On August 12, 2015, at my Martial Arts studio in San Clemente, I had the honor to get a visit from the 5 Time World champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Hall of Fame, Saulo Ribeiro. The reason of this visit was to promote me, Paulo Guillobel, to 5^th Degree BJJ black belt.

Just so you know… it takes 19 years of being an active black belt to become a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 5^th degree black belt, according to IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation). It took me 8 years to be promoted to black belt, and now, 19 years later, I’ve been promoted to the 5^th degree.

Basically, we have to learn how to be patient to get promoted in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which I think is one of the most valuable lessons we learn. Other styles of martial arts, like Karate or Tae Kwon Do, promote their students really fast to the black belt. Some people might like that, but others like me don’t; I think it is worth the wait to become a master in martial arts.

But back to August 12…

Sensei Saulo Ribeiro also taught an amazing class pushing everyone hard and showing his philosophy that made him so accomplished in Jiu-Jitsu. The energy in the Dojo was incredible! After the class, he closed with a great speech and said really kind words about me, which made the moment even more special to my students and me.

We had a good show of students (who I rather call, “Members of the Guillobel and Ribeiro Family). They came to celebrate with us and give their support. Obviously it was a very emotional moment, which I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Now as a 5^th degree black belt, I joined a really select group of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors in the world. Here in San Clemente, I became by far the highest ranked black belt, and that makes me very proud.

If you still don’t know how it feels to be a member of the Guillobel/Ribeiro family, give us a call (949) 366-2107 or come visit us at 621 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, California.