bj penn got his black belt at the age of 23.
bj penn got his black belt at the age of 23.
how fast did bj penn get his black belt?
23
recognized for his role in the resurgence of the lightweight division, penn is considered to have been the division's most influential figure, turning the weight class around (in bouts with sean sherk, kenny florian, diego sanchez, jens pulver, and joe stevenson) to become one of the ufc's most popular, at a time when they had considered disbanding the division altogether and many publications had questioned whether lighter-weights could be successful. his nickname, the prodigy originates prior to him competing in mixed martial arts, from accomplishing his extraordinary feat in the sport of brazilian jiu jitsu (earning his black belt in just under three years and winning the black belt division in the world jiu-jitsu championship only three weeks later). his biography on the ufc website expressed this accomplishment as "an astonishing achievement in a sport where it takes the average athlete ten years or more to reach black belt status.
b.j. penn
cornelius's first exposure to martial arts training began at a young age, under his step-father, martial arts teacher tom callos, who was bj penn's first brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. at the age of 14, he began casual grappling training with friends. shortly thereafter, he began receiving formal brazilian jiu-jitsu instruction under cassio werneck, then training for three years under bj penn, before ultimately joining with team lloyd irvin. despite his high-level victories as a purple belt and above, keenan claims to have had a poor competitive showing early in his career, prior to his joining team lloyd irvin, a move which keenan held responsible for his later success.
keenan cornelius