British rapper Tinie Tempah has revealed that Hollywood actor Tom Hardy is the reason he first stepped onto the Jiu-Jitsu mats.
The two have become two of the most recognizable celebrity practitioners of the sport in the UK, and both have taken their passion beyond training by competing at local tournaments and winning gold medals.
Hardy, who was promoted to brown belt earlier this year, introduced Tempah to Jiu-Jitsu several years ago.
Speaking with Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2, Tempah explained how it all began:
I kinda just stumbled on it by coincidence. It was actually Tom Hardy, sorry to drop a name, but that kinda got me into it.
Kay then shared that Hardy had also tried to convince him to give the sport a try:
I said: “What are you doing?” and he said: “I’m doing this… Come to this, I do it with a lot of former Armed Forces blokes”, and I went: “Nah, you’re alright.”
Tempah, however, accepted the invitation. And says he immediately fell in love with the sport:
He’s doing it with all these ex-SAS guys… So I came down one day and I just loved it. I absolutely loved it.
According to the rapper, the biggest lesson Jiu-Jitsu has taught him is humility:
I think what I get from it is a certain level of discipline, you have to leave your ego at the door as well.
So for the first, or actually for your whole Jiu-Jitsu journey, every once in a while someone is putting you in a compromising situation or position where it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, whether you’re Tom Hardy, whether you’re Tinie Tempah, your ego is literally left at the door.
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