

When Jack Greener enrolled at the Del Mar Jiu-Jitsu Club seven years ago, he was just weeks away from graduation, working to be a surf instructor. Just a week later, he was suffering multiple strokes instead, wondering if he’d even live.
Known as an adrenaline junkie who loved life and all things adventurous, Greener’s fate took a quick, albeit unimaginable, downturn on November 29, 2018, as he arrived for his third session with black-belt coach Francisco Iturralde, otherwise known as ‘Sinistro’ for his aggressive style. The trainer had reportedly placed his full body weight on his student, resulting in a C3 and C4 vertebrae fracture. While speaking in the Paralyzed to Peaks trailer by Vincero Collective, Greener shared that his very first thought after breaking his neck, “When it occurred, the first thought that came to mind was, “I’m going to be okay.” And then the second thought was, “Oh, I can’t move.”
According to the doctors, “He had a traumatic dislocation of the C4–5 region, and that’s as bad as it can get.” Greener spent months fighting to recover, enduring moments when the pain became unbearable. But in the end, he overcame it all and is now living life to the fullest—as a mountaineer. Reacting to this incident, BJJ legend Rener Gracie stated, “The black belt instructor did a technique that placed his entire body weight on Greener’s neck, causing him to instantly fall limp and lose all function of his limbs.” But the story doesn’t end there.
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In 2023, the 30-year-old Greener sued the club and was ultimately awarded $46,475,112.33 in damages, leading to an appeal by the defendants at the California Supreme Court. However, just last week, CSC declined to overturn the verdict, resulting in $56 million (including post-judgement interest) being awarded to Greener.
As per reports, “The court concluded that the trial court correctly instructed the jury on option 2 of CACI No. 471, as the evidence showed that Iturralde’s actions unreasonably increased the risk of injury to Greener. The court emphasized that Iturralde, as an instructor with superior knowledge and skill, should be held to a different standard than a student coparticipant.”
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Despite the odds, Greener has transformed tragedy into purpose…
Jack Greener was reborn
“Old Jack died Nov. 29,” Greener had written on social media after his recovery. The new version of Jack is a mountain climber and motivational speaker, whose story resonates with millions around him.
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What’s your perspective on:
Is a $56 million penalty justified for a BJJ accident, or is it excessive punishment?
Have an interesting take?
After a 2.5-year obsession with the 14,505-foot summit of Mt. Whitney, Greener finally did the impossible in 2021. “I just wanted to show kids with a spinal cord injury or cancer or anything. You can go do these insane things you never thought were possible.”
To further spread his message, his story was also covered as a documentary (released on YouTube on November 12, 2021). Sharing the news, photographer and filmmaker Chase Viken had written on Instagram, “On November 29th 2018, my good friend Jack Greener was paralyzed from neck down in a jiu-jitsu accident and suffered from multiple strokes. This 2 year project takes us on his relentless pursuit to not only recover, but to do the impossible for a man of his kind: summit Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48.”
“So much passion has been poured into this project from so many amazing people. Thank you to everyone that’s helped bring this story to life and thank you for your support. Huge thanks to the team at @vincerocollective as well as our friends @mammut_swiss1862.”
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“Today our premiere sold out and we’ll have close to 400 people attending this Friday @lapalomatheatre. Absolutely unreal. We can’t wait to see you all there and the film will be live on YouTube next week!”
Like they say, all’s well that ends well. And for Jack Greener, that means triumphing over new adversities every day.
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Is a $56 million penalty justified for a BJJ accident, or is it excessive punishment?