The Gracie name is one of the most familiar ones in the world; with figures such as Royce, Renzo, and Roger Gracie shaping the worlds of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA.
And, well, Kron Gracie – son of the legendary Rickson Gracie – has had to navigate the immense expectations that come with his surname.
He shared more about his struggles on his YouTube channel:
It was a lot pressure to have the Gracie name, growing up.
I was always able to trick myself into not letting it affect me so much.My dad was, like, the best fighter in the world. As a kid, that’s what you want to be like.
You want to be the best in the world. If I wasn’t trying to be the best in the world, I was, like, worthless.It’s always been my future. Why shouldn’t I be better than him?
It was all about BJJ as Kron was growing up:
Growing up, it was all about Jiu-Jitsu. Everybody did Jiu-Jitsu to fight.
Jiu-Jitsu to prove they can beat up a boxer or beat up a wrestler.
You’re trying to prove yourself to prove your martial art.Now, it’s merged into a way where you can’t just be good at one martial art and be very successful against everybody who’s at the highest level.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.
