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Kron Gracie On Relationship With Father Rickson: “I’ve Been On My Own Since I Was 17. My Dad Only Taught Me When I Was Very Young.”

Kron Gracie On Relationship With Father Rickson: “I’ve Been On My Own Since I Was 17. My Dad Only Taught Me When I Was Very Young.”

Kron Gracie talked about his relationship with his famous father Rickson Gracie in a in depth article from Vice.com. He revealed that their relationship wasn’t always perfect and that his dad didn’t coach him that much, and would some just show up right before his matches. He also talks about the tragic death of his older brother Rockson Gracie. He also talks about how his goals in Jiu-Jitsu and keeping the family name alive.

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Rickson and Kron

 

What we can see is that their relationship is very deep and strong but just like all father-son relationships, it has it’s ups and downs:

“I’ve been working so hard to prove that my dad’s jiu-jitsu is the best and my image is the same. But what people don’t know is that I’ve only put my gi on with my dad under 100 times. I’ve been on my own since I was 17. My dad only taught me when I was very young.”

“By the age of 12 I had broken each of my ankles twice [skating],” Kron says. “That’s when my brother told me that whatever I do, I should do it 100 percent, whether it’s being a skater or a doctor–don’t take it lightly. He said I am lucky enough to have access to the best jiu-jitsu family, the best jiu-jitsu father, and the best academy. It would be stupid for me not to take advantage of it. But he ended the conversation by telling me I could do whatever I wanted. I listened, but then when he passed away I felt like it was my mission to do what he wanted.“

“My mom and my dad have had a tough marriage and he stuck with it for the kids, until he thought I was ready to be on my own. Right when he felt that moment, he left,” Kron says. “It was literally overnight and he was like, ‘Well I’m outta here and I’m going back to Brazil.’ I was decent at jiu-jitsu at the time but I was still just a kid. I was really upset. I was thinking that he should be here supporting me and teaching me lessons and doing all these things for me and making sure my hip movements were right. I had nobody to turn to. All I had were my students and my training partners. So I just trained. Up until last year I had resentment. He could have made me so much better!”

“But then it just clicked for me: My dad is not ever going to be my coach again,” he says. “I was still expecting him to come train with me before Worlds every year. He would call me and be like, ‘Oh I’ll come train.’ He would show up a week before, say, ‘Whatsup’ to me, disappear, and then show up right at the time of my fight.

“A year ago, right before the first Metamoris, he told me he was going to show up and train. He showed up again right at my fight, and we sat next to each other. And you know, at that time I had resentment towards him because I was thinking, ‘You told me you would show up three weeks before my fight like always and you didn’t.’ But that’s not what mattered. All that mattered was that he’s sitting there right then. I started thinking about my brother and I started crying, and then we both started crying. Nobody said a word. It was very spiritual. He continued not to say anything to me, and I went into fight. I won and I realized it has nothing to do with jiu-jitsu anymore, you know? He’s just my father. I can’t expect him to be my coach. So now, every time he comes into town, I don’t even ask him to train. I don’t even ask him questions about jiu-jitsu. And since then, he’s come down and helped me train and he shows up! It’s very weird.

“Now I think that leaving me at such an early was his way to make me a man and let me do it all my own way. Now, at 25 I feel like I’m so much more than I would have been. As soon as I was on my own and I had to fight for myself, I started to win. I have a responsibility and obligation to compete and represent my father and grandfather. That’s owed. I can’t just live off my family’s name. I don’t feel like that’s right. I could just run my academy and sell merchandise, and I could just do seminars and stuff. I could have done that six years ago, after I was already kind of good at BJJ. I have to give back and that means attempting to keep my family name alive.”

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