Rickson Gracie is considered one of the biggest names in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He built his reputation in the mid-1980s and 1990s, with emblematic — and violent — fights watched by thousands of people at Maracanãzinho, or surrounded by a few students and friends on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.
Son of Hélio Gracie, the person responsible for adapting jiu-jitsu brought from Japan — into what would become popularly known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu — Rickson gained fame in the world of fighting through the “Desafio Gracie”.
In it, he faced opponents from other martial arts, such as judo and wrestling, to prove the efficiency of jiu-jitsu, in an embryo of what would become MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) competitions such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship ), co-created by his brother Rorion.
According to Rickson himself, his record has more than 400 fights and no defeats.
At 64 years old and living in Florida, the martial arts master now has to deal with the toughest opponent of his career: Parkinson’s, diagnosed in mid-2021.
In an interview with SheetRickson tells how he received the diagnosis, talks about treatments and routine changes. And he says he faces the disease as just one of the many opponents he faced on the mats.
“I’m not here to be finished off by Parkinson’s. I’m here to fight against Parkinson’s”, he says, who has just released the book “Comfort in the Dark”, in which he talks transparently about the disease and addresses important moments in his career and of personal life.
Fights with his brothers and the death of Rockson’s eldest son, in 2000, are also themes present in the work.
Like mr. Have you been diagnosed with Parkinson’s?
I accepted it naturally, even because I’ve already done a lot with my body. So maybe this was, not a message, but a part of my destiny that is there to complete me as a person, as a human being. Because now I have to learn how to use invisible jiu-jitsu, I have to learn my ability to overcome. Now I have to really evolve into a much more spiritual side than the physical side. For a long time in my life, I fought to win. Now I intend to win without fighting. Using my head better, my emotional control.
Mr. He says in the book that he wasn’t surprised by the diagnosis, because his body was already showing some signs. What were they?
What I started to feel, which was kind of transformative, was the realization that I started to slow down with my movements. I started to have a tremor in my hand. It took me out of reality, out of my comfort, out of my physical self-control. But I see Parkinson’s as another enemy, as another fight in my life. I’m not here to be finished off by Parkinson’s. I’m here to fight against Parkinson’s, be happy, positive, show that this is an adversity that many people can have.
How has the treatment been?
The regular doctor gave me some medicine and told me to exercise and wait. But through seeking out various healers and different ways of interpreting this illness, I began to change my life. I stopped eating meat, drinking beer and wine, I started fasting, taking all kinds of supplements. I changed the water in my house to ozonated water. A series of things that no one told me to do, but I researched and changed, and now I feel that I am in the best possible condition to fight Parkinson’s. I do physical therapy five times a week. I’m dealing with Parkinson’s with the respect of a great opponent, but with the hope of being able to win.
Has the routine changed?
I stopped doing some things, not only because of the diagnosis, but also because of some chronic injuries. I have problems with my spine, lower back, several herniated discs, my body is really damaged. And I have no complaints about that. For me, all my injuries serve as medals of recognition of what I have achieved. Thinking about my injuries doesn’t make me embarrassed, but rather proud of having used my body to the fullest in representing jiu-jitsu. This makes me understand that any energetic, physical part that I still have to use, I will use. But now it’s time to slow down. I loved surfing, I stopped riding waves, I loved training jiu-jitsu, I stopped training, I only teach now. But I continue to follow my happy and optimistic life. I go to the beach every day, I moved from California to Florida, and it’s been great because the sea here is much more pleasant.
Mr. In the book, he also addresses disagreements he had with his brothers Rorion and Royce, especially at the beginning of the UFC and his professional career in Japan. Was there any hurt?
I was hurt at the time, yes. I thought it wasn’t something that represented harmony between brothers, because I’ve always done a lot for them, and when I needed it, no one did it for me. But I see that the harm that was done to me decided to turn into the good that I deserved in the future. And I understand that forgiveness is a way to free myself from the problem. If I didn’t forgive, to this day I would still be angry, a certain acidity inside my body, because I didn’t release that anger. Forgiving doesn’t mean I’m going to give the same problem a chance to happen again. But it makes me release this energy, this anger.
Mr. Are you frustrated about not having fought in the UFC?
At the time my brother [Rorion] created the UFC, he thought about including Royce, who was a guy who wasn’t as good as me, but was a good representative. And Rorion no longer had the control he had over me at Royce. I was a little upset at the time, but then I went to Japan and made my career very successful. We just didn’t happen to fight in the UFC, but what can we do…
Since Royce, in the early 1990s, the Gracie family has not had UFC champions. What contributed to this?
The evolution of MMA as a whole, which has become a very competitive sport and difficult to predict who will win. People back then didn’t have the knowledge of ground fighting like they do today. It has become much more difficult for athletes, in general, to win in MMA competition. Everyone trains ground, stand-up striking, wrestling. It was much more balanced.
In “Comfort in the Dark”, Mr. recounts the blow he felt with the death of his son Rockson. How did the loss affect your life?
With my son’s departure, I understood that there is no tomorrow. Tomorrow may never happen. And this idea made me understand that my day had to be much better spent. Before, if my daughter came to me and said she needed to talk to me, I would respond: ‘My love, I’m going to catch up, when I get back we can talk’. Today, if I’m on the road heading to the airport for an important conference in Japan, and my daughter calls me crying and says she needs to talk, I’ll stop the car on the side of the road and give her the attention she needs. After realizing that you may not have tomorrow, I became much more mindful about my today. I am much more present to my other children, to my students, to my wife, to my life, because today I value it more than I did before my son left.
