Showing posts with label Renzo Gracie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Renzo Gracie. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Rickson Gracie vs Eddie Bravo!! (OK, not really :-)

7/30/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , , , ,  No comments

Sorry for the misleading title LOL @ me. Rickson Gracie vs Eddie Bravo would have been an EPIC match if it ever happened.


Instead, this is a video of Eddie Bravo explaining the Rubber Guard to Rickson! 


Eddie was talking a mile a minute! Either he's excited to be talking to Rickson, one of the living legends of BJJ or perhaps it's because what he's talking about is something near and dear to his heart. He's passionate about the Rubber Guard because he created it and is happy to be teaching/explaining it. He truly believes in it and the passion flow through and is pretty evident in this video.


Rickson is a True Warrior/Martial Artist with an Open Mind ... living... adapting... he seemed reserved. Not sure if it was like anyone else seeing something being taught them by a master practitioner for the first time and he is soaking it all in, didn't have time to 'digest' it yet. Perhaps, he didn't want to say anything either yea/nay about the Rubber Guard until he had time to analyze it a bit more.


NOTE: I had scheduled this entry to publish, when I came across this from The Great Rickson Gracie by Eddie Bravo (bolded text my emphasis):

"[SNIP]

Sitting there for 3 hours listening to him tell those old street fighting stories gave my brain the chills. This was a dream of mine ever since I began my Jiu Jitsu journey 20 years ago. I actually never thought it would actually come true, even in recent years. Rickson just seemed to yoda like, too mysterious, too out of reach, like getting to hang out with Mohammed Ali or Michael Jordan. Like that would ever happen, right? But BOOM! It happened, and all of a sudden Joe and I were having a conversation with this enigmatic martial arts icon.

And just like that 3 hours flashed by and it was over. I swear I could’ve gone 10 hours, EASILY. But it was over and it was time to go. As we were walking out of the studio into the front waiting room I thought to myself, maybe I could show him the rubber guard really quick?? Or maybe he’s in a hurry to get somewhere and he simply wouldn’t have enough time?? F*ck it I said, I’m gonna give it a shot. Getting to show Rickson what my students and I have been working on the last 10 years would be insane. I didn’t know how much time he would actually give me so I felt my pitch would have to be machine gun like, I had to make as many vital points as possible before he said, “I’d love to see more but I got to be somewhere”. So I rattled off my rubber guard speech faster than ever, like those disclaimers at the end of Nissan commercials. I was sweating, out of breath, while inside I was thinking “Is this really Rickson Graice inside my rubber guard or am I on 25 grams of Ecuadorian mushrooms?!?!” I am very confident about my Jiu Jitsu philosophy, plus I just hung out with him for 3 hours but I was still obviously a little nervous to be showing this Jiu Jitsu god some 10th Planet material. I just had to get all the rubber guard scenarios out before he left which could have been at any moment. It was like Eminem on a gallon of Cave Man coffee, no cream, black like Charlie Murphy’s anus but with no rhymes. I couldn’t help it, I just had to let him see what we’ve been working on the last 10 years, especially since he, Jean Jacques and Renzo were the catalyst to it all.

When it was all said and done, Rickson, Joe and I took some pictures and just like that, he left. Whether or not Rickson was impressed with the rubber guard, doesn’t really matter, it wasn’t about that anyways, it was about picking his brain, getting them old legendary stories straight from him, hearing his philosophies on modern Mma and listening to him break down life, honor, courage, conformity and spirituality. God bless Rickson."


OK ... ready for the video? Enjoy!







For more entries on Rickson, please check out:



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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Renzo Gracie at UFC 111 Animated GIFs (Mar 27, 2010)

7/22/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments

I'm slow to embrace Twitter. Call me a dinosaur. Call me ancient. I am what I am.


I love making GIFs and I recall seeing the awesome Renzo Gracie in the audience of an UFC but didn't recall which one. He was having loads of fun when he realized he was on camera. I wanted to make some GIFs of him, but didn't have time when that specific UFC aired. I usually make GIFs of a TV/Movies action scene or make GIFs of MMA/Boxing fight highlights or to isolate for a technique for analysis. Rarely do I get a chance to make Fun GIFs.


A few months ago, I had a lightbulb moment at seeing how active Renzo was on Twitter. I tweeted him the question of which UFC he was at. I wasn't even sure that he would even remember given it was a few years ago. In full disclosure, I've also tweeted a famous boxer and a famous MMAist with no replies in the past, so not knowing what to expect since he was "famous". I'm nobody and he didn't know me from a hole in the wall, so I thought it was worth a shot. I was pleasantly surprised when he tweeted back fairly rapidly that he thought it was UFC 111.


Fast forward to March 11, Renzo's 47th birthday ... I posted the following entry reluctantly, (yep! you guessed it, I didn't have time to make the GIFs in time) to celebrate his birthday:



Thinking I would wait for next year to post the GIFs on his birthday, I scheduled the post for Mar 11, 2015.


Fast forward to last week Tuesday, July 15, 2013, Renzo Gracie tweeted an amazing and heartwarming story which I've reposted as:



So fairly close on the tail of that post, I humbly present to you my 7 animated GIF's of the great Renzo Gracie in the audience of UFC 111. The camera caught him during the break between Rounds 2 and 3 of the Georges St. Pierre X Dan Hardy fight.


Enjoy!




So glad Renzo wasn't picking his nose ;-)




This one is a combo of GIF's of the above 2:



Hamming it up! Knowing not to take himself too seriously!!



All Champions have this Innate Happiness and it shows in their Smiles! Look at Renzo's Smile!!



Here's the full GIF:





Obrigado Mestre!



For other Renzo Gracie posts:




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Monday, July 21, 2014

"Fearless" - a poem by Renzo Gracie

7/21/2014 11:00:00 AM  , ,  No comments

Photo Source: Renzo Gracie's Twitter


"Fearless"
by Renzo Gracie


In life we have what we can handle,
Never let them see you flinch or falter,
When you have a chance show them who you are,
Stand proud and hit hard.





In case you missed these other entries on Renzo Gracie, please check out:




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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

THE WISDOM OF ... Renzo Gracie

7/15/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , ,  No comments

"Yesssss leaving now...."
Photo Source:  Renzo Gracie's Twitter



"My heart fills with the noble feeling that if I die tomorrow the world is in great hands. In a much better hands than mine."
~Renzo Gracie




Renzo Gracie, BJJ/MMA legend, is very active on Twitter. He tweeted a beautiful and awesome story of his experience while waiting for a delayed flight at an airport! Truly heartwarming!! But there are lessons in his story ... not just one of Unconditional Love, not just giving of oneself and Listen to others, but also of the Warrior being in the Moment, of being Aware, able to Observe his environment. When most people would just be upset at the flight delay, the Gentleman and Warrior that Master Renzo Gracie is, turns the Negative experience to one that is Positive!


Enjoy this great story as well as the Wisdom/Lessons in it!

Obrigado Mestre Renzo Gracie!!




Renzo_Gracie_BJJ @RenzoGracieBJJ

I seat to grab a beer... Newark Airport, two beautiful ladies seat next to me. They just got married in Jersey, their happiness can be seen from 100 miles away. My plane is late, we talk for hours. They are from Sonoma, the wine capital of the USA, near San Francisco, the first place I came to in the US. They show me their wedding pictures, tell me their life history, 23 years in the making. I ask about their family, what they think, how they see it. Every answer is positive, and great, they accept.
Time for my plane to leave. I got to go. I give them a copy of The Gracies and the Birth of Vale Tudo. And tell them what I do. 

They give me a tight hug. In a way that they would only hug those who back them up. Tears fill my eyes. I wish them an amazing life. And an unforgettable love story, one forged with amazing memories - the most valuable asset a human can have on his life time.

As I walk to my gate my eyes glance to another amazing scene... A woman talking to her friend through an iPhone's FaceTime. She is talking through a sign language. With her hands. She is deaf. My heart fills with the noble feeling that if I die tomorrow the world is in great hands. In a much better hands than mine.

Stipe Miocic @smiocic

I sit here making stupid jokes and then read through @RenzoGracieBJJ time line and realize I need to do better.

@jennyM14

What a wonderful story! :)

Renzo_Gracie_BJJ @RenzoGracieBJJ

normally, those are always around us.. We choose not to see it ;-) I see it all


For further info on the great Renzo Gracie:



NOTE: Posted 7/18/2014 but backdated to 7/15/2014 mirroring the day Renzo Gracie tweeted.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Happy 47th Birthday Renzo Gracie!!

3/11/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments



Today marks the 47th birthday of one of the most popular MMA fighters as well as a MMA legend!


Posting 3 fights and a documentary in Renzo Gracie's honor!


Parabens, feliz aniversario Renzo Gracie!!



Renzo Gracie vs Ben Spijkers (WCC 1: First Strike) (Oct 17, 1995)
)

EDIT: My sincerest apologies to Renzo Gracie for posting this fight. In today's MMA, it may seem unsportsmanlike for a fighter to neck stomp his opponent when downed. But the story behind the fight and that neck stomp is as follows:

Spijkers and his friends had spent the entire previous night harassing Renzo, calling his room, sending room service to his room and taunting him on the press conference saying that Renzo´s eyes looked like the ones from his (Spijkers) girlfriend and that Spijkers was looking forward to doing something sexual to Renzo in the cage.

This was Renzo's first fight in the US and he took it very seriously. In Brazil, in a fight where someone seriously disrespected you or your family, it was symbolic to step on their neck after defeating them to show your contempt.

After the ref got on him and he heard the boos, he realized that he wasn't fighting in Brazil. Humbly, he apologized. Subsequent fights, Renzo helps his opponents up and is a total class act.

My sincerest apologies also to my friend Tommy H. who questioned my inclusion of this fight. I knew of the background story and neglected to add it for context of what appeared to be unsportsmanlike behavior. And hence my edit.



Renzo vs Oleg Taktarov (MARS I) (Nov 22, 1996)





Renzo vs Eugenio Tadeu (Sep 27, 1997) (Pentagon Combat)
Fans rioted and fight declared No Contest - one of the most famous fights ever in MMA history!



Renzo Gracie documentary



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