Most people would have called it quits, if not physically then surely mentally. They would have stopped believing it was even possible. Could you blame a person for giving in to self-doubt after coming up short a dozen times?
Jared Weiner, 3rd degree black belt and TAC Team head instructor, first competed at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Pan American Championship in 1999, as a blue belt. Over the past 15 years he’s attempted to win the tournament at least a dozen times, missing the event only a couple of years. Although he has won many tournaments, the title of Pan American champion has eluded him for a decade and a half.
He didn’t medal at blue belt, or at purple belt, and sometimes lost in the first round and had to go home after just one match. But he kept training hard and kept coming back. At brown belt he came home with bronze, but at black belt it was more struggles. After a few years he made it to the podium again with bronze. But he was winning in the semi-final before making an error, so that bronze was just a bitter reminder of what could have been.
After missing over a year due to a shoulder surgery and the birth of his daughter, Jared began training hard in preparation for the 2014 event. It would not be easy. In the very first match he would face the 2013 Masters World Championship silver medalist, Julio Armando Echeverria Neto. Also in the division were former Pan Am champions Frederico Sabbatini and Suyan Queroz.
But Jared had this to say, after the event: “I told myself one day I was going to win this thing, no matter how long it takes.” That speaks volumes about his commitment and heart. Most people, even if they said that, would have given up along the way.
But not Jared Weiner, and after winning four straight matches he is now the 2014 IBJJF Pan American Champion. When it comes to accomplishing a goal as challenging as this, perseverance is critical. Congratulations to Jared, one of the most hard-working and dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) competitors and instructors there is.