Rickson Gracie commented some
strong words for the current state of sport jiu-jitsu. Referring to what he
called “anti-jiu-jitsu,” Gracie complained about what he perceives as rampant
stalling, saying it endangers the future of the sport.
“I see 10 fights of black
belts. Nine, I feel like ‘what are they doing there?’, – Gracie said. “They
don’t even want to fight. They want to win the match by a little advantage”.
Gracie stated he felt
competitors were more interested in “a little medal” than they were in proving
who was the best.
“That’s really jeopardizing
our culture. We have to bring back the idea of fighting to be the best with
simple rules, dynamic action, nonstop”, – Gracie said.
Some fights today of 10
minutes, seven minutes are completely stopped, nobody moves. This is really bad
for the sport, but it’s not the fault of the athletes.
As a founder of the JJGF
(Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation), Gracie has given his approval to a series of
rules that will be utilized at an upcoming tournament in Albany, NY.
This is not the first time
Gracie has proposed rules that provide an alternative to those generally
accepted to be the de facto industry standard, such as the IBJJF’s or UAEJJF’s
current regulations.
