Demi Lovato made huge waves back in August of 2017 when she got her blue belt. Many questioned if she deserved it as she had gotten promoted so fast. She then stopped training in 2020 but had told Joe Rogan that she planned on coming back.

There was no news about her doing any kind of BJJ training for this whole time.

She surprised her fans when she posted a picture on her Instagram today where she announced that she had just been promoted to purple belt in BJJ. There was no mention of who her instructor was. Purple belt is a serious level in BJJ. It is usually given to someone who has consistently trained for at least 5 years, which is obviously not Demi Lovato’s case. She also told Joe Rogan that her training mainly consists of private lessons and she does not train with the general population:

She wrote, “YALL I’M A PURPLE BELT!!!!!!!!!” At the bottom of the picture, she added, “#bjj.”

The young pop star has taken a liking to a variety of mixed martial arts and can be seen around the web hitting takedowns on her instructor, working on technique and striking among other things.

“I would say that if you struggle with depression, anxiety, or any other type of stressors in your life, a really great way to get rid of those is through physical exercise and fitness.” Demi told People magazine.

“I first got into jiu-jitsu because I loved watching people grapple,” Lovato says. (Jiu-jitsu focuses on hand-to-hand combat moves and ground work such as grappling, throwing, and pinning.) “I think it’s really cool to learn something that helps you with self-defense.” She adds that she also finds MMA fighting meditative because she’s constantly thinking of ways to attack and defend.”

After an intense 1 year of training, Lovato was promoted to blue belt in 2018 by her instructor, the late Orlando Sanchez of Gracie Barra.

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Demi Lovato says she’s feeling ‘high on life’ thanks to Jiu Jitsu

Demi Lovato went through a huge ordeal in 2018. The pop star – and blue belt in bjj reportedly relapsed after several years of sobriety and was subsequently revived with the aid of narcan while suffering a fentanyl overdose.

In 2001, she had an interview with Joe Rogan, where he talked about why she took a break from Jiu-Jitsu in 2020 but planned to return soon because she said “missed Jiu-Jitsu so much”.

She also talked about all the places she trained at and how she doesn’t attend training sessions with the general population, instead focusing on privates.

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What Differentiates Those That Stuck with Jiu-Jitsu from Those That Quit ?