05/24/2021
Martial artist Gracie fails to make his life or the sport of Brazilian jujitsu worthy of interest in his uninspiring debut. Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1958 to a family that owned a jujitsu training academy. Inevitably, Gracie started his career there, earning a black belt by the time he was 21. After defeating a “massive and terrifying” adversary by the name of “King Zulu” in 1980, he embarked on a lucrative career teaching “Gracie jiu-jitsu” and married a model with whom he had four children (and he casually mentions several affairs). In 2000, their oldest son died at age 19 of an overdose, though Gracie asserts (with no evidence) that he was murdered. That tragedy led him to realize “there is no tomorrow, because life can change forever in the blink of an eye,” despite the death of his brother almost two decades earlier in a hang-gliding accident. Gracie’s comfort level with the extreme violence of his profession (“I choked him unconscious and left him sleeping... in a puddle of his own blood”) is likely to turn off many, as is his inflated ego. This is for devoted Gracie fans only. Agent: Frank Weimann, Folio Literary. (Aug.)
There is Jiu Jitsu, and then there is Rickson Gracie. All others fit neatly below. The presence of mind and body to make micro adjustments in order to occupy what he calls 'The Middle' and his deep understanding in the form of Connection and Balance sets him apart from other Masters of this so called Gentle Art. Gentle, my ass. You keep what you kill.” — Maynard James Keenan, martial artist, winemaker, and lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle
“Rickson Gracie and me had a match in the BYU wrestling room in 1992. He made me tap out twice and told me I was the toughest guy he’d gone against. Rickson was the best fighter I’d ever seen. He still may be.” — Mark Schultz, wrestler and Olympic gold medalist
“His approach to martial arts, to the game of unarmed combat is well beyond his years. He is definitely an inspiration of mine.” — Conor McGregor, UFC double-champion
“Rickson’s one of my heroes. Maybe the most dominant athlete in any sport of all time, and he’s hugely inspired me. Without knowing it, he helped me a lot.” — Kelly Slater, 11-time World Surfing League champion
"Breathe: A Life in Flow is at its best when it tells beautiful, small little stories illustrating this truth about how Gracie moves through the world, as a fighter, a surfer, and a man doing his best to be his best." — Carolyn Lee Adams, Bloody Elbow
Rickson’s one of my heroes. Maybe the most dominant athlete in any sport of all time, and he’s hugely inspired me. Without knowing it, he helped me a lot.
His approach to martial arts, to the game of unarmed combat is well beyond his years. He is definitely an inspiration of mine.
One of my favorite books on martial arts are Takuan SoHo’s The Unfettered Mind. Takuan was not a sword master—he was a Zen Master who wrote about the sword, in spite of never having fought with one. And yet his writings were revered by Japan’s legendary sword masters, including Miyamoto Musashi. Why? Because Takuan understood that a fluid mindset is required to excel in both combat and life. Rickson Gracie is the embodiment of this mindset. His book Breathe tells the story of his life, a journey that taught him how deal with pressure with an unfettered mind. I don’t know of any athlete, in any sport, who can perform in 'the zone' or 'the flow,' the way that Rickson Gracie did.”
"Breathe: A Life in Flow is at its best when it tells beautiful, small little stories illustrating this truth about how Gracie moves through the world, as a fighter, a surfer, and a man doing his best to be his best."
There is Jiu Jitsu, and then there is Rickson Gracie. All others fit neatly below. The presence of mind and body to make micro adjustments in order to occupy what he calls 'The Middle' and his deep understanding in the form of Connection and Balance sets him apart from other Masters of this so called Gentle Art. Gentle, my ass. You keep what you kill.
Rickson Gracie and me had a match in the BYU wrestling room in 1992. He made me tap out twice and told me I was the toughest guy he’d gone against. Rickson was the best fighter I’d ever seen. He still may be.
One of my favorite books on martial arts are Takuan SoHo’s The Unfettered Mind. Takuan was not a sword master—he was a Zen Master who wrote about the sword, in spite of never having fought with one. And yet his writings were revered by Japan’s legendary sword masters, including Miyamoto Musashi. Why? Because Takuan understood that a fluid mindset is required to excel in both combat and life. Rickson Gracie is the embodiment of this mindset. His book Breathe tells the story of his life, a journey that taught him how deal with pressure with an unfettered mind. I don’t know of any athlete, in any sport, who can perform in 'the zone' or 'the flow,' the way that Rickson Gracie did.”
07/01/2021
Gracie tells his story in this engaging book, co-written Maguire, a former student of Gracie's. The story begins with Gracie's father, Helio Gracie, who brought Japanese jiujitsu to Brazil and created his own martial art called Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (or Brazilian jiujitsu). Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Rickson learned jiujitsu from his father, uncles, brothers, and cousins. Throughout the book, he reiterates his philosophy that martial arts should not simply train the body; it should also train the mind by instilling both confidence and knowledge. Gracie's honesty comes through as he talks plainly about his training and injuries and gives blow-by-blow accounts of famous fights. His writing is especially poignant when recounting his son's death, after which Gracie had to overcome devastating loss to find a renewed purpose in life. The book concludes with a helpful glossary of martial arts terminology; readers will also appreciate beautiful photographs of Gracie and his family throughout. VERDICT Fans of Gracie's fights, practitioners or fans of martial arts, and those interested in the evolution of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu will find excellent insight here.—Jason L. Steagall, Arapahoe Libs., Centennial, CO
2021-06-01
A jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts legend delivers a prideful account of his accomplishments inside and outside the ring.
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1958, Gracie never met a fight he didn’t like. A couple of generations back, his ancestors fell in with a Japanese immigrant who taught them jiu jitsu, a battlefield martial form, and judo, “created in the late 1880s…as a safer, more sporting, weaponless alternative.” Gracie took up the family martial arts tradition, and though he tempered the fierce warrior attitudes of jiu jitsu with the laid-back ethos of a surfer, he was a fighter from elementary school on. Some of Gracie’s life lessons are humdrum: “Meals were spaced five hours apart to allow the body to absorb the nutrients from the food.” Others are more in the ascended-master vein: “When I put physical pressure on students, I see their true personalities because they immediately show me things that they are able to hide when they’re not on the mat: their state of emotional balance, their ability to manage pressure, and many other things.” One constant is self-regard, and Gracie airs numerous grudges. For example, in one match, he defeated Chuck Norris “in about a minute,” though Norris went on to train with a rival branch of the family. The author also recounts his rocky relationship with his brother, who once had a “monopoly” on jiu jitsu training in the U.S. “When my brother lost control of me,” he writes, “I became his greatest adversary, because I had the image, ability, and leadership skills that he lacked, and worst of all, everyone knew it.” A little of this boasting goes a long way, and there’s a lot of it, though peppered with interesting, hard-won insights on the psychology and philosophy of martial arts. Jocko Willink provides the foreword.
Read between the braggadocio and clichés to find some useful lessons.
