Use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) isn’t banned in the vast majority of Jiu-Jitsu tournaments around the world.
Which, in turn, has many athletes turn to doping – as they want to gain a competitive edge.
During the recent “BJJ Cria” podcast episode, doctor and BJJ black belt Antonio Assef spoke about doping in Jiu-Jitsu…
Highlighting the dangers of PEDs abuse (as translated from Tatame):
You can win (championship) “clean”, but you can’t keep winning pure.
You can get there, but maintaining a high level, high performance for years, then it gets a little more complicated.It depends on the case of doping you get in sport… There are athletes who even undergo dialysis to get rid of doping.
If the machine stops, the person can die.
However, there are a lot of BJJ athletes – even at an elite level – that appear to be competing “clean”. And they’re often the biggest critics of doping.
For example, Kade Ruotolo:
Everyone competing dirty… They are, kind of, taking shortcuts. And I think, in the long run, it comes and bites them in the as* a bit, you know?
Personally, absolutely not. I mean, it’s kind of hard to say, because it seems like the entire sport is [on performance enhancing drugs], you know what I mean?
So, there’s weird variables.But, for me, that’s why I look up so much to guys like the Diaz brothers.
You know, the guys who aren’t “technically” the greatest of all time – but to me, they’re pretty much my favorites, they’re the greatest to me.Because they’re out there competing against these “cheaters”, sort to say.
