The very first Hispanic blind BJJ Jblack belt in the world, Carlos Alvarez, shares his inspiring story about the journey from a kid who got bullied heavily in school, in a country where there is no real future for disabled people, to finding a purpose and passion through Jiu-Jitsu.
Carlos Alvarez is a Braziliabn Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Even though there are more and more people with the rank in the world, getting one is still not an easy feat to accomplish. In the case of Alvarez, it was a humongous feat, as he goe down into history as the very first Hispanic blind BJJ black belt.
In the words of Carlos himself:
“I am the first blind Hispanic to be a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu
I used to get bullied in high school like nobody’s business. They used to make my life very miserable when I was in high school because I was like a big target for bullying. I always wanted to learn how to defend myself.
And one day, one friend in high school introduced me to Jiu-Jitsu. I fell in love immediately of Jiu-Jitsu. So, I started to train and I never stopped.”
The first Hispanic blind BJJ black belt proudly attributes his current standing in life to discovering and sticking with Jiu-Jitsu:
“Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a gift that God gave me to add purpose in my life. Because, when I used to live in my country, it was almost impossible for me to go to college or to get a job. So, I didn’t have anything to do. And the only activity that I was able to do as a blind person in my country was Jiu-Jitsu.
Jiu-Jitsu has helped me to improve in everything in my life. It has made me more strong, more positive. And also, I had gained so much confidence. It has repaired my life in a big way.”
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Plenty of BJJ and UFC stars, including Ricardo Liborio, Justin Wren, Din Thomas, and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera supported and commented on Carlos’ video after it came out on the Matmade Show Instagram account.