Russell Brand gets his blue belt

[GrahamB]

Here's a very nice video from actor, comedian and all round philosopher guru person, Russell Brand, about getting his blue belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu from the Roger Gracie school. There are no shortcuts for celebrities in BJJ (or at least there shouldn't be), so just like everybody else he's had to work hard for this. This is a great example of hard work paying off. Well done Russell!

In the video he talks a lot about the community feel of BJJ.

What he's talking about in the video (I believe) is the gap in modern society that used to be filled by either religion or secret societies and mystery religions - the idea of a brotherhood (and sisters too) that is created in a group where people are no longer viewed by the labels that society creates for us - father, doctor, immigrant, lawyer, builder, student, etc... but by what we have achieved on the matt.

"We all come through the door for different reasons, but we are all the same once we're inside".

It's a very valuable thing to be viewed without societies cultural baggage weighing us down.

BJJ especially seems to fill that void in modern life. Other martial arts do too, but I don't think they create quite the same sense of brotherhood as BJJ for a variety of reasons - perhaps it's the close physical contact, where we're constantly almost killing each other but paradoxically helping each other succeed.

In BJJ you see the huge changes in people's personality happen before your eyes, they become more humble, more warm, and you feel it happen to yourself too.

Whatever this process is I just think BJJ does it better than other martial arts, and is more accessible than the old fashioned secret societies which don't really exist in the same way in our more secular society where mainstream religion is a lot more tolerant than it used to be.

Anyway, he talks about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m2T8DK ... iA2-GzFmtY

[everything]

I feel like you'd have to be really stoned to have the most fun if you were rolling with Brand

[Peacedog]

Great value exists for men to be judged by other men and found to be competent at something based off of concrete skills.

Community frequently forms from this, but the real thing is to be found skilled by a group of your peers in something you can't cheat your way through.

My guess is that this is the first time in Brand's life that he has experienced something like this.

And good for him. To do something like this for the first time in his 40's is pretty remarkable.

[KEND]

Hardly new and certainly not confined to BJJ. In the late 60's and early 70's there were a lot of MA groups in NY and elsewhere getting kids away from the streets and into the dojo/gyms. I remember such names as Khemfoi Padu, Professor Vee, etc. I was director of a large MA school in midtown that contained every color, race and religion, they all seemed to get along well, a brotherhood based on passion and desire to excel pervaded. I hope Russel Brand is genuinely into it and not using it as a way to be trendy, as he has in the past with 'cringe humor', environmental issues' and a fake cockney persona.
I recently met up with some old timers who I have known for half a century, there is still a sense of brotherhood

[Steve James]

Yes, at least in NYC, the martial family is a brotherhood or people from all over the world who practice different styles, and few did bjj 50 years ago. It's great to see some things haven't change. Otoh, we thought it was normal, not exceptional. I understand how, if one hasn't experienced it before, it may seem surprising.

[everything]

it's in sports, arts, music, data science, many things. it's human. no need for ma. but we make some kind of story out of it in ma for some reason.

[Steve James]

We make a big deal out of it whenever and wherever we see it. We don't see it everywhere everywhere.