It’s never too late to learn.
That’s what we can say to Roberto Aguilar, a man who earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in his 70s.
Aguilar started BJJ at the age of 68 after watching his grandson train The Gentle Art. After more than a year, he was intrigued.
He then told Romulo Barral’s wife about his interest to try out BJJ himself.
While BJJ alone is challenging enough for the youngsters, training at a later age is proven to be a trifling experience for Aguilar.
“I was in good shape and had proper nutrition prior to Jiu-Jitsu, but I have really worked on my conditioning, cardio, and endurance. Yoga, meditation, the ocean, stretching, amino acids, and BCAAs aid the recovery of the mental and physical,” he says.
After a couple of years into the sport, Aguilar eventually earned his blue belt in 2017 at the age of 70.
It turns out that earning a blue belt doesn’t stop Aguilar to improve his craft and keep learning. Recently, he took to Instagram to announce that he now has been promoted to black belt.
“Promoted to Black Belt today making the dream a reality, embracing my maturity with a light in my eyes and a smile on my face,” he wrote.
View this post on Instagram
Aguilar’s extraordinary achievement earned a praise from fellow BJJ black belt and longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.
The famous podcaster took to Facebook to share a video of Aguilar’s promotion ceremony and wrote:
“He’s some awesome inspiration and an enhancement of perspective. This gentleman didn’t start training in jiu jitsu until he was 68 years old, and he just received his black belt from the highly respected @romulobarral. An incredible accomplishment!”
In the video, Aguilar can be seen surrounded by his training partners and expressed his gratitude to everyone supporting him.
“This is the most people I have ever spoke to. Anyway, don’t ever let time dictate what you want to do. I didn’t start this till I was 68. But it was a dream; for mobility, sociability, everything. Thank you very much to everybody.”