Joe Rogan Experience #460 — Kron Gracie Transcript

Transcript

0:00 So a few years back, my friend Gordon Hester, who's a guy that I met on the internet, said, training everybody always wants to know who's the best who's the best who's who's the best what's wrong with uh positioning, what's wrong And that's so cool to see. It's so cool to see a young kid with aspirations and then put in the work. And it's also cool to see the son of a great man become a great man

3:03 It feels great great you know now finally uh and how much people respect him and how much recognition he gets. as much as I do jiu-jitsu I'm not gonna be as good as a skateboarder as I can be with jiu-jitsu which um this kind of all And that kind of happened when I was 12. much dedication into it by 16 years old but I hadn't seen any of the of the fruits and I hadn't

6:44 And then if this doesn't work out, I'll try. I never had a plan B. I never had a, oh, I was just going to try this. And then if this doesn't work out, I'll try. I'd never had that. For me, it was always, climb out of the shadow, I would have to work twice as hard. And it was, it was going to be, we saw what we had always wanted to see in the movies.

8:45 whether it was Kung Fu. There was all these different people that swore that their master you don't really, you don't really think about it like that when you're in the Gracie family, what I'm a part of you know and how important it is and that only motivates me more to really you a weak person to be able to defeat a big opponent, to have the self-confidence to believe in

11:25 technique and the leverage and the strength on top of it which created a monster you know he created It's like a movie. and obviously God put, And for folks no-gi, there's two different types of jiu-jitsu. You know, you became much like the others in the Gracie family before you. I would have won it probably much more times by this age if you would have asked me when I was 15 years old.

14:11 and then my first match as a black belt, I lost. And after that moment, I kind of started to really become a man you know I've I've lost tournaments I've won lots of tournaments and sometimes I lose because of moran yeah who's a very very good black belt and he's uh fighting in the ufc now and one of the challenge let's see what a little did i know it was gonna fucking shake my world and um but i i'm

17:02 and to be drifted by what people say and what you personally think and say and feel. really had that much training sessions with my father people think he was there coaching me person did and so my my learning my jiu-jitsu really growth happened over food over you know this approach of mastering the physical but from most fighters is not only his mental strength but his

20:11 dad you know never never did that you know he never took you know sponsors for for beer or other martial artists and really opened up a lot of people's eyes to the beneficial aspects of yoga to not only do that as an animal but he started to transfer it over to jujitsu and being able to and I never cared, and I just kind of brushed it off. Yeah, the yoga breathing is a thing.

23:10 a factor of motivation. if folks who haven't seen this, So your diaphragm, well, I can kind of explain, to control that is, so your diaphragm is a muscle and you do you have to train to do that and then being able to do the so what you're doing is you're you're breathing in deep and then you're you're pulling your diaphragm in that actual exercise So if you learn how to breathe through your diaphragm, you naturally are

26:10 Is there a name for it? being able to stay calm and learn how to manage my energy. So that has helped me not only with Like you have to force yourself to maintain that pace if i'm if i'm trying to stay calm i'm gonna breathe slower if i'm trying to get energy i'm So I definitely am very grateful for being able to have that a part of my life. when you breathe out you will definitely breathe in force yourself to breathe out and then get rid of all the bad air in your body and breathe in fresh oxygen.

29:18 follow along with them and you get a great benefit from that and it's something that people don't and it all becomes like background everything else sort of calms down and you get this feeling during your training or however you you like to do it has given me huge, huge benefits. And that, like, man, since I started to really incorporate the breathing

32:02 And it's just me and I can almost see the particles in the air and I can it's just like a sensation that you know I've only felt a couple times but how the actual world is is like this planet we should be in touch with something above you know a fresh perspective. They give you a perspective of recognizing the greatness and the beauty and Yeah. the breathing has given me, and it took a long time.

34:46 this pressure and then I kind of started to do it every once in a while and then now it's at a point There was always a thread on the underground. that he didn't continue? to go train for a fight and to take his selfish needs into consideration so he kind of just took away and he still has, you know, the greatest image. I think my dad did enough from when he was 15 to when he was 40.

38:10 where my dad lived like from 15 years old to 40 years old so he needed to retire he needed to be and do what I do. So I think it's important for my life. My dad was at home eating breakfast. For folks who don't know, that's one historical match that apparently Gordon Hester said he's seen the video. But I've heard all sorts of stories about the way he choked him and all sorts of, you know,

41:02 and it's a long story, but I'll kind of sum it up. because he realized he was going to lose so he gave him his back to get put to sleep and my dad Showed it to all the press, and they were like, oh, yeah. I don't know. Put it on iTunes. Easy. I'll put it on the podcast. they were duking it out on the beach you know in the sand you know yeah it's pretty pretty pretty

43:41 My dad probably never got paid a cent for the Gracie in action videos or anything. especially because, you know, I've been working for the UFC since 97. So the people that I was working with, like Campbell McLaren and all those guys, they had been there from UFC 1. of different things that happen in that kind of time and era you know um one reason why hoist

45:32 They kind of started, you know, to go their own ways. And I think in that situation, again, I don't know 100%, putting on those gracie in action videos and promoting them and and promoting jujitsu and And my dad was just the soldier, I'm not focused on promoting and being able to sell jiu-jitsu and being able to expand wide the graces. promoters of juiu-jitsu.

48:36 It's so great because, first of all, Henner is so good at explaining these things. Yeah, they do do a great job breaking it down. I know for myself I kind of don't do that and I kind of stick to what you know my academy and but explaining to people positions and what's going to happen but explaining looking someone in the eye and and training them because there is that aspect of if you put a video out there

51:45 when vinnie magalhaes was on um the ultimate fighter with uh minotaur no gara and he was and they work if it's a good moment, you know, And I don't try to get to a certain position and then begin my training. leverage but showing me that it's possible proving to me firsthand that it's possible for you to beat He concentrates on that. If you watch his fights, he rarely loses positions.

55:25 everything goes back to the basics. but my training sessions are to like your my dad says to get to the next better position to get to So it's not like I'm just thinking about submissions or I'm not thinking about doing crazy, tricky stuff. So it just comes kind of naturally. And people would get furious furious they'd be like to win this match while using the time on my side so I have fought matches where I lost when I could

58:46 I feel like my grandfather is like, It was good. If the guy was good enough to yeah fighting against the son of the greatest ever but the greatest ever is making chicken it was going to completely mess up my mind. like when he did that i was like i was like man i can't chrome don't let it get to you don't let is like the happiest moment of my life right there.

1:02:27 you know you immediately lock it up that was beautiful showing and that success of that competition kind of just came from a lot of i trained my ass off I saw this the other day. and I like to be at the beach and in the ocean. and he was super stoked on it. It's always come secondary to training jiu-jitsu and my specific stuff I got going on. And so if I'm going to go on a bike ride, I'll go outside.

1:05:39 a long distance run where i'll run an hour and 10 or an hour 20 minutes straight and then the goal even if you say oh I'm gonna wake up at six in the morning to go do 20 push-ups and then go back to sleep, that is going to make you better at what you do because you are going to start to create this energy to achieve your goals. not only with jiu-jitsu, but with breathing and physical strength and technical strength and mental strength

1:07:01 I think physical training should be done His training is gonna be based on his physical strength So I never wanted that to happen to me. Nope, I got myself. So for a long time, I was kind of like, oh, man, this sucks. um as you get better you realize that stuff's not going to happen and and I kind of got to a point So what I do now and how my schedule is now as a result of a lot of

1:10:21 competed and how I've put my body in stress. So I'm able to kind of get a good understanding of where I'm at. You put a coconut tree in Brazil, coconuts grow. And now he's kind of, after eight years of living in Brazil, So he gave me the option to do whatever I wanted, You train at the highest level for your whole life with no. with that i think he's now he's gotten to a place where where he is okay with being retired and he's gotten to a place where he is okay with being retired.

1:13:15 Like when he comes with me with theories and training stuff, him to fight his past now it's time for him to watch me fight now it's time for him to watch mean he's going to doctors and if if you have any advice, he definitely— And the good thing about it is it's using your own blood. what you have to say well just pain relief and just the you could see like

1:16:15 and just loves it It's too bad you can't tap out just dealt with the pain yeah he's dealt with pain his whole life and um i don't know exactly what it what is what the exact to put it he's just all around it's not an act you know he's definitely in his bones he's ready It was probably, you know, he's like, fuck this, I'm out of here, man. Everybody else is like touching the water and he's just breathing and concentrating and you see hoyler gets in he dips his foot and he's like fuck this i'm out of here man everybody else is like touching the water going no this is crazy and your dad's in there up to his head like like it's nothing like he's in the jacuzzi so yeah

1:19:38 And you're training with a lot of the others, Hoyler. going oh fuck yeah and my dad never had a coach either you know he never really had nobody there with them a few times she has i think she definitely was up there more before i think i mission and um i was just waiting for a right time and waiting for myself to be ready for whatever obstacles i can get to on this specific situation so now i feel mentally ready and now i feel

1:22:01 Now, how have you adjusted your training to prepare for mixed martial arts? Yeah, people who want to stay in their clums. Those challenges. What about striking? What are you doing as far as striking? I'm working on striking a little bit here and there So just like anybody else, I'm very curious to see how my jiu-jitsu is going to play in fighting it is important that you cross train it is important that you prepare for a full mixed

1:25:07 First punch you throw, the guy ducks his head, you're going to break your hand. If you ask me what, is jiu-jitsu enough? I don't know necessarily if I'm going to be knocking guys out, goes into a fight he's gonna get he's gonna get beat up you know so depends how you train and what your where he is and how well you you adapt to whatever's going on in the fight your dad always

1:27:25 Well, for folks who don't know, your dad was a huge star in Japan. Yeah, there's a lot of benefits for me starting off in Japan. if japan were to to ever like you know have a movement of of being able to bring mma back to Yeah, like 60,000 Tokyo Dome sold out, huge. Like, it's like, wow. and when Bruce Buffer says fired up man yeah we got there early and there was already just a giant line around the block

1:31:00 Yeah, very, very different from the Brazilian crowds, but different in their own unique way. I don't want to put too much energy into that And Rory defended, got back up to his feet, and then started kicking the shit out of him. the more he tries to really use jujitsu the better he's going to be because he's a specialist in jiu-jitsu. him that's why I'm curious you know I'm curious to to see for myself how it is you know fighting

1:33:18 And, you know, my blessings for Damien. can defend his takedowns or something then there's definitely a technical reason why that's happening and i think that like personally i admire the guy the guy's an exceptional athlete he's a great or with the striking or with whatever. His jiu-jitsu, I mean, he hasn't gotten to that level yet, you know, the level of opposition yet,

1:35:46 But when you say, I mean, you look at a guy who's like a high-level world champion caliber fighter, who don't know there's weird scoring in jiu-jitsu if if jiu-jitsu is zero to zero one guy can get what they call an advantage these days. And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to do a jujitsu that is technical. And Yeah, but he got that armbar because he's much stronger than the guy.

1:38:18 this is straight that was the match that i i uh drawed with him it was like four four and then That's a tribute haircut. I was going to say that Mark Coleman once told me, strength is technique. I don't come from that belief, and I come from a leverage and technique background. I come from the best. He's not overpowering. So, yeah, he's a great example.

1:41:14 And I like challenges and I like to challenge find out ways to to stay safe and and personally the jiu-jitsu most of the jiu-jitsu these days and now entering into MMA, and just, you know, and as an athlete, and I've been his fan since he was before in jiu-jitsu. Do you personally get something from watching him? to test myself in these waters and get these challenges and find out ways to find out ways

1:44:31 session, one different type of training, sometimes you train just to not get taken down, sometimes Anderson Silva was champion for so long, was because he was able to keep the fight where he felt comfortable. A lot of guys are just really good at everything. is that when a guy gets truly excellent at any one aspect of fighting, Yeah. And it's called the Chrome Gracie Academy?

1:47:55 someone who doesn't know something forces you to think about almost every single aspect of it You know, I really enjoy teaching. I really enjoy making people better. of the the student for the for the goal of being better you know I'm not so I had all these students at the academy, you know. that one they stay motivated and two so they give me great training because I can train now in my academy for a fight.

1:50:45 wasn't teaching the adult classes at 16 i taught like once a week 17 i started teaching a couple Do you have daytime classes that someone else teaches? So some days on Tuesdays I teach twice a day. enough to do the things I need to do. So I teach, you know, Monday to Thursday nights, and then I so then i'll teach that move and i'll something i i know i'm not the greatest at so i'll teach

1:53:12 Every day is different. to all train then we will do all these trains so it depends it's an interesting aspect about the more you realize you don't know you know and it can always be easier for you know like if if and then it gets to like the timing of not only being able to know and to do what you do, but do it at the right time. So the more you know, the more you realize,

1:56:05 Yeah, I definitely agree. You wouldn't give me a billion dollars today to take away the jiu-jitsu I know. I feel alive when I could compete and when I train for a fight and when I know I got a fight I will go crazy. it's it's just a you only gain and when you know that you're gonna have a fight you gain because Survival is a key thing. I know that I'm going to survive.

1:59:45 at you so um and that's a that's a feeling that you cannot replace there's no other way that How do they deal when somebody's out? how they feel when they're feeling weak, when they're winning. is how I feel, how I judge somebody on how they train. Malice towards other training partners. Sometimes people are very cold and rude make my final decision and on that note that's a beautiful way to describe it.

2:02:59 you've achieved world championship status in jiu-jitsu. and then eventually jump in? But I don't train with him. with me too. in a lot of ways. of the truth He's like a huge guy. harger wins and i hope he does well and i hope he's able to find himself and really be able to I just... to do but I don't know I don't know if that's going to All the right stuff.

2:07:23 I think you've opened up a lot of people's ideas that's where your academy is? reokid, and hopefully Thank you. Go to onnit.com.