Spencer Stone, the US Air Force serviceman who along with two other military stopped a massacre in the high-speed train on the Paris / Amsterdam link, is a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner that trains in Portugal.
Spencer Stone was one of three Americans who wrestled the terrorist to the ground. He was stabbed in the process of disarming the terrorist of an AK 47 rifle with nine magazines.
He used a takedown and choke that he learned while training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Portugal.
Spencer Stone, who works at the US Air Force base of Lajes on Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, trains at the local branch of Gracie Lisbon there under instructor Simao Reis, responsible for the local branch of team Gracie Lisbon.
Stone told Air Force Times on Wednesday:
“I 100 percent believe that Brazilian jiujitsu saved my life at that moment. Every move I used on him was very, very basic — you can learn in five minutes. If we had a course like that in the Air Force for people to learn basic moves, it could help anyone in a situation like that.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu applies to every aspect of life. It helps you become calm in high pressure situations.”
A1C Spencer Stone sat down with Air Force Times at the 2015 AFA expo in National Harbor, Maryland, and talked about how he believes Brazilian jiujitsu saved his life, the awards he’s earned and how he’s dealing with media attention.
