Hello Sir or Ma'am,

My name is Ben Midgette. I have been training in jujitsu since fall of 2013. I received my blue belt under Ben Rodes, a Pedro Sauer Black Belt, in June of 2015. I retired from the Army following almost 21 years of active duty in July 2016. The transition away from military life to being a civilian was at first challenging & unfortunately pulled me away from Jujitsu for a little while. I got back onto my jujitsu path & began training again in December 2017. 

I trained under Garth Spendiff, a Relson Gracie Black Belt, in Richmond Hill, GA since May 2018. Garth is an affiliate of Scott Devine in Brunswick, GA and is one of Relson's first North American Black Belts. I was awarded my purple belt from Garth on 17 February 2020. My family has since moved to Knoxville TN where I'm currently a 1 stripe purple belt training daily under Gracie Barra Black Belt and World Champion Samuel Braga. My purpose for learning traditional Braziilian Jujitsu is based purely on a desire for increased self defense skill and technique. At 47 I'm not a competition sport guy but I do believe in training to the utmost of my capabilities in order to be prepared for street violence should such an unfortunate event occur. This is why I believe in Rickson's mission to get back to the roots of Gracie Jujitsu with its core foundation in self defense. 

Thank you for your consideration to join your community.

Very Respectfully,

Ben