Thomas Rozdzynski - Your Belt Isn't a Measure of Your Skill
11/11/21 • 89 min
Thomas Rozdzynski is a third-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a black belt in Judo, he owns the ROL Academy, and is the host of The ROL Radio podcast.
Thomas started his BJJ journey in the early 2000s when his boss, a blue belt, kept bugging him every day to join the academy. Thomas's first school was under the legendary Grandmaster Carlson Gracie Sr.
When first starting in jiu-jitsu, Thomas was told multiple times that he would never be a black belt. Multiple people told him it was because he was not tough enough, flexible enough, or skilled enough to obtain such a prestigious award. Thomas would eventually earn his blue belt under Grandmaster Carlson Sr. right before his passing.
Thomas speaks highly of the life-changing events that came from starting jiu-jitsu. He lost 70 pounds, became more confident, and now is a third-degree blackbelt despite those early in his journey telling him it wouldn't happen.
Thomas is a wealth of knowledge and makes you stop and think about viewing your journey. His insight into belt promotions, how to promote, what your belt means, and mindset still has us contemplating ways to improve our own midset.
Anyone at any skill/belt level will find value in what Thomas shares in this episode, especially if you are starting your journey.
Thomas Rozdzynski Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/rozdzynskibjj/
https://www.instagram.com/therolradio/
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Travis Motl
PO Box 768
Seabeck, WA 98380
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Thomas Rozdzynski is a third-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a black belt in Judo, he owns the ROL Academy, and is the host of The ROL Radio podcast.
Thomas started his BJJ journey in the early 2000s when his boss, a blue belt, kept bugging him every day to join the academy. Thomas's first school was under the legendary Grandmaster Carlson Gracie Sr.
When first starting in jiu-jitsu, Thomas was told multiple times that he would never be a black belt. Multiple people told him it was because he was not tough enough, flexible enough, or skilled enough to obtain such a prestigious award. Thomas would eventually earn his blue belt under Grandmaster Carlson Sr. right before his passing.
Thomas speaks highly of the life-changing events that came from starting jiu-jitsu. He lost 70 pounds, became more confident, and now is a third-degree blackbelt despite those early in his journey telling him it wouldn't happen.
Thomas is a wealth of knowledge and makes you stop and think about viewing your journey. His insight into belt promotions, how to promote, what your belt means, and mindset still has us contemplating ways to improve our own midset.
Anyone at any skill/belt level will find value in what Thomas shares in this episode, especially if you are starting your journey.
Thomas Rozdzynski Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/rozdzynskibjj/
https://www.instagram.com/therolradio/
LET'S EXCHANGE PATCHES! SEND A PATCH TO THE PO BOX, AND WE WILL SEND YOU A CUSTOM ELBOWS TIGHT PATCH BACK!
Travis Motl
PO Box 768
Seabeck, WA 98380
BOTD:
Check out Our New Website! https://elbowstight.com/
Best Gi When Starting BJJ: https://www.elbowstight.com/best-gi-when-starting-brazilian-jiu-jitsu/
The Equipment Behind Elbows Tight Podcast: https://kit.co/ElbowsTightPodcast
Subscribe on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvHSgAUCczV4R_M6TsHcYw?view_as=subscriber
Follow Our Social Media Pages!
Instagram Podcast Page https://www.instagram.com/elbowstightpod/?hl=en
Travis and Jon's https://www.instagram.com/travisetp/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/jtcrash78_/?hl=en
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElbowsTightPodcast
Previous Episode
Adolfo Foronda - Overcoming Procrastination and Self-Doubt
Adolfo hosts Forever White Belt's trailblazing podcast and a two-stripe blue belt under Tryfon Stathopoulos at North Bay Jiu-Jitsu.
Adolfo's story is incredibly relatable to many practitioners. His journey began in his early 40s, but he had to take a 4-year hiatus due to some serious medical problems. Finally, after recovering and feel up to the tasks again, Adolfo started looking for another academy to train at.
Like many of our stories, Adolfo found himself "doing drive-bys past academies" with his toes hanging over the edge of jumping back into the cosmos of jiu-jitsu. He would finally leap of faith and stopped procrastinating when a school was located within a few minutes from his work.
Adolfo is very open and vulnerable about his struggles with self-doubt, difficulties learning and retaining information, and not being "that guy" in class asking too many questions. He puts it all out there for people to relate and find common ground in their journies to his.
Be sure to check out his show Forever White Belt and follow all of his social media to stay up to date with him.
Forever White Belt:
Anchor.FM
https://anchor.fm/foreverwhitebelt/episodes/Welcome-To-Forever-White-Belt-egj33u
https://www.facebook.com/foreverwhitebelt/
https://www.instagram.com/foreverwhitebeltshow/?hl=en
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Check out Our New Website! https://elbowstight.com/
Best Gi When Starting BJJ: https://www.elbowstight.com/best-gi-when-starting-brazilian-jiu-jitsu/
The Equipment Behind Elbows Tight Podcast: https://kit.co/ElbowsTightPodcast
Subscribe on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvHSgAUCczV4R_M6TsHcYw?view_as=subscriber
Follow Our Social Media Pages!
Instagram Podcast Page https://www.instagram.com/elbowstightpod/?hl=en
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Next Episode
Jordan Rabé - Milk Doodles and Jiu-Jitsu
Jordan Rabé trains at Autore Jiu-Jitsu and received his purple belt from André Galvão before moving to Los Angles. Jordan recently took third place at Masters Worlds in the Flyweight division.
Jordan started wrestling in high school because he saw it was the best thing to translate into MMA. After high school, Jordan would go to college and wrestle for a short time before finding BJJ.
As a white belt, Jordan admits that he had the typical wrestling midset of 110% in practice. After a couple of months of training, Jordan competed in his first competition has been steadily competing ever since.
When Jordan first started competing, he admits he would try to find any reason not to compete. He would get into his head and cast a shadow over his potential. After years of working on his mental health through yoga, marijuana, and being more spiritual, he became more confident in his abilities.
Jordan is a very relaxed and down-to-earth person, but you couldn't tell if all you saw was his highlight reels on social media. The explosiveness he gained from wrestling is visible in how he moves, attacks, and counters his opponents.
Jordan gives excellent advice on competing, cutting weight, if you should or should not cut weight, mindset, perspective on his role as a purple belt, and much more. Jordan's whole persona drives home his advice to white belts of "have fun." If you aren't having fun, then why do the gentle art?
Jordan Rabe's Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/certifiedlatteboi/
https://www.instagram.com/oddglory/
LET'S EXCHANGE PATCHES! SEND A PATCH TO THE PO BOX, AND WE WILL SEND YOU A CUSTOM ELBOWS TIGHT PATCH BACK!
Travis Motl
PO Box 768
Seabeck, WA 98380
Check out Our Website! https://elbowstight.com/
Best Gi When Starting BJJ: https://www.elbowstight.com/best-gi-when-starting-brazilian-jiu-jitsu/
The Equipment Behind Elbows Tight Podcast: https://kit.co/ElbowsTightPodcast
Subscribe on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvHSgAUCczV4R_M6TsHcYw?view_as=subscriber
Follow Our Social Media Pages!
Instagram Podcast Page https://www.instagram.com/elbowstightpod/?hl=en
Travis and Jon's https://www.instagram.com/travisetp/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/jtcrash78_/?hl=en
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElbowsTightPodcast
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