How to Get Your Black Belt Without Being Affiliated With Any One Specific School

Paul Kindzia describes himself as a “homeschooled, non-denominational, it takes a village black belt” and had a very unique route to getting his BJJ black belt.

He was a ronin, training at different schools and did a lot of his training in his home dojo. This paid off because he was a top IBJJF Masters competitor at blue, purple, and brown belt, before being awarded his black belt by a coalition of other black belts (myself included) in October of 2024.

Here’s just some of what we covered in our conversation…

How to get really good at jiu-jitsu if you don’t train at a top-tier school
Starting BJJ as an older athlete
On saying no to dangerous training partners
How to calibrate your skills if you mainly train one-on-one
Cult-like dynamics at BJJ schools
What professional BJJ competitors do that sets them apart
How to get promoted if you train independently
How jiu-jitsu training has changed in the last 10 years

Paul Kindzia Episode, Audio Format

You can check out my conversation with Paul Kindzia as Episode 417 of The Strenuous Life Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts, including

Or you can stream the audio on this site with this player:

For more about Paul’s incredible jiu-jitsu journey, check out his site, The Balanced Grappler, his book, Master Jiu-Jitsu, Master Life, and follow him on Instagram at @thebalancedgrappler.