Renzo Gracie was recently in Abu Dhabi to give some seminars to some of the 400 instructors teaching school children Jiu-Jitsu.
He talked the national.ae about how he believes that the UAE’s involvement in the sport will have a huge impact in raising Jiu-Jitsu’s hope of reaching the Olympic games.
“It has everything to become an Olympic sport! Now in partnership with the Emirates, I believe it is a certain goal. The sport is growing all over Asia. It is already big in North and South America. It can’t be ignored anymore. It is a matter of time before we get in there.
“This won’t take long for the sport to reach the Olympics because the last championship in Abu Dhabi [World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship] drew more than 3,000 participants.
“The last competition in California [the World Championship] had over 2,500. These numbers would certainly not go unnoticed.”
“Abu Dhabi was a small city when I first visited 21 years ago, and the growth of the city to what it is now is an amazing development. Jiu-jitsu, too, has grown as much as the city has developed,” he said.
“It is amazing to see how much the sport has grown. I am very glad with this achievement. We expected jiu-jitsu to grow, but when Abu Dhabi came in the sport just took off in a big way. I can’t imagine how big it will become in the future.”
“Every time I got on to the mat, I learn something new. I have been doing this for 42 years and I am still learning new things,”
“As I was teaching, I see different techniques and different body types. For me, there is never a dull moment because it is a constant learning curve.”
“The black belt instructors here in the UAE, most of them my students at some point, are all black belts who teach in the schools in a programme set up by the ADEC. This is one of the most efficient ways to spread the sport,” Gracie said.
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