YouTube - Sensei SporTV - Entrevista Rickson Gracie - Parte 1/2
Rickson Interview (December 2008) Part 1
There is a JJ for those with cauliflower ears and who like violence. And there is a jiu jitsu, which is our family tradition, which is the JJ for the benefit of the individual. I dont care if you will be a doctor, engineer, or film producer. I want you to be more confident in the things you try, to have more discipline in your endeavors, to have more control over the stress you might deal with. Jiu jitsu favors this. It is not a "fight" thing, it is a "spirit" thing.
What im interested in is rescuing the values that exist within a JJ gym that are forgotten to value this efficiency. So the person continues with a questionable character, an aggressive atitude, and with the efficienty of jiu jitsu, which generates something of a problem. I am against the pit boy mentality, I believe jiu jitsu is meant for you to defend your family, for self defense, for competition. To be a good guy and a warrior of peace.
I focus in trying to bring a new view for the leaders, for them to have a better view of the power they have in their hands, so their gym doesn't become a stable of fighters. Fighters are a great part of our family but are not all our family. Many people need jiu jitsu to feel better and to live better, and yet they'll see a gym and say "I can't go there, I will get my ass kicked, those guys are too rough, I can't even stand the smell"
The gym has to be an environment to value the family, and within the gym there must be the ramification devoted to competition and combat.
First, we need to format, organize the image of JJ to make it more educational. JJ has always been seen as an effective martial art. We went to other countries and beat the others and all wanted to learn JJ, but only with the efficiency in mind. With no focus on the discipline, the values, the self-control, this is a mentality that isn't being applied enough.
Many parents say "I'll sign up my kid later when he's older, I'll put him in other martial arts, and later in life when he's tough, I'll put him in jiu jitsu." I believe that's wrong. I intend to format this jiu jitsu for it to be of service to the community. I've always had it as part of my vision, as taught by my father, to solve my student's problem. You come to my gym, I won't teach you a routine. I'll try to evaluate deeply what it is that you need. You might be insecure, aggressive, you can be stressed, many things, and within this analysis perspective, I'll try to favor something. I might say hey, breathe, relax, and to the other guy I'll say hey man, get up, move it, life flies by. I've never had a selection of tough guys under me, I've had good fighters but also executives, shy guys, skinny guys. I've always been like this and progressively through life I've set aside the competitive aspect, which now I've left entirely to my son.
(About Kron and the 2008 mundial)
First, for me he is just pride. He is a kid with fabulous character, a sensational kid, very dedicated, and I satisfied to have passed to him the system, which for 50 something fights, he won by submission. But he's a kid, and he deals with anxiety, and people transfer a weight upon him and it makes him anxious, and this last world championship, he lost, but I believe when you think about it it was the greatest victory of his life. He went in there, 20 year old, new black, underestimated the other guy, thinking Im Kron Gracie, and I didnt say anything. I dont tell him what to be but I dont take anything away either. And he got carried away, so, if you watch the fight, you'll see he attacked, attacked, got desperate, and the other guy was calm, fought with skill and wits and won the whole championship.
Which is good for Kron, he lost to the champ. It was good for Kron, he learned not to go to a fight thinking it is already won.
And also to do his part first, protect himself first, and then capitalize on the other guy's mistake
Before JJ, we lined anybody up, and fought them no problem. Nowadays, all enemies, from all styles, go ahead and learn jiu jitsu even if in secret. JJ hasn't grown into itself, it grew in all other arts too. Im satisfied that the Gracie family added an efficiency to the current fight paradigm that is unquestionable. Without jiu jitsu they would be lost.
In MMA today there are some representatives of jiu jitsu, that have a great level of courage, technique and perseverance, because to be in the octagon you need a lot of guts, something which I value and admire. But if you ask me if there is someone I really admire representing JJ out there, I will say there isnt. Because to me, these guys need more JJ. They are deviating a bit, focusing on boxing for instance. Take Minotauro for example, this is a guy with excellent technique and heart, but he needs to trade too many punches to take the fight where he wants it. The last fight of his I watched, he took a long hard time to take the guy down and submit him ( Sylvia).
To me, if I take one of the punches he takes, Im gone. So I cant count on my heart, guts, and take a beating to win. I see there a lack of strategy which if put into effect, he could be more successful. He's lacking safety. What I like to see is jiu jitsu to go in, do your part, come out clean, and go home. Not to end up hurt and destroyed. So I'm still waiting for somebody to represent jiu jitsu the way I did all my life.
About Kron, I believe he has a slightly longer path to tread. He has skill, will, guts, but needs more experience, because I want him to win the fights with jiu jitsu. I dont want to have to teach him wrestling or boxing for him to win. I believe he will do his part there, but based upon what I believe in.
