MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Promoted To Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt At 64 Years Old

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine is now a black belt in jiu-jitsu.

The 64-year-old guitarist/vocalist was promoted to the new rank earlier this month, more than two years after earning his brown belt. He was promoted by Reggie Almeida, who is part of the Renzo Gracie TN Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Tennessee, near Mustaine's hometown of Franklin.

Mustaine earned his purple belt in 2021 at age 59 shortly after overcoming throat cancer.

Dave's friend Jon Milan praised the musician's promotion, writing: "Congratulations to my friend Dave Mustaine on getting his black belt after a long hard fought road. I know you have an amazing team with Professor Reggie."

The black belt is the highest common belt within Brazilian jiu-jitsu, denoting an expert level of technical and practical skill. Estimates of the time required to achieve the rank vary, but all holders of this rank have thousands of hours of experience.

In a 2007 interview, Mustaine said he started training taekwondo in 1999 in Arizona and then moved to California, where he lived until a few years ago. "Before taking up taekwondo, I practiced kung fu and other martial arts," he said.

Mustaine told The Quietus in 2010 that he had "a first degree in Ukidokan karate. My sensei — Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez — has the style of karate, kung-fu, aikido, judo, ju-jitsu, taekwondo, Greco-Roman wrestling, Muay Thai boxing and American boxing," he said. "So it's all those things rolled into one. It's a nine-style discipline. My second black belt is in Songham taekwondo and I was an assistant instructor in that style, and then I taught it privately for a while."

Mustaine and his family moved to a suburb of Nashville in October 2014 after living in Fallbrook, California for a couple of years.