks like.

Being there for your team

That Indiana trip is the point of the last part of the episode. People remember who showed up for them. When your teammates are on the mat, be there for them the way you want them there for you.

Jump to a part

• 0:00 Cold open
• 0:19 The biggest mistake new people make
• 1:31 Austin's old school sweep and dog fight options
• 3:04 12 years to black belt
• 5:17 Favorite competition moments
• 7:46 Being there for your team

Thinking about trying it?

Nick started as a brand new white belt in 2014. Everyone on our mats started somewhere. You don't need to be in shape first and you don't need any experience. Tell us it's your first time and we'll take it from there.

10th Planet Newark teaches no-gi jiu-jitsu in Heath, Ohio, just outside Newark: adult classes mornings and evenings, kids classes for ages 5 to 14, and Saturday boxing. See every class on the schedule. Catch up on Episode 1 and Episode 2.

Follow along on Instagram: @10thplanetnewark