"If you do not quit, you will get a black belt"

Do you think this statement is true?

I don't.

Earning a (real) black belt requires more than "just showing up".

Persistence, consistency, and determination are all prerequisites to a black belt, but they are not the only ingredients required in the BJJ recipe. 

Everyone can agree that if you do quit, you will never achieve a black belt. 

Why do people quit BJJ?

People quit for many reasons:

• Lose interest in the sport
• Sick of sucking and losing 
• Not seeing any progress
• The "blue belt blues" 
• Time commitment
• Life priorities get in the way 
• Move away from their gym 
• Injuries

Out of this list, some things are in your control, and some things aren't. 

I can't help you with your life priorities or your "lack of time".

What I CAN help you with is reducing your risk of injury. 

What To Do About It

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." 

I recently published a video titled "BJJ Injury Risk is Real... Here's What To Do About It" 

In the video, I presented the current body of science on BJJ injury risk and injury risk reduction for sport. 

Here's the footnotes:

• Injury risk in BJJ is relatively high (68% over 3 years)
• The majority of injuries come from sparring
• Submissions, takedowns, and guard passes have the highest risk of injury (in that order)
• You can reduce your injury risk by 50% by doing sport-specific strength & conditioning.

The best thing you can do to take your risk of injury into your own hands is to put in the work off the mats. 

A minimum effective dose of 2 strength sessions per week is the "price of entry" to training BJJ. 

"Just don't quit" may not be all you need to achieve your black belt, but it's a requirement. 

Don't quit training jiujitsu because of injuries. Lift weights.