Legends: One of my favorite aspects of Jiu jitsu is meeting legends of the sport. When I first began Jiu jitsu I was always impressed by the work of the Machado brothers. They all lived in California but were cousins of my sensei, Renzo Gracie, so we always thought of them as distant relatives. They exhibited Jiu jitsu of the very highest quality and were an inspiration to the Jiu jitsu world. Jean Jacques Machado was among the most brilliant ADCC champions of all time and Rigan Machado was widely considered as one of the very best athletes of his era and arguably the best. Certainly As a beginner in the sport I learned a lot by observing their movement and match pacing which was very advanced. In fact a move that is often associated with my students today – where from seated guard we trap both our opponents feet from behind and sweep them backwards with a push from open guard position – I learned from Jean Jacques (people always ask me if I learned it from Marcelo Garcia, but no, it was Jean Jacques who I learned it from). Many years later at EBI ADCC and UFC events and where they were coaching or spectators I would see Rigan, Jean Jacques or carlos machado from time to time (there were other brothers but I never met them). They were always the coolest guys and we'd talk about Jiu jitsu and crazy old matches they'd had back in the day! Here I am hanging out with one of the coolest and most laid back guys in Jiu jitsu – Rigan! Thanks to the brothers for their great role in the development and expansion of Jiu jitsu over the years – thank you for being legends in our sport.
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