How Jiu Jitsu Helped Me Cope With Losing My Father To Cancer | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    Submission Shark Communityย 
    Instagram: dhernandezbjjย  ย 
    Twitter: dhernandezbjjย 
    Twitch: dhernandezbjj
    ย 
    Daniel Hernandez Jiu-Jitsu
    ย 
    Full Name: Daniel Hernandez
    Age: 22
    Belt Colour: Purple
    Professor: Doug Pelinkovic
    Short Term Goals: Get my college diploma, Become a name on the sub-only circuit, and succeed in whatever I choose to pursue.

    Submission Shark:

    Daniel Hernandez is the definition of a dedicated jiu-jitsu practitioner. His passion for the art/sport is evident and his work ethic can't be denied. Daniel is surrounded by high-level talent at Renzo Gracie's and is an active competitor. His journey was a pleasure for me to learn about because you can see the progression he has had in his career. From smaller competitions to some notable tournaments, he is improving at a shocking rate.

    Hearing his experiences with having friends and family members go through cancer made me emotional but I am happy to hear that he found a positive way to cope through jiu-jitsu. Please share his story because you never know what someone is going through and it is surprising how finding your true passion can help you go through difficult times in your life.ย 

    How long have you been doing jiu-jitsu for?

    I have been doing Jiu-Jitsuย for 4 years now and loving every second of the journey
    ย 

    Where do you train out of?

    My main school is Bronxย Martial Arts Academy and I teach at Renzo Gracie Bayside so I love to represent both of the schools because they areย a big part of my jiu-jitsuย career.
    ย 

    Do you prefer gi or no-gi?

    Nogi
    ย 

    Have your instructors helped you in other aspects of life other than jiu-jitsu?ย 

    Has your instructors helped you in other aspects of life other than jiu jitsu? | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    Congratulations to everyone who got promoted last night. Especially the new professorย @stanleyrosa.

    Of course, without a question, my instructors help me with other aspects of life on a daily basis. Any questions that I have with life from any jiu-jitsu technique that I'm curious about they are the most significant help with my life in general.
    ย 

    What are some lessons you learned from jiu-jitsu that applies to everyday life?ย 

    To never give up under any circumstances because in Jiu Jitsu. We are constantly put under positions that are stressful and hard to get out of but, at the end of it all, there is always a way out of the position to move forward o become the offensive player. So there are times that we are under pressure and are defensive but, the split second we are allowed to perform our offence whether it through jiu-jitsu or the everyday scenario. We have to make the best of our offensive position.
    ย 
    How Jiu Jitsu Helped Me Cope With Losing My Father To Cancer | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    ย 

    How often do you train?

    I train 6 days of the week sometimes I'll get the 7th one in if I have a match or tourney lined up for me. Training will always be a fun part of my daily activities. If I do not train at least once a day it feels like it will be the longest day of my life.

    What made you want to start training?

    So the reason why I wanted to train had started in 2013.ย At the beginning of the year in 2013 my mom had told me a cousin of mine had started working at the Bronx location for Renzo Gracie called Bronx Martial Arts Academy so I went to go visit her and after catching up. She said to give it a shot so I took a two week trial but, around that time my dad was having a hard time battling cancer and we found out that he won't be around for much longer. So I was not focused on continuing to try jiu-jitsu and I was doing football later that year but I would never forget how fun it was and I felt pretty good with it. So when football season came I was just focused on football obviously but, jiu-jitsu always came to the back of my mind and I wanted to do it once I was done with football because I hated lifting weights. And I always said I wanted to do jiu-jitsu because I felt like it was right for me even during the football season.
    ย 
    So once the season was over I joined up and the rest is history another main thing that makes me still train is to make my family proud to see that my generation of the Hernandez family can be and will be successful.
    ย 
    How Jiu Jitsu Helped Me Cope With Losing My Father To Cancer | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    CANCER- one of the scariest words to ever be said to a human being. I have lost two close family members to this terrible sickness one being my father and the other being my cousin. Both who fought to the very end but will always be remembered as a hero's in my heart. Right next to me is a great role model Luis Quintana who is currently fighting cancer and kicking ass at it. If you ever get to meet Lou you will always be left with laughter and a smile. He will always give great advice to me for a 20-year-old who is still growing up. Along with the best star wars theories that will make your brain hurt. Even though he is kicking cancers ass by himself I decided to show support to show he is not alone in this fight and it will be finished off very soon. Thank you, Lou, for continuing to be a great role model in life. Let's finish off this fight and the force is strong with and more importantly, may God be with you.
    ย 

    Do you plan on training your whole life?

    Yes, I plan on training for my life until my body says it can't do it anymore. This is a big part of my life that has taught me in everyday activities and meet different people from around the globe.
    ย 

    I love this submission now only plan to get better at it #leglace #bmaa #bjj

    A post shared by Daniel Hernandez (@dhernandezbjj) on

    ย 

    Whatโ€™s it about jiu-jitsu that makes it so addicting?

    The biggest thing that makes it addicting is the feeling of putting in hard work and getting the results you want. Whether it is competition or trying to be healthy this sport/art gives you that opportunity. It helps you in every aspect of life so how can it not be addicting.
    ย 
    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    ย 

    What has jiu-jitsu done for your physical health?

    It has taught me a lot about my body and how it truly functions for example when I played high school football. My eating habits were so bad with greasy food and McDonalds every other day. Then once I did BJJ and started training along with competing. Eating Mcdonalds and all junk food will not progress your weight nor help you at hard training. So this opened up my eyes to eat better to get better results.
    ย 

    Has jiu-jitsu benefited your mental health?

    It has benefited my mental health because it is a big stress reliever. When I was a kid I was always having a tantrum when things didn't go my way and throughout my 22 years there was always up and downs. The biggest down part was losing my dad in 2013 and before starting jiu-jitsu I was constantly sad about not having him around so once I found jiu-jitsu.
    ย 
    It just helped me to move forward with it as if he is always watching me so I perform my best as possible. Jiu-jitsu will always take out any mental funk that anyone is going through a rough time this is like a therapy to me and it's more successful than ever. If it was not for this I think I would be a sad dwelling person mentally.
    ย 

    If you could restart your jiu-jitsu journey, would you do anything different?ย 

    The only thing that I would do differently is when I was a blue belt there was a period where I lacked on competing because I had my first job working and I cared about it yet the job was miserable and I did not enjoy it. So I would tell myself if I can go back. Don't go crazy at this job it is not going to make you into a millionaire. Have fun with competing in jiu-jitsu because this it is what you love, not making sandwiches.
    ย 
    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story with Jon Danaher
    ย 

    Whatโ€™s your advice for someone thatโ€™s never tried jiu-jitsu before but is interested in trying it?

    The biggest thing is trying it out what I mean by that is almost every school gives a trial class for free or a small fee. It gives you a taste of jiu-jitsu rather than signing a contract and now you're stuck at a spot you may or may not want to be out. Take advantage of the trial things that schools have. It does not hurt to give it a try or talk to someone who has experience with jiu-jitsu and ask for their honest opinion.
    ย 

    Do you have any aspirations in jiu-jitsu?

    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    I want to be an ADCC champion, EBI champion, and a sub only dominant player. Everyone who competes in jiu-jitsu wants to be the world champion and it's understandable. But I think the main goal from those three is to be the most dominant player because nobody forgets the legend.
    ย 

    Whatโ€™s your favourite move?

    I can't list just one but its gotta be the d'arce, RNC, heel hook, and armbar. A nice depiction of the whole body
    ย 

    If you didnโ€™t discover jiu-jitsu, where do you think youโ€™d be now?ย ย 

    I think I would've tried to be a division 3 football player and fail miserably at it. Or try to be an overweight twitch streamer playing call of duty. Just in other words I probably would be at a lifestyle that would be boring but, I would try to make the best out of it. It's something scary to think about because this lifestyle has given me so many opportunities on and off the mat that it cannot replace all the events that happened.
    ย 

    Would you like to see the sport become more mainstream?

    Of course, I would love to see this sport hit new levels and especially to the mainstream level. I believe it can hit that level but, that will not happen anytime soon because people want to see exciting things at the moment, for example, the UFC or the NFL. The trend right now that I see is you have to put your body on the line and with Jiu Jitsu, you do put your body on the line but, some matches do get boring due to stalling or not enough submissions.

    The biggest help that jiu-jitsu has in order to get to the mainstream levels are theย celebrities that are involved with it such as Aston Kutcher, Demi Lovato, and Keanu Reeves who help expose this martial art through their social lives and, the fan baseย they have makes them becomeย curious of the sport and through little things like that can make it to the mainstream level. So to answer the question of would I like it um, no I would love to see this sport hit the mainstream and I would hope to be a part of it.

    ย With the former ufc lightweight champ Benson Henderson | Submission Shark Community Jiu Jitsu Blog How Jiu Jitsu Helped Me Cope With Losing My Father To Cancer | Georges St Pierre at Renzo Gracie's | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    Have any of your training partners pushed you to reach your full potential?

    My training partners definitelyย push me but, I feel that I have not reached my full potential at all and I do have room to work. There are days that I get a beating from all of them but, it makes me want to push to the next level and achieveย that such as my teammates: Stanley Rosa, Frank Rosenthal, Jon Calestine, and the guys from DDS. I want to be on that high level and the best at it and that's when I'll know I have reached my full potential
    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    Last night's class with the leglock mastermindย #johndanaher.ย #bjj#jiujitsuย #staytuned

    When you were first starting, what was the most difficult concept of jiu-jitsu that you had trouble getting?

    Controlling my partner was always a hard thing to understand. When I was a white belt I was so scrambly that my game was based off who has better cardio and the only thing I had to change was to control my opponent when I pass. If you saw how I rolled, in the beginning, you would laugh at me.
    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    ย 

    What makes you want to inspire and motivate others?

    I want to inspire those who are at a point in their lives when they do not know what they are passionate about to pursue this art. Because I was one of them at a certain point and this art will help you understand yourself. So learning from my success and my story I would hope helps others.

    What was your experience like competing at RISE?

    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Storyย My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story

    The Rise Invitational was a new level of professional Jiu Jitsu for me just because the atmosphere was so electric that the nerves were going and my adrenalineย had been pumping through my veins the whole night. I had competed on Rise 3 out in Long Island and the venue was called The Space out in Westbury. For that event, we performed on a stage and the lights were so bright that we could not see the crowd so it felt like it was just us two on the stage for that night I walked away with the W.
    ย 
    When I did Rise 4 we got to see the crowd and hear them nice and loud that you truly felt you were the center of attention and you had toย perform the whole night had been almost draw after draw. I was looking for the win against my opponent but, fell into the curse of the night and walked away with a draw. The event is only growing and producing quality matches and I'm excited about the next event and hope to be a part of it.
    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Storyย My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    ย 

    What is it like training with high-level talent at Renzo Gracie's?

    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story with Renzo Gracie

    It is so fun to train with the high-level talent at Renzo's because it hungers you to want to hit the levels that they are at because whenย you'reย surrounded by success. You just want to become one of them so it's very contagious at Renzo's to want to be a high-level talent. I thank everyone at Renzo's that has helped me along with the way from the city and especially to my family at Bronx and Bayside. For making me want to go to the extra mile to make them happy.

    ย 

    Thank you for the recognition professor @danaherjohn . Please take a moment to read. Thank you#Repost @danaherjohn (@get_repost) ใƒปใƒปใƒป Talented individuals versus a squad: So often in jiu jitsu we see the emergence of extremely talented individuals who for a time dominate their division. It is natural to ask how they came to acquire their world conquering skills and try to learn from them. As impressive as the emergence of great individuals may be, much more impressive is the emergence of a talented GROUP of individuals. Some people have such special characteristics that their success may be due to them as individuals rather than the program in which they developed. When you see a gym put out a team of talent, clearly something special is happening. The Gracie Barra headquarters in Rio of the early 1990's is a great example. So many fine athletes and instructors came out of that environment that it is very clear that the program was of the very first quality. Thus when I asses the health of a given training program, I do not do so on the basis of its best individual, but on the average level of its people, particularly the emerging kohai (junior) students. This is particularly true when I look at the skills emphasized by a given team. Sometimes an athlete will emerge from a given school with an outstanding technique, say a juji gatame armbar. If no one else in the gym has an impressive juji, one could surmise that the athlete learned it in an idiosyncratic fashion as an individual, rather than in a SYSTEMATIC fashion as a SQUAD. THE CLEAREST EVIDENCE OF A SYSTEMS BASED APPROACH TO LEARNING AND TEACHING IS REPLICATION - can many athletes across skill level, weight division, age, sex etc utilize the skills to attain victory. The emergence of a talented individual exhibiting skills can be explained by idiosyncratic elements, but not a group of people all exhibiting similar skills - in that case there is most like an effective system at work imbedded in a sound training program. When I construct and implement a training program this is always the sign that I look for. Here, squad kohai Danny Hernandez, a very talented athlete training under my very good friend.

    A post shared by Daniel Hernandez (@dhernandezbjj) on

    ย 

    You mentioned Jared "Flash" Gordon as one of your favourite fighters. What's it about him that you like?ย 

    My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Storyย My Thoughts On Jiu Jitsu and How It Can Benefit Your Lifestyle | Daniel Hernandez's Story
    One of the best people youโ€™ll ever meet in your lifeย @jaredflashgordonย when I first met him he guillotined the life out of me when I was a blue belt and he was fighting atย @cffcmma. Now he is aย @ufcย fighter and starting a new chapter in his life out in Milwaukee. Iโ€™ll miss him dearly and he will be a ufc champion.

    Jared "Flash" Gordan with Daniel Hernandez at Renzo Gracie's Jiu Jitsu Training Camp | UFC Contract signed

    Jared is a great person and one of those people that you'll meet once in a lifetime and isย irreplaceable. I first met Jared back when I was a blue belt and he was training for a bout on CFFC after winning his featherweight title on there. We were able to have a round on a Saturday class in the Bronx and that was our first roundย togetherย and next thing you know. Heguillotinesย me into the next oblivion and, it was one of those submissions that you never forget happened to you. The next time I rolled with him I got asked to help him with his title defence on CFFC and doing non-stop rounds with him. Through that training camp, I saw that Jared would never give up no matter how tired he was. He pushed through with every ounce of energy and made it look like perfection.
    ย 
    Since that fight, I have helped him with his camps. Just getting to know him more and seeing his work ethic it's like how can you not be a fan. He is one of the hardest working guys I've ever met and mark my words he will be a UFC champion. He's currently in the UFC and will make his way to the crown.ย 
    ย 

    Submission Shark:

    Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Daniel. I know talking about your past experiences can be difficult but I truly believe your words can help someone. I'm sorry about your losses in life and I know they would be proud of you because you are doing what you love and excelling at it. The ambitions you have are excellent quality traits and I believe you have the right tools to make it happen. Jiu-jitsu really seems to make you happy and I want everyone to do what makes them happy as long as it has a positive outlook. I am excited to see what the future holds for you and I hope you keep enjoying your passion. Thanks again for sharing, and welcome to the Submission Shark Community :)

    Submission Shark Articles and Blogs


    1 comment


    • Roberto Hernandez

      Iโ€™m glad to see that you are doing something that you love to do and I wish you all the luck in the world.


    Leave a comment

    Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)
    jiu jitsu gear BJJ apparel The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)

    The Ice Breaker BJJ Gi (Limited Edition)

    Regular price $300.00 CAD Sale price$150.00 CAD
    /

    Size