One of the refs at CJI said it in an interview. Fortunately, the interview was with Jocko, who trained with Rickson as well as top level modern competitors of today, and of the intermediary period, like Dean Lister (who is his primary training partner). He attested to Rickson’s exceptional abilities. Unfortunately, Jocko is hesitant to respond adamantly with people with whom he disagrees because that is his communication style. I know Jocko believes in Rickson’s near mythical skill level (he even wrote the forward to his autobiography), but he didn’t say “you fucking idiot, I rolled with him, it’s unbelievable”. But one day, Jocko and others will be gone, and the instinct to tear down idols will overcome all resistance. In my lifetime, clowns with shitty jiu jitsu will be telling me that Rickson wasn’t all that good, and there will be no credible way to debunk them because he doesn’t have any high profile wins to show them. But everyone who ever touched the man on the mats knows exactly what’s up.
Before I rolled against Olympic gold medalist as a good black belt, no I didn’t.
With the wisdom of age and experience having rolled with Oly medal level wrestlers multiple weight classes heavier? Yes.
No disrespect to you, you’re right about Rickson and Gordon and you’re one of the most knowledgeable people in the world of MMA, where he isn’t very accomplished. But Rickson is something special in grappling. He should have competed more, he shouldn’t have said the 400-0 bullshit, ect. But Rickson is an unbelievably skilled grappler. It’s easy to say he should have just done ADCC and the ibjjf but his physical prime years were before ADCC or ibjjf existed.
Just out of curiosity - who in the 80s and early 90s (his athletic prime) would have been the challenge to prove himself? He had two matches against Rei Zulu which were pretty legendary. I don’t even know the names of any great fighters from the period. If he could have convinced Karelin to fight him Vale Tudo, I guess that would have been something.
I wouldn’t call knees from an Olympic champion who has you in a cradle meaningless lol. Have you ever been smashed in a cradle by an Olympic or World champion wrestler? Now imagine him throwing Mark Coleman style knees at your head and body while he’s doing it
From: Timothy_Credeur FPRIVATE “TYPE=PICT;ALT=” Date: 04/28/06 11:09 PM Member Since: 01/01/2001 92 Total Posts Ignore User
I am no great anything. As a purple I heard all the bullshit about Rickson and I thought as many on my Team ( What the F$% ).* How good can a guy really be. Coming from the Carlson Gracie Team I had wrestled with the best and I knew what the damn deal was. I was smoking everyone in tournaments as a purple back then and I figuered of course I would get worked but I was pretty legit and it could not have been that bad if I rolled with Rickson. I mean what could he possibly do that I had not seen. I got a private, I waited about 2 months for it.
I got so fucked up when we finally rolled I questioned everything and I mean everything that I had ever learned or thought about Jiu-Jitsu. I am a Black Belt today under World Champion Rodrigo Medeiros ( Carlson Gracie / BJJ Revolution Team ) I fight regularly in MMA and I have trained with any and everyone you could imagine.
Rickson is FUCKING FOR REAL. THERE IS NO MYSTIC, LEGEND OR MYSTERY. HE IS JUST A FUCKING REAL LIVE JIU-JITSU WAR MACHINE MONSTER THAT BRINGS GAME YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND. UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IT YOU WILL NEVER KNOW AND MANY DON’T EVEN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO KNOW HOW BAD HE IS WHEN THE SESSION IS GOING DOWN BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT EVEN GOOD ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE THE DOMINANCE THAT IS TAKING PLACE.
Check me out on OTM or Sherdog. I am legit and this motherfucker is off the fucking charts. What Paulo said doesn’t surprise me in the least. I don’t mean to rant and I jock ride no man ever. I rarely ever post on this website or any other. I am just dropping a peice of knowledge that I possess so the masses know that my experience was felt and my life was changed by a guy that felt inhuman to roll with.
Bomb!! Paulo Filho, Brazilian Top Team’s undefeated MMA champion, is training with Rickson Gracie.
He confessed to GRACIEMAG.com to be astonished with the experience. Filho reveals that he has never seen anyone with the technical knowledge of the great Jiu-Jitsu myth. “I have trained with the toughest guys formed by Carlson Gracie. They were all great and I for sure don’t want to diminish anybody, but I have to say that no one ever did to me what Rickson Gracie has done during training these last days,” confesses last Pride Bushido star. Filho also clarifies that did not change teams. He is still part of BTT, although he points out that he maintains a certain degree of technical secrecy: “The opportunity I’m having is unique, so I’m not divulging it. Those are techniques that I intend to incorporate to my fighting, and hopefully will make me a more worthy Jiu-Jitsu representative.”
Back in the 90’s it was common for a great Jiu-Jitsu champion to train with Rickson and come out astonished. That was the case of Fabio Gurgel, Renzo Gracie, Roberto Roleta, Alexandre Paiva, Nino Schembri, among others. Filho statements are much more powerful for two reasons:
It is current news. It’s been ten years since any first class fighter came public with such statements. Many even thought that Rickson’s supremacy was a thing of the past.
Filho comes from the Carlson Gracie’s lineage, where opinions about Rickson were the most skeptical within the world of Jiu-Jitsu, but maybe only because no one from Carlson’s side had ever the opportunity to train with the icon before Filho. Rickson is training in Brazil for about five months now. Filho confirms that, despite his age, the Gracie is at his top physical shape.
It doesn’t matter who the knees are coming from. By virtue of the position you can’t generate power with knees or certainly no head butts.
It’s a pinning position, not a striking position.
I’ve done the dick measuring contest but with you before, we’re both accomplished black belts so spare me the dismissive talk.
I’ve tried to make cradle a worthwhile striking position, it’s just not there. Striking on the ground is this delicate balance of control but also ability to strike. Mount with no under hooks is on one end of the spectrum, powerful to strike from but lacking in control. Cradle is all the way on the other side of the spectrum, powerful control, weak ability to control.
Find me a fight being finished from a cradle with knees. Side control and front headlock, sure. Cradle?
Schultz was a great grappler. Big, strong, experienced champion on a world class, Olympic level of competition. Anyone who isn’t utterly crushed by him is impressive.
