John Danaher is widely recognized as one of the best minds in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – but when asked who he would place in that same category, he gave a thoughtful answer that highlighted some of the sport’s most influential figures.
Speaking with Raphaella Amorim backstage at CJI 2, Danaher admitted the question was far from simple.
BJJ has no shortage of legendary coaches who have produced world-class competitors over decades, and he was quick to acknowledge that many names could be considered:
There’s so many good candidates…
I think if you look at just results, I think I don’t identify one person as like a dominant coach.One guy who I’ve always thought was really underrated in terms of coaching ability is Carlson Gracie.
I think Carlson Gracie is, in the overall history of the sport, is being undervalued as a coach.He had a tremendous effect on Jiu-Jitsu in the early days and he’s one of the guys who really took Jiu-Jitsu from being a local sport practiced in a certain subset of Rio De Janeiro culture into a much wider sport.
He kind of democratised the sport and he made a tremendous team in the middle of the 1990s.
They did everything; gi, no gi, MMA, they were strong in every aspect.He’s someone I really look up to as a great coach.
Still, Danaher didn’t stop there.
He also pointed to another coaching lineage that has had enormous influence on the modern era:
I also think there’s a lineage which culminates with Andre Galvao, but which really starts with Fernando “Terere”.
I think Terere is always seen as a great athlete but he’s also a great coach, and he had a big effect on a lot of people, and one of them I believe is Andre Galvao…
He’s had tremendous success with ATOS.ATOS itself of course is a split-off of other organizations, but you see a chain of good coaching having effect through that group and they’ve been very, very successful.
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