The face of Facebook isn’t afraid to have his rearranged.
From starting Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) over the pandemic just just a few years ago, Meta boss and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has gotten so proficient that he’s medaling in BJJ tournaments. His advice for anyone trying to follow suit? Prepare to get your butt kicked.
During a recent three-hour podcast with computer scientist Lex Fridman, Zuckerberg, 39, declared that beginners need to be willing “to get beaten up rather a lot” in the event that they need to master the grappling art — by which participants attempt to best one another using various joint locks and submission holds.
“A part of learning is failing,” the social network mogul elaborated. “Individuals who train jiu-jitsu — it’s essential not have pride.”
He claims that a part of the issue is that folks are less willing to be embarrassed as they get older.
“Possibly to some extent, your ability to maintain doing interesting things is your willingness to be embarrassed again and return to the 1st step and begin as a beginner, and get your ass kicked,” he said.
This is probably especially vital in BJJ, where — perhaps greater than another physical pursuit — it’s not unusual to be dominated by a much smaller, weaker opponent who was superior technique. (See every video of a tiny female BJJ practitioner submitting larger, untrained guys.)
This is probably as a result of the pastime’s more cerebral nature, which has earned the martial art comparisons to physical chess.
Since starting BJJ through the coronavirus pandemic, Zuckerberg has seemingly progressed leaps and bounds.
He notably won gold and silver medals within the white belt division at a tournament in Redwood City, California in May.
The Recent York native told Fridman that he rocked up the tourney in a hat, sunglasses,” and a face mask — and in addition registered together with his first and middle names, Mark Elliot — to keep up anonymity ahead of competing.
Zuckerberg’s showing earned him the praise of UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan, who called the tech magnate a “f- -king savage” during an episode of his eponymous show last month.
It’s secure to say Zuck, who also practices mixed martial arts (MMA), has fallen in love with the game.
During an appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” in August, the social networking guru dubbed BJJ each intellectually and physically “engaging” and something “you possibly can’t afford to concentrate on something else” while doing it.
