Sixth-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Chris Haueter is not interested in owning his black belt students.
“A lot of guys when they give a belt, they act like they own you,” he told a group of his new black belts. “The belt is your gift of freedom. It’s your belt. You’re not my belt; it’s your black belt.”
Haueter goes on to explain that he has always found it weird that “adult men pay other men to control them.” That’s not say he doesn’t understand loyalty. He does. But he wants his students to know that, wherever they go, it is their jiu-jitsu, not his.
Chris Haueter is one of the “Dirty Dozen” – i.e., the first 12 non-Brazilians to receive a BJJ black belt. He received his coveted title from the legendary Master Rigan Machado.
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