Living and growing up in Rio de Janeiro meant a lot of different experiences for Rickson Gracie. In the latest episode of the “Jocko Podcast”, which is hosted by the ex-Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, Rickson went into depth about his growing up in Rio… And all sorts of experiences he had.
In his own words, he was always on the lookout for ways to earn respect among his peers and older guys alike. For instance, when he was just 11 or 12 years old, he’d volunteer to go to the marijuana dealer in order to get the “goods” for the older boys. None of them wanted to do it because they were afraid of the police; but Rickson would volunteer as that would give him street cred.
Nonetheless, when he saw that the guys he used to hang around with were starting to steal, to carry guns… Rickson understood that it wasn’t a wise idea to stay around them. Therefore, he switched his focus towards Jiu-Jitsu to the maximum.
He told Jocko about his experiences of training with Rolls Gracie, too. How they’d train for at least 4 hours every day, and how he was taught by Rolls to forget about points; and to always go for the submission. He dove in the structure of his training back in the day… And how every roll with Rolls was, basically, a fight.
Check it out here:
