Gordon Ryan and Derek “Moneyberg” recently sat down for a wide-ranging discussion about the psychology of winning and dealing with criticism yet notably avoided addressing the elephant in the room: Moneyberg’s controversial black belt promotion that has divided the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.
The conversation focused heavily on handling detractors and negative feedback with Ryan offering his perspective on criticism management.
“When somebody says something that I don’t like, you know, I have whatever little emotional reaction I might have for a couple seconds, but very quickly and and quite literally in a couple few seconds, I think, well, is that true?”
Ryan explained, describing his psychological approach to dealing with online negativity.
Ryan emphasized the importance of objective self-assessment when facing criticism suggesting practitioners ask themselves whether negative comments contain truth worth addressing.
“That’s amazing about jiu-jitsu is like uh you know if somebody has a different opinion than you do, it’s very easy to sort out um you know who has a who has a better strategy in given circumstances,”
he noted, highlighting the sport’s ability to provide clear objective feedback.
Moneyberg contributed his own insights about pursuing exceptional outcomes despite social pressure.
“If you want to have exceptional outcomes, you’re going to have to have exceptional thoughts and exceptional behaviors,”
he stated, addressing how success often requires going against conventional wisdom and enduring criticism from peers and family members.
The discussion touched on the competitive mindset both men share with Ryan admitting that losing at anything bothers him even trivial games like pinball. This competitive drive they suggested is essential for achieving greatness but can create internal conflicts when applied to areas outside one’s primary focus.
Both speakers emphasized the importance of surrounding oneself with high-level individuals while remaining open to learning from others regardless of one’s own expertise level. Ryan advised taking the best qualities from exceptional people while avoiding their negative traits.
Conspicuously absent from their lengthy conversation was any mention of the ongoing controversy surrounding Moneyberg’s rapid promotion to black belt in just three years and seven months. The BJJ community has been vocal in questioning the legitimacy of this timeline with critics like ADCC veteran Vinny Magalhaes suggesting financial motivations played a role in the promotion.
The omission is particularly striking given that Moneyberg has previously revealed his coach Jake Shields actually delayed the promotion by four months due to concerns about the rapid timeline. This detail suggests even those closest to Moneyberg had reservations about the promotion speed.
While both men discussed dealing with “haters” extensively they chose not to address the specific criticisms that have made Moneyberg a polarizing figure in the grappling world. The conversation remained focused on general principles of success and criticism management rather than confronting the substantive questions about promotion standards that continue to generate debate within the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.
