Sam Sheriff MBE spent 22 years as a Royal Marine, rose to color sergeant, became the Corps’ first serving Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and founded REORG, the charity that has turned the martial art into a lifeline for the military, veteran and first responder community.
On the Combat Fuel podcast, he laid out exactly how jiu-jitsu took hold in the Corps and what REORG has grown into.
Sheriff’s first taste of jiu-jitsu came in 2004 on a Royal Marine close combat instructors course, taught by an instructor who had recently been dominated by a grappler and rebuilt the course around it.
“He basically brought in his mates from like the local grappling club and they basically just used us as grappling dummies, right, just to practice a bit of jiu-jitsu and grappling.”
He said the experience produces one of two reactions: “You either think that was honking, I’m never doing that again, you walk away. Or you’re like that was amazing, I need more of this, and that is what happened with me.”
Getting jiu-jitsu recognized as an official core sport meant standing in front of the deputy commandant general at the Royal Marines’ annual sports meeting, pitching straight after an officer bidding for funding for Zapcat speedboat racing.
“It’s like right, yeah, I understand you want to have authority for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and what do you need from us? I said, I just need permission, sir… I said, no, sir. Every commando unit has mats.”
He got the authority that day.
“Within 12 months we grew it to the biggest sport in the Royal Marines. So more Royal Marines doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu than football, boxing, rugby, all your traditional speed booting.”
REORG itself grew out of inviting old friends who had left the Corps back onto camp to train, no questions asked. Sheriff connected with people who offered him the chance to build a UK arm of their organization.
Sheriff wanted the Corps’ own identity instead.
The name came from a military term: “We’ve got an objective and we fig ht through that objective. We clear the objective, we shout the word REORG and everyone in the section, the team, they echo the word REORG… no matter what’s just happened, good or bad, we move forward with a positive mindset. And I thought, well, that’s it. We are using jiu-jitsu as a vehicle to reorg and move forward.”
On his path from white belt to first serving Black Belt, Sheriff was candid.
He said, “You never think, like, as a white belt, you never think you’re going to get a Black Belt.”
