Rickson Gracie is regarded by many BJJ practitioners as the greatest Jiu-Jitsu fighter of all time.
What made him so superior? What made him so special?
People who have spent time training with Rickson usually talk about his pressure and weight distribution. Dave Camarillo also famously said: “Training with Rickson is like trying to move a house.”
Jean Jacques Machado recently was a guest on Brazilian Podcast Resenha and he spoke about his years of experience training with Rickson Gracie. He was Rickson Gracie’s student from back in the days, from the time he trained under him in Brazil until when he moved to the USA in the 80’s.
Machado was promoted to coral belt by Rickson a few years back.
Machado would go on to say about Rickson:
‘After Training With Rickson Gracie, You Don’t Do Jiu-Jitsu, You Feel Jiu-Jitsu’.
More importantly, he talked about how what set Rickson apart was his amazing defense. He would figure out your game through his defense. He would also always start in an inferior position.
Machado said:
“It’s like he was reading your mind…”
In 1997, a lucky BJJ practitioner had a private lesson with Rickson Gracie in his home gym located in his garage. After a 2-hour private he rolled with him and let them videotape it. He tapped all four of them in under 2 minutes combined.
