Trivium’s Matt Heafy has officially earned a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The frontman received the honor after undergoing 10 years of training.

Heafy commented:

“03-13-13 was the first day for me in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ did not come easy for me… in fact – it was one of the most difficult undertakings I’d ever started in my life. For the first year – I wanted to quit – but despite that. I’d go 5+ days a week – multiple hours a day.

It didn’t make sense for the first 3 years. I didn’t retain what I needed to for the first 5 years. But still – I stuck with it and put in the time. Year 6/7 – it started to make sense. Year 8/9 – I felt I started finding my groove (finally).

Year 10. The black belt is not the end. It’s the beginning.

Thank you to every person I’ve ever trained with, learned from, lost to; my family and friends for their support; my teammates; my academy… but most importantly: my professor Gutty. Gutty, you changed my life; you’ve made every one of your students’ lives better.

Here’s to the next 10 years.

My advice to all of you. Start BJJ. Now.”