Rickson Gracie recently shared some of his thoughts on the state of modern BJJ and he was pretty critical about the direction the sport has taken. A lot has changed since he first began training of course, and BJJ looks remarkably different today than it did when he was actively competing. When he was in his early 20s and actively competing himself, both the IBJJF and the UFC were a long time away from existing yet. In fact, the opportunities for competition back then were so few and far between that Rickson had to enter Sambo tournaments in order to test himself.
The opportunities for elite BJJ competition were so few and far between that Rickson even had matches even against his own family members. Fast-forward to today and there are hundreds of BJJ matches taking place all around the world every single weekend. While some might argue that this has meant that modern BJJ has been able to develop tremendously, Rickson Gracie doesn’t see it that way:
“The dilution is already beginning because it’s becoming a very athletic sport. You know, it doesn’t favor the weak the way it’s supposed to favor them. The core of jiu-jitsu, in my vision, is self-defense, not competition. Competition is great for people who like to compete, but for everyone, you’d love to learn how to survive; how to defend yourself from an attacker, how to protect someone you love.”
It’s understandable that he might focus on that because that was originally how the Gracie family approached the martial art. Of course it was also Vale Tudo that really gave Rickson his fame, particularly his legendary fights with Rei Zulu. Although he was already in to his 30s by the time that professional MMA really started to take shape, Rickson still competed under the more formalised ruleset. He is perhaps best known for his back-to-back Vale Tudo Japan titles that culminated in a submission win over Yuki Nakai. Even after retiring, Rickson still teaches regularly and he went into a little more detail on what he sees as the true value of BJJ:
“The idea of being prepared for the unpredictable is what has always given me the passion. It’s about increasing your knowledge to stay safe, comfortable, and prepared. I love teaching this to an average person who’s just walking around, to a police officer who needs to arrest someone, or to women who might feel threatened by a larger man. I want to empower people with the knowledge they need to feel safe and secure.”
The full interview with Rickson gracie where he discusses the state of modern BJJ was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Ironclad:
