POISON drummer Rikki Rockett hit a milestone this week when he was awarded a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fourth-degree black belt.

The 62-year-old musician, who trains under Renato Magno, the owner of Street Sports Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Santa Monica, California, took to his Instagram on Saturday (January 27)  to share a photo of him and Magno, and he included the following message: “So this happened today… 4th degree. In just a few words… I am humbled by the journey. Congrats to my Jiu Jitsu brethren and a huge thank you to @renatomagno.streetsports ! @streetsportsbjj @bjjc_streetsports @originusa”.

Rockett began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu back in 1998 with Rigan and Jacques Machado and supplemented his classes with private lessons from Magno.

In a 2019 interview with Jiu-Jitsu Times, Rockett stated about how he got involved with jiu-jitsu: “Like many people, I saw Royce Gracie in the UFC and wanted to know more. This was around the time of UFC 3. I met Jean Jacques Machado and John Machado at a rally and they invited me to their school. One of the first people I met there was Eddie Bravo. I got tapped about a dozen times by a few people and signed up the next day. I never looked back. I trained at the Tarzana school until purple belt, and when Renato Magno (who came over from Brazil with the Machado brothers) opened Street Sports BJJ, I switched over to that school.”

Regarding his protocols for training on the road, Rikki said: “I hardly get to train on the road, and it sucks. It’s risk versus livelihood. If I get hurt, a lot of people go home. Promoters don’t like ‘fill-in’ players in this band, and it affects ticket sales. When the original four don’t show up, it’s a pretty big problem. However, I have done a few seminars on the road, and I really love teaching. I can control and sort of ‘read’ who I want to roll with. If I just walk into a school to train, come free training time, every swinging dick in there wants to tap me out so they can say they did.”

Rockett, who was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2015, also talked about how or if jiu-jitsu contributed to his survival. He said: “Going through all of that made me realize just how damn easy it is to take your health and mobility for granted. I was braver because of jiu-jitsu training. I know that to be a fact. I knew I had survived some really tough rolling experiences, so I knew I could handle the treatments… Jiu-jitsu helped me through treatment. Seriously. I got the strength knowing that I could make it because of all the years of blood, sweat and tears on the mat.”

As for how his “rock star lifestyle” has been affected by his time as an active martial artist, Rikki said: “When you don’t pay attention to nutrition, sleep, your routine, and your overall health, your time on the mat will suffer. In fact, since I am older, I have to pay attention to all of these things in order to play the best I can. Who knows what I’d look and sound like if I didn’t? Who knows if I would pay attention to these things if it weren’t for jiu-jitsu? I think jiu-jitsu has helped me as a musician… usually, unless I get hurt. Again, it is a second reason to maintain a healthier lifestyle. I have zero desire to get loaded on tour anymore.”