“And he lets me up—and it was humiliating. It was humiliating.” That’s how Joe Rogan recalled getting into a street fight at just 14 years old on episode #1871 of the JRE with film producer John Peters. Unable to fight back, that moment stuck with him. But instead of folding, teenage Joe used it as fuel, diving headfirst into the world of martial arts, especially kickboxing and taekwondo, which changed his life forever.

Rogan kicked things off with karate, but it didn’t take long before taekwondo took over. He climbed fast, and before you knew it, he was winning the US Open Taekwondo Championship as a lightweight. Then came kickboxing—Rogan fell hard for it. He trained nonstop, jumped into the amateur scene, and walked away with a 2–1 record. But like it goes for a lot of fighters, the injuries piled up.

It was a well-known fact that the UFC color commentator continued practicing the discipline long after stepping away from competition. Even when he wasn’t actively pursuing it, he kept the craft alive. However, in a recent revelation, Rogan clarified that he stopped training kickboxing in his thirties and gave up sparring altogether once he started working in television.

During Joe Rogan Experience #2337 – Oliver Anthony, the 57-year-old said, “I kinda stopped kickboxing for the most part when I was like 30. I was like, ‘This is just not good for you.’ I was still sparring and I was acting at the time, doing news radio, and I was still going to the gym and kickboxing. Sometimes I’d have a little black eye that I have to get with makeup and s–t before I go out to the set.”

Kickboxing is one of the hardest sports to continue practicing without sustaining serious injuries. Even hitting pads or footwork can tear a muscle here and there. But it’s not like the biggest podcaster in the world has walked away from martial arts completely. Joe Rogan has still maintained his love for jiu-jitsu, which he considers a little safer. 

Joe Rogan shares insights into his ongoing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practice

The UFC color commentator also enjoys practicing BJJ, just like he shares a love for kickboxing and taekwondo. For the unversed, the podcaster began training under Carlson Gracie back in 1996. After years of hard work and dedication, he earned his Gi black belt in 2010 from his long-time instructor, Jean Jacques Machado. And it’s that same passion that keeps him on the mats today—Rogan believes BJJ is a little less taxing than kickboxing,

Continuing his podcast with Oliver Anthony, Rogan said, “I kept doing jiu jitsu, but jiu jitsu, I would get a black eye from jiu jitsu sometimes, too. But Jiu Jitsu, I didn’t get my head rattled the same way. Like you’d still accidentally catch a knee sometime, or headbutt each other sometime. Something, elbow, stuff happens. But it’s not like the constant jab to the face kicks to the body, and it’s just that you are beating your brain up.”

Again, that’s the difference between practicing kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu. Both are injury-prone in their own ways, but getting repeatedly tagged with punches eventually wears down the body’s ability to absorb damage. That’s where BJJ stands apart—it becomes a more sustainable long-term martial art for many, offering the grind without the constant trauma that comes with fist fights.

That being said, which martial art would you prefer? Is it the raw power of kickboxing, the precision of boxing, or the grind of wrestling? Or maybe something a little flashier like Wing Chun? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!