Five Finger Death Punch Guitarist Zoltan Bathory was today promoted to the rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Like most martial arts, this is the ultimate sign of mastery and shows that he is truly dedicated to the craft. As it happens, he is also a black belt in Judo, so has a rich history of grappling-based martial arts.
He was promoted by the legendary Royler Gracie and began training back in 2008. Usually it takes the average practitioner around 10 years to get to black belt. However, due to his hectic schedule of touring and generally living life on the road, this took Bathory a little longer.
Speaking on Instagram, the guitarist said
“Yesterday was a really-really special day that I got to spend with my good friends – master @roylergracie – professor @micacipili and the rest of my Jiu-Jitsu family at @gracielasvegas It took 13 years hard work (& some fat lips and some black eyes ) to get ready for the shark infested waters of Jiu-Jitsu blackbelts …and It gets much much much harder from here
But we love this …. because – this – is – Spartaaaaaaa #jiujitsu
…and to all of my jiu-jitsu brothers around the world who I trained with… competed with… Thank you guys for all the mat time and your friendship”
Bathory has also competed in BJJ, earning a silver medal in 2011 as a white belt at the Abu Dhabi Pro World Trials
