Per Ole Hagen/RedfernsFive Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory is officially a black belt in jiu-jitsu.
The musician shared the news in an Instagram post over the weekend along with photos of him and his teachers Royler Gracie and Mica Cipili from when he first started training with them back in 2009, contrasted of photos of him now wearing his newly minted belt.
“It took 13 years hard work (& some fat lips and some black eyes) to get ready for the shark infested waters of Jiu-Jitsu blackbelts,” Bathory wrote in the caption.
“It gets much much much harder from here,” he added, along with a crying-laughing emoji.
Bathory and FFDP have long used martial arts imagery in their music — their debut album, for example, is titled The Way of the Fist. There’s also, of course, the band’s name, which was inspired by kung fu movies.
Other rockers who practice jiu-jitsu include Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan and Megadeth‘s Dave Mustaine.
By Josh Johnson
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