My BJJ black belt and a new routine at home

I earned my Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt over the summer. Shortly afterward, I left my gym. That was not the ending I expected when I started recording my belt journey, and I am still working out what comes next.

At the time of my latest update, I had not joined another gym. Instead, a longtime training partner was coming to my house at least once a week. The place and the schedule had changed, but we were still getting on the mats together.

The brown-belt story had moved on

The video published on October 28 starts with an older recording from when I was a brown belt. I had been talking about almost quitting and the friend who kept asking me to come back to the gym. That recording was interrupted, and I returned to finish it about two months later.

By then, I had gone to New Jersey, tested for my black belt and received it. I kept the original introduction because the same friend was part of the next chapter: he was now coming over to train with me at home. The promotion and the gym departure happened before the upload, not on October 28.

Leaving the gym changed the practical side of training

The drive had become a significant part of the commitment. It usually took me about thirty minutes each way, so a session also meant roughly an hour on the road. My membership was about to become more expensive, too. I decided it was time to move on and give myself some room for family and other commitments.

I miss the people. In the update, I said I had nothing bad to say about either of the gyms I had trained at. This was not a big falling-out. I had decided to step away for a while, and I had not yet committed to training somewhere else.

The same training partner, a different routine

I only had about two weeks away from the mats before my friend started coming over. He is a purple belt with a game that gives me plenty to work on, and having him here has made me want to spend more time on my jiu-jitsu again.

We have been arranging early sessions at around six in the morning. He is much better at arriving on time than I am at being ready. After the first visit, I started making sure the mats were set up before he arrived. It is a small change in routine, but it makes those mornings possible.

A couple of other training partners have offered to come over as well. I would like to take them up on that, although the space is a real limit.

Home has room for some things, but not everything

I have soft gymnastics mats at the house, with about nine feet of space to work in. In the recording, I said I would like closer to twenty feet for our matches. There are things we could do at the gym that do not fit in the space I have now, and adding more people would mean needing more room.

We are doing no-gi, so the new black belt has barely been worn. The training still gives me problems to solve. Against this partner, I have to pay attention to the fundamentals and my transitions; a small mistake can put me right back in a position I had worked to get past.

I have not chosen the next gym yet

There are local gyms I could visit, but I had not made that commitment when I recorded the update. I was enjoying the break from the drive and the extra time with my family, while also starting to miss being at a gym.

For now, I am glad that leaving the building did not mean losing the friendships. The person who kept nudging me back onto the mats is still training with me. I have a black belt, a smaller place to roll and an open decision about where I go next.

This is my personal update from the recording published on October 28, 2026. Watch the later update from about 7:05 or listen to the full public podcast episode.