There is, within the unending arsenal of techniques of jiu-jitsu, a simple, effective move that many students forget to use, either for lack of knowledge or of attention. It is, in fact, such a simple, instinctive action, that it ends up being underestimated.
Rickson Gracie, specialist of the minutiae and almost invisible aspects of self-defense, wasn’t going to miss this one. Here he teaches one of the very first moves a white-belt should learn in order to keep their neck always quite safe, no matter the threat.
Grandmaster Helio Gracie always said that BJJ is much more useful and necessary to kids, the elderly, ladies and weaklings than it is to young men.
Which we can easily attest in a couple of minutes with this lesson in the purest jiu-jitsu -- a piece of knowledge every child should learn in school, in their first week of physical education. Can you imagine how much trouble and trauma could have been prevented with just this one lesson?
In a world where so many tell us to use fire against fire, here is jiu-jitsu’s role: to show that true wisdom lies in using water against fire.
How about your kids? Are they already walking around safe, carrying this shield called jiu-jitsu? Watch the following video by their side, and enjoy your training.
If you practice BJJ and get lucky enough to drop by Kyoto, the ancient Japanese city, don't forget to visit Ichiwa.
The shop is located near the city's sacred temples and is famous for having just one product on the menu: a small, soft, sweet cake made of rice. It would be just another family business like hundreds of others in Japan, except for one detail: the store has been open for over a thousand years straight.
Naomi Hasegawa, the current owner, spoke with the New York Times and provided quite a lesson in resilience, patience and good management.
After revealing how the millenary cake is made -- the rice is cooked in the hot water of a stream that runs under the store -- she gave away another secret: ever since the time of her great-great-great-grandparents, everyone there has been waking up inspired to work for a higher purpose. Not one person in the lineage was blinded by profits or big money, which came and will come in the future.
In the case of Ichiwa, the main purpose is beautiful: to serve and feed the pilgrims who have been visiting the religious sanctuary of Kyoto since the year 1000. With every cake, a satisfied customer, even with nothing else on the menu. In case someone is thirsty, the shop offers a flavorful cup of green tea, free of charge.
The history of the Hasegawa family can be inspiring for those who practice and teach BJJ. If a student goes into a training session focused only on immediate goals, like learning how to rear-naked-choke the big guy from middle school, or even just focused on getting a gold medal in their next tournament, they might not last very long at the academy.
If, alternatively, master and student see the superior purpose the art has had since the time of the samurai -- that is, to provide confidence, safety, physical and mental health, and a level head for making good decisions -- BJJ turns into something to carry for one's entire life.
As Rickson Gracie often teaches, "A frequent, pleasurable training session of good old Jiu-Jitsu results in an increase in the chances of a person being happy, because its practice brings emotional control, faith in oneself and others, optimism, hope, calm for using one's breathing at the decisive moment, talent for drawing strategies and many other benefits."
For such, the best path is to get inspired by Rickson's mindset when you train. Aside from the hundreds of challenges he faced, Rickson had another, much bigger, goal in mind.
"I've always demanded a lot from myself and sought to perfect my technique," he once said. "I'm a martial artist, and I understand that the fighting must be beautiful. It's like art; it doesn't consist of just throwing paint at a canvas. My advice for any student, therefore, is: More than to do, seek to feel."
May all of us have a thousand years of good training ahead.
In old-timey movies, much of the distress experienced by the damsels came from desperate attacks by furious villains, like those created by the director Alfred Hitchcock. Times have changed, and so have movies, but you should not ignore classic self-defense — which remains valid, especially due to being a great exercise for body and mind.
And maybe one day you’re strolling through London, in that nighttime fog, and need to walk through an alley for some reason. If you have studied this technique with Master Rickson, you’ll go in and out with a smile.
There is, within the unending arsenal of techniques of jiu-jitsu, a simple, effective move that many students forget to use, either for lack of knowledge or of attention. It is, in fact, such a simple, instinctive action, that it ends up being underestimated.
Rickson Gracie, specialist of the minutiae and almost invisible aspects of self-defense, wasn’t going to miss this one. Here he teaches one of the very first moves a white-belt should learn in order to keep their neck always quite safe, no matter the threat.
Grandmaster Helio Gracie always said that BJJ is much more useful and necessary to kids, the elderly, ladies and weaklings than it is to young men.
Which we can easily attest in a couple of minutes with this lesson in the purest jiu-jitsu -- a piece of knowledge every child should learn in school, in their first week of physical education. Can you imagine how much trouble and trauma could have been prevented with just this one lesson?
In a world where so many tell us to use fire against fire, here is jiu-jitsu’s role: to show that true wisdom lies in using water against fire.
How about your kids? Are they already walking around safe, carrying this shield called jiu-jitsu? Watch the following video by their side, and enjoy your training.
If you practice BJJ and get lucky enough to drop by Kyoto, the ancient Japanese city, don't forget to visit Ichiwa.
The shop is located near the city's sacred temples and is famous for having just one product on the menu: a small, soft, sweet cake made of rice. It would be just another family business like hundreds of others in Japan, except for one detail: the store has been open for over a thousand years straight.
Naomi Hasegawa, the current owner, spoke with the New York Times and provided quite a lesson in resilience, patience and good management.
After revealing how the millenary cake is made -- the rice is cooked in the hot water of a stream that runs under the store -- she gave away another secret: ever since the time of her great-great-great-grandparents, everyone there has been waking up inspired to work for a higher purpose. Not one person in the lineage was blinded by profits or big money, which came and will come in the future.
In the case of Ichiwa, the main purpose is beautiful: to serve and feed the pilgrims who have been visiting the religious sanctuary of Kyoto since the year 1000. With every cake, a satisfied customer, even with nothing else on the menu. In case someone is thirsty, the shop offers a flavorful cup of green tea, free of charge.
The history of the Hasegawa family can be inspiring for those who practice and teach BJJ. If a student goes into a training session focused only on immediate goals, like learning how to rear-naked-choke the big guy from middle school, or even just focused on getting a gold medal in their next tournament, they might not last very long at the academy.
If, alternatively, master and student see the superior purpose the art has had since the time of the samurai -- that is, to provide confidence, safety, physical and mental health, and a level head for making good decisions -- BJJ turns into something to carry for one's entire life.
As Rickson Gracie often teaches, "A frequent, pleasurable training session of good old Jiu-Jitsu results in an increase in the chances of a person being happy, because its practice brings emotional control, faith in oneself and others, optimism, hope, calm for using one's breathing at the decisive moment, talent for drawing strategies and many other benefits."
For such, the best path is to get inspired by Rickson's mindset when you train. Aside from the hundreds of challenges he faced, Rickson had another, much bigger, goal in mind.
"I've always demanded a lot from myself and sought to perfect my technique," he once said. "I'm a martial artist, and I understand that the fighting must be beautiful. It's like art; it doesn't consist of just throwing paint at a canvas. My advice for any student, therefore, is: More than to do, seek to feel."
May all of us have a thousand years of good training ahead.
In old-timey movies, much of the distress experienced by the damsels came from desperate attacks by furious villains, like those created by the director Alfred Hitchcock. Times have changed, and so have movies, but you should not ignore classic self-defense — which remains valid, especially due to being a great exercise for body and mind.
And maybe one day you’re strolling through London, in that nighttime fog, and need to walk through an alley for some reason. If you have studied this technique with Master Rickson, you’ll go in and out with a smile.
To the Gracie family, one of the biggest treasures of BJJ has always been that of, from very early in one’s childhood, knowing how to proceed in order to avoid getting slapped at school -- that kind of episode that makes a child sad, angry and traumatized for weeks, if not months or years.
Check out, in this key lesson, how Rickson Gracie is always protecting his face against any potential slappers.
Learn the back-take Rickson Gracie used to win his first MMA fight
In this class, master Rickson Gracie goes back to a move he mastered even before his professional debut in the rings. Watch and learn the main details to take your opponent's back from the guard, just like Rickson did in 1980 against Casemiro Martins, the "King Zulu."
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How to defend yourself from a crazy attacker? Part 4 of 4
To answer one of our subscribers who asked about a crazy attacker who comes swing towards you, Master Rickson organized the defense in four situations -- standing, from the guard, side control, and if the aggressor mounts on you. Learn the fourth and final part of the defense now if the attacker mounts on you.
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How to defend yourself from a crazy attacker? Part 3 of 4
Take this 18 minutes master class from Master Rickson, where he shows the third part of the defense against a crazy attacker who comes swing towards you. Now you are on the ground, and the aggressor is on side control.
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Rickson Academy posted 
Grandmaster I have never seen this taught is way. Thank you for your invisible details 🥋❤️
Excellent. Thank you Master Rickson 🙏
Excellent!!! Very useful self defense move