I was listening to The Joe Rogan Experience from a few weeks ago. His Guest was Kron Gracie. I must say, he is a very interesting fellow. He has a very interesting take on Jiu Jitsu. It was really neat to hear about growing up with a father who may be considered one of the greatest Jiu Jitsukas and fighters of all time. Kron talked about how no matter what he did growing up, what his interests were, he knew he would be a fighter. Duh… 🙂
He also talked about the physical condition of his Dad. According to him, Rickson is in constant pain. His spine in particular has taken a beating over his years of fighting. It makes me wonder what kind of pain, if any, other great Jiu Jitsukas are in. Does Marcelo Garcia or Jacare spend a lot of time working out the kinks every morning before hitting the mat? Does Royler or Renzo sit on the edge of the bed in the morning and have to steady themselves as they get ready to take their first few steps of the day? Could Helio or Carlos really get comfortable in bed for a good night’s sleep?
You would have to assume that the above would be in some sort of constant pain. I’m sure they have all had their elbows popped several times. I’m sur they have all had torn Meniscus or worse at one time or another. How many of them haven’t had any type of reparative surgery? It seems to me that everything we do on the mats, will one day lead to some sort of chronic pain or arthritis. I’m not trying to put a damper on everyone’s BJJ fun, it’s just something I think about from time to time…
Mountains to Mats 
I’m sure there’s a famous quote from Renzo Gracie along the lines of, “A doctor told me that if I don’t stop BJJ then I might not be able to walk anymore. Why walk when you can roll?”
Also, have you seen Marcelo Gracia walk normally? He walks more like an ape than a human. His hips are turned out, and he’s hunched over.
These guys must suffer pain every day with giving it a second thought.
We have to wonder how much the physical ailments are due to jiu-jitsu, mma, the hectic travel, etc. If there was a Rickson in a parallel universe who never did jiu-jitsu, what ailments would still be there and what new ones would arise? I started training at a Relson Gracie school and he came about 2 times a year so I got to see him about 4-5 times and he looked freaking sharp. (And still does from the videos I’ve seen.) You gotta wonder a lot of that flexibility, strength, and mobility is b/c of jiu-jitsu. MMA is different, though. Good post. Be well.
Great post! I listened to the same podcast – I thought it was great. Kron, coming from such historical roots, is a very humble guy. After the podcast, I watched a few videos of Kron (and his dad, of course). Pretty incredible – basic jiu jitsu performed in laser-like precision.