Vin Diesel, actor famous for the Fast & Furious movie franchise, has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on and off for the past 20 years. He is currently a blue belt.
One of his best friends is a certain Valentino Morales, who received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu this weekend from Alberto Crane – after training for 20 years. He started around the same time as Vin Diesel did.
Vin Diesel attended the promotion and had a few words to share with everyone there:
This is such a special day for me personally, because I grew up on the streets of New York a long, long time ago. And it was just me and my brothers against the world.
We only had heart, we didn’t know anything about skill. Skill, we would rather find.We came out to California and… I remember being introduced to the first Armbar. And I remember being in a studio apartment over here, and saying to him [Morales]: “Hey you’re not gonna believe what they’re doing, but this is something called an Armbar!”
He said: “What is it?” And I told him: “Just sit down, [let me show you].”And it’s from literally that humble beginning that he, my brother, has accomplished something that is so powerful… But not just my brother, but everybody here who has accomplished greatness; we all strive to be successful in life.
Not everybody in the world knows what it takes to be a master of your craft. And I’m seeing my brother and I’m proud, so proud – beyond belief – that I’ve travelled this far to see my brother accomplish something that I may never accomplish in my life. Something that you’ve all accomplished that I’m envious of.I started training with him years ago… But your commitment and the commitment of my brother has shown that these very mats have made him prove to the world that he’s achieved a mastery of something so beautiful. A mastery of something like Jiu-Jitsu.
And I can’t tell you how proud I am of it.
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