Actor Jonathan Lipnicki Earns Black Belt

February 22, 2020

Earlier this month, actor and producer Jonathan Lipnicki was awarded his BJJ black belt by his instructor Tim Bond. The Stuart Little star has been training on and off for the past 14 years according to his Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

I’m in shock. I don’t know how express exactly how I feel. Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu Blackbelt!!!! I have been training roughly 14 years, and jiu-jitsu has been there for me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is a huge part of my life and a lot of my growth as a human being as been a result of training. Since I was a teenager, I have been surrounded by Men and Women in the gym who have pushed me way beyond my comfort zone. I am an actor, so people often assume I’m going to suck or have been exclusively privately trained. That is not the case here, but that has sure made me work harder! I roll with everybody! I have had my ass kicked since I was 15 years old, and it has both simultaneously built my confidence and kept me humble. I have had to take time off when I do film, but I have always made an effort to come back when I’m done and get back into the mix. Thank you to my coach @legend_of_cyberbully for being a friend, coach and mentor! Thank you to @streetsportsbjj for teaching my coach and passing on this beautiful art. Thank you to Alan Zborovsky for teaching me throughout my teens and early twenties. Thank You to @saeksonmuaythai for being a constant figure who checks me when I need it, and continually pushes my toughness. If you have ever thought about trying BJJ, do it! I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it!

A post shared by Jonathan Lipnicki (@jonathanlipnicki) on Feb 3, 2020 at 2:40pm PST

Making his name as a child actor in films like Jerry Maguire and Like Mike, Lipnicki has stayed committed to training into adulthood. In a 2017 interview with TooFab, Lipnicki revealed that his success on screen led to intense bullying in school for years.

“As a kid-teen I was made fun of relentlessly by some people who are now even my friends on FB. I was told I was a has-been and would never book a job again,” Lipnicki said in a now deleted Instagram post.

Taking up grappling at 15, Lipnicki transformed himself from the blonde child star into a jacked martial artist with a cool tattoo. Essentially the thing we all want to do.

As impressive an accomplishment this is you have to wonder, could he last 30 seconds against BJJ phenom Ashton Kutcher?

Polaris, get on that match please.