Tana Umaga is a former captain of the New Zealand national Rugby team and now he’s been promoted to black belt in BJJ as well. The sporting legend has been training in Jiu-Jitsu for around thirteen years, starting shortly before he stopped competing in professional Rugby altogether. It’s no surprise that Umaga has found success in BJJ, seeing as Rugby experience has been known to give people an advantage when it comes to grappling and he was among the highest level of athletes on the planet at one point in time.
Tana Umaga has trained BJJ throughout his time as a member of the coaching staff for several different Rugby teams and has somehow even found the time to step onto the mats to compete as well. Earlier this year, Umaga actually competed at the IBJJF Masters Worlds in the brown belt division and came away with a silver medal for his efforts. This was an inspiring moment from the former elite level Rugby international, as he achieved this at the age of 49 and after he had taken extended breaks from training in the sport in the past.
Tana Umaga has now received his BJJ black belt courtesy of the coaches at Alliance Jiu-Jitsu in Auckland, New Zealand but he has also taken the time to thank the different coaches and gyms all across the world who have helped him to reach this point. With this latest achievement, Umaga has joined a select group of people who have reached the highest levels of competition in one sport and also managed to reach black belt in BJJ, like NBA and Euroleague player Igor Rakocevic. As this group grows, the sport itself continues to reach more and more people across the world.
Tana Umaga shared the news of his promotion to black belt in BJJ in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
