Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Receives Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt
Congratulations to Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer's Maynard James Keenan, who's received his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
When the singer isn't writing, recording or performing with one of his three bands, he's concocting different wines at his Caduceus Cellars winery in Jerome, Ariz. and practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Apparently he's been a practitioner of the martial art for quite a while, as a Hawaiian-based trainer named Chief Limao posted a photo with him wearing a brown belt.
"True warrior," he wrote as the caption. See the image below.
According to Garra Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the black belt is the highest ranking belt. Its predecessor is the brown belt, which signifies at least five years of training in order to achieve. There are three variations of red belts that follow the black, but those are awarded based on the length of their commitment.
"When you’re coming to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you’re coming as a white belt and you don’t know anything. So, every day that you go to train BJJ, even though you’ll make some small progressions it’s about you digging in. It’s about you understanding exactly what humility smells like," Keenan told BJJ World of his experience with Jiu Jitsu a few years ago.
"It’s a pretty tough road from white belt to black belt. It’s a road that nobody can do except you," he continued. "You have to put the time in, you have to progress and you have to do it. Nobody can do it for you. If you have that belt by the time you get to a black belt, you’ve earned it. There are no shortcuts."
Hard work pays off.
Keenan will be taking his athleticism on the road with Tool starting in January of 2022. See their full tour route here.