TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan has suprised his fans by posting the photo of the Purple belt he received in Jiu Jitsu and a message on his long way to getting it
May 31, 2015
So you think you knew all about Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan and his multitasking skills? Well, how about the fact that he has also been dedicating his free time to martial arts? According to Loudwire, the singer has been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has just received his Purple belt. On Instagram, he posted a photo of his new belt, accompanied by a message about his way to mastering Jiu Jitsu. Here is what he wrote:
Thankful moment. Yesterday, while on family vacation in Hawaii, I was blessed with a curveball. The coach that gave me my Blue belt years ago at Ricksons academy on Pico in LA, Luis “Limao” Heredia, @chieflimao Maui Jiu Jitsu, surprised me unexpectedly with a long, very kind, heart felt speech and my Purple Belt.
It’s taken quite awhile to get here. I moved to an area that had no Rickson Gracie Jiu Jitsu school in late ’96 and had to commute back and forth to keep up training which just wasn’t practical. I also suffered a few injuries which also made training inconsistent. And even when I could train, it wasn’t under a single instructor with a Rickson Gracie curriculum. So very difficult to advance in belts under this scenario.
But more recently I resumed training after some supportive prodding from one of my best friends in the world, Todd Fox. And I’ve been making regular trips back and forth to St Louis to train with his coach, Rodrigo Vaghi as well as to Los Angeles to train with my old friend Henry Akins, at Dynamix Martial Arts. Without these guys I wouldn’t have been able to confidently wear this belt. Thank you, Todd, Rodrigo, Henry, and Limao for this opportunity to test and understand myself better and to push my boundaries and discover more of which I am capable.
Keenan has been extremely busy recently. Musicwise, he has released two albums with Puscifer and reunited with A Perfect Circle. Besides, he opened his own wine vineyard, and began writing an autobiographic book. Leave us your comments below and stay tuned with Alterock Facebook and Twitter to never miss on the news about your favorite alternative music!
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