Rickson Gracie has just revealed in an interview with his younger relative Kyra Gracie that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease around two years ago. Although he is one of the most popular figures in the the most famous combat sports family on the planet, none of the Gracie family are immune to the effects of aging of course. Rickson is 64 years old at the time of writing, and was 62 at the time of diagnosis. While this isn’t exceptionally old, it is the time of life when neurological conditions are significantly more likely to occur. When he announced the diagnosis, he seemed at peace with that fact himself:
“I’m ready for anything in my life. I accept not only my mistakes, but also my victories. I accept life and what I’ve done, so I’m happy today. But this neurological condition opened my eyes to my age and to reality. It hasn’t changed much since then, but I have some hand tremors, a certain movement deficiency, things I didn’t have before.”
It doesn’t help that there are known links between Parkinson’s Disease and Traumatic Brain Injury, something that old-school Vale Tudo fighters like Rickson Gracie are all too familiar with. Rickson has been quoted as having as many as 1000 matches, but there are conflicting reports and the vast majority of these have never been officially recognised. There are plenty of matches that have been recognised and even filmed, most notably his epic matches with Rei Zulu in the 1980s and his series of fights in Japan during the 90s. His career in combat sports has obviously been lucrative, but Rickson sees the benefit that it has given him throughout his life:
“I don’t see it as a surprise, but as another gift from God to see what I’m going to do about it. If I give you a lot of money and you do bad things, money hasn’t served for anything. But if I give you a lot of money and you do good things, then I’m proud I’ve given you so much money.”
All in all, Rickson Gracie seems remarkably positive about his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis and he wants to continue working in the sport that he’s given all of his life to so far:
“God has given me a situation I can transform for the good. And the most important reaction I have today in my life is that I can really express may gratitude for Jiu-Jitsu, to continue working for Jiu-Jitsu and empowering people, transforming it in a way that makes [Jiu-Jitsu] more accessible for those that need it the more. So I see myself swimming freely on a perfect blue ocean, waiting for the next day without too much concern.”
The full interview Kyra Gracie conducted with Rickson Gracie where he reveals the Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis was uploaded to her official YouTube channel:
