Did you know that the legendary BJJ competitor and coach, Jean Jacques Machado, was born with a disability?
That’s right. He was born with a rare genetic condition that left him with only a thumb on his left hand, lacking all other fingers.
But that didn’t stop him from excelling in the Gentle Art. Instead, he overcame his disability and adapted his strategy on the mats to it…
To become one of the best to ever do it.
Joe Rogan, Machado’s student, explained how his instructor managed to overcome this hurdle:
He has a genetic defect where he has no fingers on his left hand. Call it a genetic feature.
It is a feature because he’s a multiple-time world champion.He developed a style of Jiu-Jitsu where he utilizes that left hand to get under chins, because it’s not encumbered by other fingers in the way.
He slides it in there and sinks RNCs [Rear Naked Chokes] on people.
Nobody believed, according to Rogan, that Machado would amount to who he is today:
People who saw Jean Jacques Machado as a child said: “This poor child, he will never reach its full potential.”
And he turned out to be one of the greatest ever.
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