Congratulations to Brandon Justice for being awarded student of the month! Brandon's hardworking attitude makes him a great addition to the team. Get to know Brandon below! What is your name, how old are you and Where are you originally from? My name is Brandon Justice. I am 25 years old and I’m from Greenville, South Carolina. What brought you to BJJ and Checkmat Charlotte? I wanted to find a new hobby. I had heard a lot of great things about BJJ online and through some friends of mine so I wanted to give it a shot and see what it was all about. I ended up at Checkmat Charlotte after doing some research online and seeing a lot of great reviews for the gym and Professor Allen. What other sports did you grow up Playing if any? I played baseball in high school and college What do you enjoy doing outside of BJJ? I enjoy lifting weights, reading, cooking and hanging out at local breweries. If you could be one animal, what would it be? Probably a cheetah. It would be fun to run as fast as they do. What is your favorite food? I love any type of barbecue Where do you get inspiration and motivation for BJJ? I think my biggest inspiration is seeing other people have success. The skill level of the higher belts is ultimately where I want to be someday so seeing their hard work and the way they go about training inspires me to want to be the same way. What is your proudest moment in BJJ so far? I’m still relatively new but probably receiving my first stripe on my white belt. I was very lost when I first started so receiving my first stripe gave me confidence to know that I belonged. In one word describe life at Checkmat Charlotte? Welcoming What is the one thing you like best about BJJ? I enjoy the mix of competition and learning self defense. But I think the thing I enjoy most about it is it’s easy to set attainable goals. Whether it be to submit a certain person, to not get tapped by a certain person or even to get to the next belt. There are many goals that can be achieved but all of them require you to show up and work hard. What advice would you give to a brand new student starting BJJ? I think the thing that has helped me the most is not comparing myself to other people in the gym but comparing myself to me. When you first start the other people in the gym are way better than you. Even the other new white belts who have a little bit of experience. When I compared myself to them it only caused frustration. Once I started comparing myself to who I was yesterday and to where I want to be in the future, I started seeing a lot more progress.
