Appreciating the challenge: Carter County native Slone excelling in Jiu Jitsu

Nov. 15—Gabe Slone graduated from college in 2008, and that is when his path to martial arts medals began.

"I grew up playing basketball, football and baseball at East Carter," Slone said, adding "Go Raiders." "And I was looking for something where I could compete. I started out with mixed martial arts and kickboxing, and I really fell in love with the grappling aspect of mixed martial arts and cage fighting."

Slone said he did a lot of the MMA and kickboxing, and then gravitated toward Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

By 2012, he began training in that discipline exclusively. His reasoning behind pursuing that discipline of the martial arts, in part, is what he sees as the inherent efficiency of Jiu Jitsu.

"It is very efficient, and you can use it effectively regardless of your size or you opponent's size," Slone said. "So bigger, smaller, stronger or weaker becomes irrelevant and it is all about skill."

The first competition match Slone participated in was just five weeks after he had begun his training, and it was definitely a learning curve for him.

"I didn't know what I was doing," Slone admitted. "But I was training in the gym with amateur and professional mixed martial artists and grapplers, and I thought if they were going to do it, then I was going to do it, too."

Despite his lack of training, Slone still placed fourth in the competition. "It was a great experience, but I learned right away that I was going to have to improve my technique."

Since 2008, Slone has worked tirelessly to do just that, taking every opportunity to train and improve upon what he has learned and is still learning.

Typically, it requires 10 to 15 years to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he said. Slone is now ranked at the brown belt level — the belt just below black — and looks forward to increasing his rank through discipline and hard work.

"I think that the discipline is one of the many benefits of martial arts," he said. Slone admits it is a lot of hard work and can even sometimes be more than a little scary, but that is what makes the accomplishments more valuable to him.

"How many times, especially as an adult, do you really put yourself out there in challenging situations?" he said. "But that is part of the discipline required, that working your way through those emotions, and the stress. And there are definite physical benefits to it as well. But it is the mental and the emotional aspect of it that yields a lot of character development. You learn a lot about yourself, and about other people that way."

Slone said another benefit of being involved in martial arts is the close friendships he has forged over the years.

"I've been doing this most of my adult life," he said. "And you build solid relationships when you are doing hard, difficult things together most days of the week. The people you train with, your coaches, and even your opponents form a strong and really unique bond you don't find just anywhere."

With regards to his opponents, Slone said he doesn't really consider them the enemy, but rather part of the mental and physical growth process.

"I tell people all the time that I do this to people I love all week, so I don't have to have any animosity at all toward my opponents to get in there and give them a good match," Slone said. In fact, not only is there an absence of animosity but Slone said he feels gratitude to a difficult opponent.

"You can't practice martial arts without opponents," he said. "So, I am grateful for them and the opportunity for growth as a martial artist."

Slone has grown steadily since his first fourth place in competition. His list of accomplishments now includes becoming the 2021 International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Masters Brown Belt Open Weight NoGi World Champion. He has earned the 2021 International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Masters Brown Belt Ultra Heavyweight NoGi World Bronze Medal, and is the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Masters Brown Belt Ultra Heavyweight NoGi World Silver Medalist.

Part of his growth, he said, was realizing that everyone could benefit from the process, and wanting to share that with others. Slone said he and two of his training partners wanted to give back in some way to their community and decided that one of the best ways to do this was to share the benefits of the sport they love with others. To this end, they founded a 501c3 (currently in Tennessee, where Slone now lives) that provides scholarships and training gear to young people who might not otherwise be able to afford to enter the sport. "We all believe very much in the character building, maturity, development and discipline of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu," Slone said. "And who can benefit more from that than children?"