Jiu-Jitsu helps former Marine overcome his struggles

on August 02, 2014 at 3:00 AM

Some people spend their entire life seeking out their calling. Years pass and uncertainty lingers. Robert Allen Consulmagno, 41, found his three years ago and it changed his life for the better.

Throughout his youth and well into adulthood, the former marine endured ominous flashbacks, negative thinking, depression and severe mood swings, all stemming from a long battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His instability would get him fired from jobs and cause close friendships to crumble. That was all until he found his remedy in taking up jiu-jitsu.

What medication couldn't fix, jiu-jitsu has.

Consulmagno's struggle with PTSD has been twofold. His symptoms arise not only from his time in the Marines, but also from his childhood experience. His father, whom he never knew, committed suicide while in a psychiatric ward when Consulmagno was 11 years old. For 13 years, he witnessed his mother endure physical abuse from his stepfather.

"As a child I just remember always walking on eggshells because you didn't know what kind of mood he was going to be in.," Consulmagno said. "Some days he would be in a good mood some days he would just be on a terror.

That's how it was."

At 8 years old, he was thrown down a staircase by his stepfather and placed in a full body cast. One year during the holiday season, his stepfather stormed in the house, kicked down the Christmas tree and proceeded to repeatedly strike his mother.

Consulmagno, a 1991 graduate of Dickinson High School, found his escape by joining the Marine Corps.

He reported to Parris Island in 1991 for what he thought would be a getaway from his troubled past.

But his struggles continued.

"Everyday was a battle," Consulmagno said. "I was always getting in altercations where I was testing officers. I got in trouble a lot. I was threatened with courtmartials so I was in a constant state of panic and hysteria wondering if I was going to get sent home. "

He found it in himself to adapt and finally turned things around, earning distinct honors of the Navy Achievement Medal and two Meritorious Mass Medals. Consulmagno left the Corps in 1996 and that's when he once again began to lose traction.

For the next 11 years, Consulmagno lived his life thinking he simply had anger problems, but he instead was dealing with a disability. Following a review of medical records, Veterans Affairs contacted Consulmagno in 2007, informing him that he was "100 percent disability" meaning that he would no longer work.

That's when he turned to jiujitsu.

'For me, this was a way to combat my PTSD but also build accolades and feel like a champion," he said.

He combats symptoms such as hyperactivity with a rigorous work ethic that's helped the purple-belt fighter ascend to the No. 16 ranking worldwide in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in just three years.

Thus far in his short career, he's won a total of 20 metals; 13 gold, six silver and one bronze, all with the support from his training staff that includes one of the best pound-for-pound fighters and third degree black belt Marcello Garcia, the first Canadian female black belt Emily Kwok, and black belt Valerie Worthington.

Last week, Consulmagno took first in Division Three at the New York Summer International Open IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Also last week, Al Burzynski, founder of "Operation Let's Roll," an annual mixed submission combative tournament for veterans, contacted Consulmagno to be a spokesperson for his event. Its mission is to bring service members, veterans and their families together to take part in a military appreciation event through the sport of submission grappling and military combatives.

This week, Burzynski waits for the approval of a VA grant that would be used for a nation-wide outreach program.

"Former soldiers who may have outbreaks, they go to the hospital and instead of the doctor automatically trying to put you on meds, instead he may offer alternative programs such as jiu-jitsu," Consulmagno said.

Consulmagno said he wants to earn his black belt as fast as possible and he is well on his way.

But moreover, he wants to empower other Marines and offer an example of how one can overcome what he and so many others have experienced.

He also wants to become a motivational speaker for Jersey City youth.

"I want to infect people with positivity," he said. "For veterans and others who are in my same shoes, you can overcome."