If you’ve been in the world of martial arts for some time, most likely you’ve heard of Joe Rogan. You probably know his podcast or heard him commenting on UFC. But did you know that he is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? If so, have you ever wondered how good is Joe Rogan at BJJ? Below you will find the answer to that question and a lot more about him and what exactly he does.
Joe Rogan in general
Before we get to Rogan’s relation with BJJ it is good to supplement information about who he is exactly, what he does and what he is known for. Below you will find all this info about him, in the short and long version.
In a nutshell
Joseph James “Joe” Rogan is an American sports commentator, TV presenter, comedian (stand upper), and film actor who was born on August 11, 1967, in Newark.
He is known, among other things, for his role as host of the reality show Fear Factor. Joe Rogan is also commenting on mixed martial arts galas by Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since 2009, he regularly hosts his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Moreover, he has a black belt in taekwondo and BJJ. On Instagram he describes himself in this way: stand up comic/mixed martial arts fanatic/psychedelic adventurer.
In more details
Joe Rogan is associated with martial arts since being a teenager. As a 14-year-old he began to train karate, and at the age of 15, he started taekwondo. At the age of 21, he had a black taekwondo belt. He achieved considerable success by winning the US Open championship and becoming the Massachusetts full-contact champion four times. Rogan was also interested in kickboxing and even took part in three amateur fights (2-1 record). However, at 21 he retired from competition because he began to suffer from frequent headaches and feared worse injuries.
At the same age, he ended his competing career, Joe Rogan started his professional journey as a stand-up comedian. Over the next years, he developed his career as a comedian and appeared in TV series and films. In 2001-2006 and 2011-2012 he also presented himself to a wider audience as the host of the reality show Fear Factor.
But before that, because since 1997 he also worked as a presenter in UFC. In 2002 Rogan became a regular commentator on the UFC galas. In 2005-2008 he was also the announcer of programs implemented by the UFC, including the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Joe Rogan is a respected MMA critic and commentator. Six times he was awarded at the World MMA Awards in the category “Personality of the Year in MMA”. In 2010 and 2011 he became the “Best TV Commentator” according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In addition, in 2009 he launched his podcast – The Joe Rogan Experience, to which he often invites well-known personalities from media, science, sport, etc.
Advocacy
Moreover, Joe Rogan has strong beliefs on various topics. Among other things, he supports the legalization of cannabis and believes it holds numerous benefits. He also advocates using LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and DMT toward the examination and improvement of consciousness, as well as self-examination. Rogan is also an avid hunter and is part of the “Eat What You Kill” movement, which attempts to move away from factory farming and the mistreatment of animals raised for food. At the beginning of 2020, Rogan started an all-meat diet called the carnivore diet.
His BJJ journey
Like many others, Joe Rogan became interested in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after seeing Royce Gracie fighting at UFC in 1994. After two years he started training BJJ under Carlson Gracie at his school in Hollywood, California. Now Rogan is a proud owner of No Gi black belt in Eddie Bravo‘s 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu system and regular BJJ black belt in gi under Jean Jacques Machado.
How good is Joe Rogan at BJJ?
To be fair, this is not something that you can just determine. If someone wins the biggest competitions etc. you can honestly say that he is really good. Medals, titles, etc. testify to this. Determining someone’s level is easier if he is a professional athlete. It’s also relatively easy if someone is an amateur competitor. Success in tournaments is some measure of skill. However, when we get to hobbyists the matter is more difficult. It can be assumed that someone more athletic with a higher belt, etc. is better, but the belt to belt is uneven. So this is a very difficult matter to assess.
After this explanatory introduction, we are going back to Joe Rogan. The question “How good is Joe Rogan at BJJ” troubled so many people that a video was finally made about it. In it, Jean Jacques Machado describes Rogan as one of “the strongest motherfuckers in his school”, which can be translated to “ye, Joe Rogan is good at BJJ”. If this is not an exhaustive answer for you the full video can be found below.
In conclusion, knowing Rogan doesn’t compete but got a black belt, is after 50, but athletic, fair assumption is that he is on average hobbyist black belt level or little better than the average hobbyist black belt. So, maybe Joe Rogan wouldn’t have a chance with the best competitors in the world right now, but at the same time you also probably wouldn’t tap him out easily if at all.
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