Christian Pierce, Black Belt, PhD Researcher, Military Veteran, Volunteer - Beyond the Belt #35

This is a conversation with Christian Pierce, a black belt out of New York, New York, USA currently living in Zurich, Switzerland. He also has a black belt in Hoteikan Jiutjitsu. Christian is a researcher, lecturer, and PhD candidate in organizational studies and cultural theory. He’s a US Army veteran and graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point.   Episode Links: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caponearth * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianpierce1/ * Alliance Jiujitsu: https://www.allianceofficial.com/en/ * Sportegration: https://sportegration.ch/en/ * Student Veterans of America: https://studentveterans.org/ * OUR Racism: https://www.ourcontexts.org/podcasts-racism   Reference Links: * Carlson Gracie Laranjeiras: https://www.instagram.com/carlsongracie_laranjeiras/ * Aranya Barcelona: https://www.instagram.com/aranyabarcelona/ * Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave * Grounded Theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded_theory * Ronin Grappling Values: https://roningrappling.com/values/ * The Strongest Karate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCiZxLdda6s   Contact: * Be a Guest: https://btb.fan/newguest   Outline: 00:00 Intro 00:32 Journey to Black Belt 03:07 Defining Black Belt Expertise 12:13 Social Proof and Validation in Jiujitsu 28:29 Community in Jiujitsu 42:07 PhD and Jiujitsu Communities 47:03 The C5 Framework: Connection, Consent, Challenge, Credibility, Care 54:59 Care in Leadership 59:55 Pressure and Authenticity in Different Contexts 01:11:37 Reverse Mentorship 01:19:28 Cultural Insights from Jiujitsu 01:23:43 The Role of Associations in Jiu Jitsu 01:34:27 Sports Integration and Community Building 01:40:06 Early Life 01:43:24 MMA and West Point 01:47:42 Navigating the Transition from Military to Civilian Life 01:54:41 Mental Health Challenges and Jiujitsu 02:07:31 People are People 02:17:58 Future Aspirations and Community Engagement 02:20:45 Outro   Podcast Links: * Podcast Website: https://www.beyondthebeltpod.com/ * Spotify: https://btb.fan/spotify * Apple Podcasts: https://btb.fan/apple * RSS: https://btb.fan/rss   Social: * Instagram: https://instagram.com/beyondthebeltpod * Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@beyondthebeltpod * Youtube: https://youtube.com/@beyondthebeltpod * Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/beyondthebeltpod.bsky.social * Facebook: https://btb.fan/fb