Rickson Gracie appeared on Chael Sonnen’s podcast on Thursday. Obviously the topic was Jiu Jitsu and the legend didn’t mince words when he discussed the current state of sport Jiu Jitsu. Using the term “anti-jiu-jitsu,” Gracie complained about what we regularly see at these tournaments … lots of stalling and competitors trying not to lose rather than attacking for the win.
Here’s what Rickson Gracie had to say:
“I see 10 fights of black belts. Nine, I feel like ‘what are they doing there? They don’t even want to fight. They want to win the match by a little advantage.”
“That’s really jeopardizing our culture. We have to bring back the idea of fighting to be the best with simple rules, dynamic action, nonstop,”
“Some fights today of 10 minutes, seven minutes are completely stopped, nobody moves. This is really bad for the sport, but it’s not the fault of the athletes.”
Rickson Gracie stated he felt competitors were more concerned with earning a medal than they were with proving who was the best.
Listen to the full episode: “You’re Welcome! With Chael Sonnen EP. 271 – Rickson Gracie” below!
Andy Gonzalez is a coach at Aces Jiu Jitsu Club. He has earned his BJJ Brown Belt under 2nd Degree Black Belt, Professor Mikal Abdullah. Follow Andy on Twitter at @GoGoGonzilla
Andy lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Amanda and their 3 beautiful children. Andy is also the father of a Marine who is honorably serving in the United States Marine Corps.