Christopher Ashton Kutcher, the famous American actor and model, known for his roles in "That 70’s Show," "Punk’d," and "The Butterfly Effect," has achieved a significant milestone in the martial arts world. The Hollywood star earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt at 47 years old. Kutcher was promoted this past week by renowned BJJ coach and 8th degree coral belt Rigan Machado.
“Congratulations my brother,” Machado wrote on social media. “15 years jiu-jitsu.” Kutcher, was also pictured wearing a customized black belt with his name and Japanese Kanji embroidery.
Unlike many celebrities who practice martial arts casually or for movie roles, Kutcher has been a legitimate student of Jiu-Jitsu for over a decade, training privately with Rigan Machado and consistently working behind the scenes. He previously earned his purple and brown belts under Machado, and has been known to roll regularly with high-level practitioners and professional athletes. A black belt awarded by Machado carries enormous weight.
Unleashing Ashton Kutcher's Epic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Journey!
Ashton Kutcher's Background and Early Life
Ashton Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on 7th February 1978. His ancestry includes Czech, German, and Irish origins. He was born into a relatively conservative family. He had an elder sister and a fraternal twin brother, who suffered a heart transplant and cerebral palsy when they were young. Kutcher attended the Washington High School in Cedar Rapids before relocating to Homestead, Iowa, where he transferred to Clear-Creek Amana High School. During that time, he developed a passion for acting and participated in school plays and dramas. However, his image was tarnished when he broke into the school one night to steal money. Later, he enrolled at the University of Iowa to study Biochemical Engineering, inspired by his brother’s heart ailment. However, he was expelled due to behavior issues.
Kutcher’s fate changed completely when a model scout approached him at The Airline bar in Iowa City, Iowa. He participated in an IMTA competition in 1988, after which he signed a contract with Next Modeling agency, appeared in ads for Calvin Klein, and worked as a model in Paris and Milan. His acting career made him one of the richest actors in the world. He starred in famous television series, including Two and a Half Men, and The Ranch (Netflix), and appeared in a dating show named The Bachelor. He also ventured into large investments in different tech startups in venture capital including; Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, Shazam, Soundcloud, and ResearchGate. With these profitable investments, he and his team turned $30 million into $250 million.
The Start of Kutcher's BJJ Journey
Kutcher shared about starting BJJ training while shooting an ad campaign for a fashion brand, Colcci in Sao Paulo, Brazil”. He wanted to add grappling to his regular workout routine. Ashton Kutcher started his BJJ journey in 2012 at the Ricardo De La Riva Academy, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He began training BJJ to get in shape and achieve his fitness goals. What started out as a fitness regimen eventually became a passion. Kutcher began his BJJ training under Rigan Machado, who is a well-known coach in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community.
Kutcher’s participation in the classes was limited to warm-up, technical drills, and full-contact sparring. Rigan Machado is a coral belt, who is renowned for creating a BJJ routine, the Flow Jiu-Jitsu, for celebrities. In this BJJ routine, celebrities did not have to go undergo tough sparring sessions or compete in competitions. But they still acquired necessary fighting skills for self defense. Ashton Kutcher is the perfect example of a Flow Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.
Ashton’s eagerness and steadfast nature kept him training. Within two years of training, Kutcher achieved his purple belt by the end of 2014, the same year he got his blue belt. The BJJ fans were quite shocked. Some even questioned the authenticity of Kutcher’s achievement. After all, earning a purple belt in such a short time period was not a common occurrence. Kutcher’s coach Rigan clarified all doubts by stating that Kutcher had a solid background in martial arts and wrestling. In 2019, Ashton Kutcher was promoted to a brown belt level, the second highest rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kutcher received the brown belt after five years of training under Rigan Machado.
Kutcher owes his fast belt progression to his sound wrestling background.
Controversies and Doubts
While Machado sang praises and made pretty outrageous claims about his student, there was a time that people really questioned Kutcher’s jiu-jitsu ability. A video went viral back in 2020, showing Kutcher as a newly promoted brown belt, rolling with BJJ star Craig Jones. He didn’t exactly look very good, which led to people questioning the validity of his brown belt.
Years later, Jones revealed that Kutcher was dealing with a “serious medical condition” at the time. “Half his body stopped working, so he couldn’t move too well. So then Rigan’s like ‘roll with him, I’ll film it.’ He films it, sends it to me, and he’s like ‘post it.’ Obviously, Ashton was like - we couldn’t say anything about it,” Jones said. “So we posted it online, and thousands of comments (questioning his belt), and then Ashton comments on that ‘oh, thanks for the roll.’”
Kutcher eventually revealed two years later that he was dealing with a rare case of “vasculitis” in 2020, and had his hearing, vision and mobility compromised for a year.
Regardless of what you think of his skill from that viral video from five years ago, Kutcher has seemingly put in the time in the sport without really trying to get much attention and recognition from it. That seems completely opposite from some of the newer figures using the jiu-jitsu scene to launder their image, and “earn” black belts in record time.
Views on Kutcher's BJJ Skills
Ashton Kutcher’s Bjj workout is designed by Rigan Machado (an 8th-degree coral belt). The routine incorporates a warm-up, BJJ training, stretching, and cooling down. One of the best grapplers in the world, Craig Jones has designed lessons to exploit weaknesses in takedown positions and capitalize on submissions like anaconda, Peruvian necktie, Darce choke, and many more.
Kutcher is not a competitive BJJ fighter despite his vast knowledge of techniques. BJJ has a high injury risk. Since Kutcher is an actor, he cannot risk getting seriously injured as it will negatively impact his acting career.
Machado's Confidence in Kutcher
Rigan Machado was so confident in his student, he previously claimed in 2016 that Ashton Kutcher, then a BJJ purple belt, could beat Conor McGregor in a grappling match. He noted Kutcher’s size and wrestling background.
“I put all my money (on) Ashton Kutcher. I think he could do really, really good. He’s 200 pounds, 6’2, 6’3, he’s the best,” Machado said. “Ashton Kutcher, for me, is my No. 1 student. He’s a purple belt but he has a really good background in wrestling. I think he has a chance to be one of the top guys in jiu-jitsu.”
A few years ago Ashton Kutcher’s coach was asked by the reporters of TMZ Sports, “how Kutcher would do against a UFC fighter and BJJ brown belt Conor McGregor in a grappling match. Kutcher’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expertise has been uncertain even though he progressed to the purple belt rank in less than two years. This is because his fighting skills were never put to test in a competitive environment. Nonetheless, Kutcher’s brown belt indicates that he is a skilled grappler, or so he is expected to be. Rigan Machado also has a reputation of awarding brown belts only to the deserving practitioners. In addition to this, Ashton Kutcher undertake sparring sessions, unlike other celebrities who learn BJJ only for their movie and film stunts.