Renzo Gracie is one of the most well-known and most beloved Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu figures in the world. He is also one of the greatest to ever do it, both on the mats and in the MMA ring & octagon…
So it may come as a surprise to hear that he wasn’t born with real sports talent.
In fact, that is what Renzo himself had said in a recent After Mat Podcast episode:
It was a very funny thing, because I never had a natural sports ability.
I couldn’t play soccer – I was a Brazilian guy who couldn’t play soccer.I had no strength… I reached strength later. I was the first Gracie to actually lift weights, because I decided that I should be stronger than everybody else.
In fact, it was being stubborn that helped Renzo become who he is today:
And I was so stubborn that I was becoming good in everything I did.
But, it’s a funny thing.
My daughter did my DNA, and she found out – she goes, like: “Dad, you make me even prouder. Your DNA says that you have no sports abilities at all.”I say: “Good that you’re telling me this now. If you told me this in my childhood, it’d be a mess.”
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