Well I am almost 56 and have been training for 28 years. I train more now than I ever have trained. I started wrestling twice a week a year ago. I guess it just works for me. I have five kids and run 2 businesses so I think it is just an appointment in my daily routine. I love it!

I think the problem is that too many people, lower belts but especially black belts, view jiu jitsu as something that's an integral part of their identity when, in reality, it's 'just' a hobby unless you're a professional competitor (and no I do not mean a masters world champion but somebody looking to compete at the absolute highest level and they literally made it their life). I developed a much healthier relationship with jiu jitsu after I realized I don't have to take it so seriously. This is exactly what Craig Jones means when he makes jokes like "jiu jitsu ruins lives". People pour their heart and soul into a sport that doesn't really give them anything back beyond the joy in rolling and learning new things and maybe coaching if you happen to take on that role. People get burnt out because there is so little money in jiu jitsu and they get endless injuries and then they feel stuck/trapped by the thing they used to love. When you go out with most jiu jitsu guys they can't talk about anything but jiu jitsu. A lot of the time they have literally nothing else going on in their lives. I'm guessing some of those black belts that quit realized they wanted to explore other things, not be injured all the time..... it makes perfect sense. These days I train significantly less and do a lot more lifting and conditioning and my body AND my jiu jitsu have never felt better honestly. AND I prioritize my passions/goals outside of jiu jitsu. I was always determined to NOT make jiu jitsu my job because I already have other passions that are my "job".

I quit as a brown belt when covid hit, and didn't miss it for almost three years. It had more to do with being fed up with the politics rather than actual training. Then one day I saw that a few of my old mates had been given their black belts. I thought that could have been me, and suddenly the itch was there again. Been at it for 18 months now, and love it more than ever!

Black belt here, started in 2009. I'm still training regularly, but I will say the urge to retire is there. I'm not that interested in competing or owning a gym, I do BJJ purely for the joy of learning new skills. Looking back as a 30-something, I can't help but wonder how my life would be different if I put all that time and energy into something else. BJJ isn't all there is to life and I think it's natural to want to explore other avenues. I agree with another commenter here, I don't think "quit" is the right word when you've put this much time into something.

Great podcast fellas. I'm 53yrs old and a 4 stripe BB here........I quit every week...but go back every week as well. Its a mental battle for sure. I just have to come with the terms that I'm not what I once was. Check my ego at the door, and be smart about who I roll with. EVERYONE wants to be the one who taps "the blackbelt" Its a weekly battle for me

Lol, I was studying for a Ph.D., when I started BJJ in 2004. I earned the Ph.D. I am still working on my Black belt twenty years later. (I am a Brown belt/one stripe.)

Thank you guys. It's very interesting to hear the mental battles black belts go through. You guys are revered in gyms as all knowing gods but you are human beings like all of us.

I’ve been on the edge of stopping. Purple belt with 7 years in and haven’t had fun in a pretty long time and progress has halted for about a year. I just don’t want to do cardio that’s boring to replace bjj 😂 appreciate the candid conversation from yall

Been a black belt for 6 years and I understand the sentiment. There was a time where I felt guilt if I missed a single class but now I take weeks off and it does not bother me at all. I may take a break and start training some Muay Thai for awhile.

The way I think about it is that most people have a job that they fell into and never left, but there's no real passion since most jobs are BS anyways made by an economy for the economy. Being a martial arts coach is fulfilling in many ways, and the community is fantastic (if you put in the work to foster a good community) and they will also have your back in hard times.

I have been teaching full time for a long time . I find getting additional hobbies and ways to make money doing other things helps.

If ur a black belt its called retiring rather than quitting lol. They sacrificed that much time im sure they deserve to do wth they want

I spent many months at home doing nothing and that really sucks. Going to a Jiu-Jitsu class is definitely a positive change.

been a full time martial arts coach for 8 years now. i dont own a school i just coach. some of this stuff really resonated with me. the teaching through injuries (i dislocated my elbow and taught with it). i also find myself wanting time for other things. the work it takes to upskill in jiu jitsu and the other training involved can grinds at my mental health sometimes. this goes double for when im exhausted and i have to put on a happy face for a kids birthday party or some kids class.

Another issue is picking up a new hobby and having an injury from jiujitsu prevent you from fully enjoying/performing in your new hobby.

I have a good friend of mine who is a brown belt and he always says he’s gonna quit after he gets his black belt! lol I used to think he was joking but he has trained a long time. Should already be a black belt but didn’t get promoted because of work and travel etc … I think some people just get burned out and lose interest especially with all the injuries that pile up over the years.

One of my followers is a blackbelt and he completely gave up BJJ for wrestling. He found a wrestling club and he told me his is absolutely done with it. I encouraged him to go back and teach the wrestling that he has learned but he is not having it. Pretty interesting overall. Maybe he will go back after his body gets beat down from wrestling 5-6 days a week. 😂

In my experience, most Black Belts usually stop training altogether or only train sporadically after receiving the belt. I think it is a combination of burnout, lack of competitive drive in ultra competitive atmospheres or not willing to be a lifetime student. We can offer up platitudes of the Black belt is just the beginning or you never quit learning, but unless you have a school loaded with higher belts, many schools seem to be a sea of whites, a handful of blues, a couple of purples and occasional visits by brown and black belts. That means a lot of repetitive training of the lowest kind. Additionally, many schools have made it not about merit, but time. By the time you get your Black Belt, or any belt, you have probably peaked and declined at the rank. As an older grappler (50 year old Brown Belt/one strip), I just lowered my training to three times a week from four training sessions and three coaching sessions a week. After three years of doing that, I know that my body needs more recovery time. However, at the same time, I am three years from the Black belt due to time stipulations. I train because I love it, but I also know that training more will not move me closer either. Many people, unless they plan on coaching or owning a school, leave after they achieve the ultimate rank. It took too long and it is a very hard and difficult journey. There are other things they want to do. They don't want to prove anything to the 20 year old who trains twice a day, six times a week who would love to say they can tap out black belts as a blue belt. (Well you know what, a lot of blue belts could do that when they trained that way.) Anyway, that is my take. - I love the art, so I will continue to train. How I will train, I do not know.

Got my black end of 18 and shutdown my biz (non Bjj related ) a month after; took 3.5 years off and did regret it. Had baby 2 and a mortgage and had to take time off. Got into a bad mental funk. Recently training again

Ive been doing jiu jitsu for 17 years and will be rolling until I die and LOVE Brazilian jiu jitsu but I can completely understand what this person is talking about. Boxing and MMA which is basically Ultimate kickboxing with some grappling sprinkled in are A1 of combat sports rt now. Jiu jitsu has not been forward thinking on what and how it should be teaching. It should be taught more as what it is a martial art and self defense system. The sport side has turned it into more of a niche thing. There should be more of a wrestling emphasis with Jiu jitsu. And there should be grappling with strikes classes that everyone should be taking.

I semi-quit a long time ago. Just show up a couple times a week to get some exercise.

I trained up until purple and switched over to a different discipline(boxing). I think if someone feels burned out they should try a different art form and then do BJJ again when they feel up to it.

Sunk cost fallacy fellas

I’m never quitting, it’s not an option in my life.

there can be a certain amount of pressure, lets say you smash 90% of the White Belt than every once in a while you get a "Nicky Rod" (Just an example) and all of a sudden its a mental battle, why can't I beat (or easily beat) this guy or worse yet why is he beating me?

I'm a hobbyist black belt and I would quit if I had to do traditional style lessons. I need decent, technical training partners along with organised lessons that involve conceptual teaching and a lot of position sparring/ constraints based sparring. Without that type of training, I would quit.

Person and situation dependent. Health, etc….i think if all you have is jiu jitsu you should probably find other things that also bring you joy. Not too many judo or BJJ clubs at retirement homes 😂 Rener Gracie always seems to have 4+ irons in the fire: books, backpack converting sweatshirts, travel pillows and still runs classes at his HQs, guess it’s all about how much tou are willing to sacrifice to put those extra things on your plate

I also think it's wrong to give a black belt to someone who is considering quitting. It's not the end of the road, it's the beginning in many ways, and a black belt needs to keep training to be a real black belt, they would be someone students see and look up to. I would never give a black belt to a brown belt that just wants it as a status symbol and then quit. That's not what that belt represents, it's not the finish line and it shouldn't be treated that way.

I've been training for 24 years and quitting has never crossed my mind. I think if you quit it really was not for you to start with. You started training for the belt, not the learning. For me its like waking up one day and deciding to never shower again, or never eating again. It just part of my life and what I do. I think it also depends on if you are talking about sport BJJ or the actual martial art of Jiu-Jitsu.

Sometimes I dont like my girlfriend either.

What a completely delusional talk. Classic case of someone getting into something without asking why they’re getting into that thing. Why is it so terrible people quit after blackbelt? What else is there to do after blackbelt? There’s practically a ceiling to your promotion opportunity past blackbelt or possibly four stripes blackbelt. To have a chance at red or even coral, you practically need to be a Gracie family member; and red belt Gracies are pretty much octogenarians, so they don’t train anymore and are only riding off of their influence. So unless you devote the rest of your bjj time to teach bjj (which is not for every blackbelt; case in point, the guys here) or you’re filling your blackbelt with stripes, there’s practically nothing left that bjj can offer you at that point. Competition is also a young man’s game and while you’re putting the hours training, you’re also not getting any younger. So if anything, these guys ought to be proud that these blackbelts that they’re bitching about stuck around long enough to receive their blackbelts.

I think you just focused too much on one thing. Try something else and taper your jitsu