Jocko Willink is one of the most popular personalities in the Jiu-Jitsu community, and he recently got to experience a moment that any parent in the sport looks forward to when he got to award his daughter, Rana Willink, with her BJJ blue belt. Willink is a BJJ black belt himself and he was promoted by his long-time coach and training partner, the legendary Dean Lister. Both men actually have a similar approach to grappling and are known for their excruciatingly painful and uncomfortable style of Jiu-Jitsu that would have a lot of hobbyists quitting within minutes of experiencing it.
Both men were present at the 11th annual Origin Immersion camp just recently and Willink decided that this would be the perfect time to promote his daughter Rana, with the ceremony taking place in front of a pretty big crowd of grapplers. Willink starts out by sharing some of the Jiu-Jitsu wisdom that he’s best known for, explaining that it doesn’t work by forcing an opponent to do what you want and you will find more success when you get them to go where you want instead. He also explains that all of his kids have been involved in Jiu-Jitsu since they were a young age, but Rana specifically has come a long way since going to college and training at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu while there. After speaking to her coaches there, the vote was unanimous that she was due a promotion.
Jocko Willink attempted to remain stoic but naturally this was an incredibly emotional experience and he proclaimed “I’m not crying, you’re crying!” as his daughter wiped away tears of her own. The end of the video then has an excellent quote from Willink about sharing Jiu-Jitsu with the rest of your family: “I always say, jiu-jitsu is the most important thing you can give to your kids.”
The footage of Jocko Willink promoting his daughter to blue belt in BJJ was uploaded to the official YouTube channel for Origin USA:
