Roger Gracie is known as the GOAT of Jiu-Jitsu, with his 10 black belt world titles and his recent submission victory over Marcus Buchecha which cemented his legacy.

He has been open about his views of people learning Jiu-Jitsu mostly off youtube. For Roger, he learns his new techniques directly from his training partners. He doesn’t watch much Youtube.

Case Study: The Youtube Jiu-Jitsu Master

Roger has shared his concerns about newcomers focusing on flashy techniques they see on YouTube instead of building a strong foundation. He believes that practicing advanced techniques without mastering the basics often leads to forming bad habits, which can hinder progression and create vulnerabilities on the mat.

He told Graciemag his thoughts (translated from Portuguese)

What is the biggest mistake from a young BJJ practitioner who wants to be a champion?

Copying YouTube positions not training the basics. Maybe it’s the biggest mistake of the kids today, who gets carried away with berimbolo and the like and forgets the rest…

Gracie credits his strength in Jiu-Jitsu to his foundational skills. Rather than exploring the latest trends, he learns directly from training partners and relies on core techniques. He advises that once a practitioner has a strong structure, they’re better equipped to learn new moves without making “silly mistakes”—knowing when to go for a technique and when to pull back.

For Roger, learning Jiu-Jitsu is a progressive journey built on solid fundamentals, not a shortcut through digital tutorials. This approach, he argues, builds resilience and skill, allowing practitioners to explore advanced techniques while maintaining strong defensive skills.

He also was asked by Hywel Teague of BJJ Hacks:

Can Youtube be bad a thing for a BJJ practitioner’s developmemt?

I agree, especially in the beginning. It’s very important that you don’t create bad habits. You need to have a very strong structure and then you can learn anything you want. Then you won’t make silly mistakes. At one point, watching too much technique on Youtube is bad because when you try them, you open yourself up completely and you don’t defend the way you should and you end up getting tapped out on the mat…So it’s alway good to be open to learning new things but don’t forget your foundations, that’s why I think that my Jiu-Jitsu is so strong, because I have a very strong foindation. My basic is very strong, so it’s hard for me to make silly mistakes, so it’s easy for me to learn new things, and I can know how far I can go. That’s the tricky part: knowing how far you can go before retreating. So if you don’t have the basics, you end up going too far in the middle of a war zone.

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