Roger Gracie & John Danaher: Zoom Conversation

I love John giving him a history lesson on his own family and even himself lmao

That rashguard is bad ass, it actually looks like a real leather jacket.

Haha the one time John doesn’t wear a rash guard and it’s a beret and leather jacket?!! Amazing!! 😀🤘🏻💪🏻😂

Two of my favorite Juijitsu people! Taught my daughter a single leg today. I believe I benefited greatly by challenging my mind to come up with a simple way of conveying concepts to a child. Love hearing you guys!

Thank you for this ... I’m so glad I found jiujitsu. I’m 39, I have only been practicing for about a year. I wish I would of started earlier.

I am a Cornishman from west Penwith. Cornish wrestling has been around for well over a thousand years but unfortunately is only practiced in small groups. It is very similar to judo and the aim is to throw your opponent onto their back. It was practiced outside of mining pits and was written about on the battlefield on Agincourt.

My grandfather got his judo black belt in New Zealand in 1959, so grappling was in NZ but just not as popular as striking. Grandad passed away along time ago but he used to say you had to be able to punch, kick and grapple so basically he would have loved modern day MMA if he was still alive. Props grandad

Its interesting how different Danahers speech cadence and tempo is when talking to people he clearly respects vs people hes explaining bjj to on podcasts. His speech is a lot quicker and less measured here vs say, his interview with Joe Rogan or even Lex

These two legends are opening up about their point of view of the sport, JD is talking about the next way he's going to revolutionize the sport, and everyone is looking for the rashguard under the jacket...

Thanks for the opportunity to learn from you. For us in remote countries with little jujitsu is an amazing resource. We treasure the richness of knowledge we acquire form you. Now time to translate the conversation for my training brothers.

Lendas, verdadeiros representantes da filosofia do Jiu Jitsu.

John's approach is so meticulous and clear, he has the ability to shine light on things that we might have touched on in one way or another but never managed to clearly pin down.
Two greats of the art that have common history but focused mostly on two different areas, gi and no gi
This is also proof of the freedom and creativity that BJJ allows for, no other martial art can match this aspect.

What a great guy Roger is, he became sentimental when Danaher commented on Roger’s young age. Respect

Having a coach like john makes a massive difference in how fast you improve but most people who start later in life, do so just to be in shape doing something they enjoy.and become good at self defense as a bonus. They arent interested in a career in bjj so improvement after a few lower belts isnt a big deal. John should be teaching younger ambitious grapplers who want to become great at it. Or his fantastic ability as a coach is wasted. We all know that for almost everyone, the teacher is the most important thing as far as becoming good and kearnung quickly and learning the best techniques. Ok, what i just said is ridiculously obvious.

I hope they do proceed with a second conversation. There’s a lot more I think that could be discussed. Interesting getting the sometimes contrasting opinions from the probably the best competitor and a highly successful coach and thinker.
I’ve never trained at Renzo’s but I’ve heard a few times that private’s with Danaher gi or nogi were game changing. Must be very expensive trying to get one these days

Great interview really enjoyed it, thanks to both of you 🙏

Great interview! John is a legend. Also, first time I see him dressed casually.

MUITO OBRIGADO, MESTRE!

great eye-opening discussion and insight into the world of legends. My favourite line at the end, John to Roger: god help us if you figure out leg locks" :D

Really made me think about the differences between wrestling control and jiujitsu control. Wrestling how you control an opponent that wants to get to his feet mostly, while jiujitsu control comes into play against a neutral opponent or an opponent that wants to grapple moreso

Awesome interview. Thank you Roger & John 🙏🏻

I am 35 and just started bjj at a local gym 2 days so far. Where was this my whole life. Oh and these men are amazing to listen too... im a sponge

Can we all acknowledge the fact that Danaher looks here almost like the villain from Fantomas movies? I'm almost waiting for him to explain how he's going to take over the world with BJJ...

Good chat with John .... Roger Grace Champion and really good person!🥋

I bounced for 10+ years and I'm only 160!! And I 100% feel everything his saying !! Any one that thinks BJJ!! is not a good form of self defense!! Doesn't know anything about Martial arts !! It would of take one huge guy or 3 big guys ,to control some people!! But I was always in control !! Now I know why.. I trained and they didn't !! 🧘🏻‍♂️🙏 Thanks yo 2 great masters !!🙏🙏

Great interview and so much great insight!

My life goal is to say a single sentence with the conviction John says all his sentences with

This is a great insight to how they developed over the years. I would recommend if you could to do a split screen. It's offsetting to hear John's voice and only see Roger's face and vice versa

PLEASE KEEP DOING PODCASTS ROGER!!!!

Awesome interview amazing knowledge drop thank you very much 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I think John is 💯 correct on developing a take down game solely for BJJ

I agree with the out look on takedowns starting at the 30:00 mark. I have been adapting my wrestling background and what judo I have learned into my Jiu-Jitsu for over 10 years now. The Gi provides enhanced wrestling options and a multitude of set ups and transitions. I have had wrestlers and judoka's tell me my technique is wrong. However it is right for a Jiu-Jitsu application to land in an advantageous position. Jiu-Jitsu is the melting pot of all grappling and is evolving rapidly every year🤙Great interview, love the channel

Man, imagine being a white or blue belt and being able to regularly train with Roger Gracie 😳🥳

Roger can you do more interviews please? Maybe your training partners like George St. Pierre.

As a pro wrestling fan in the 80's I did know grappling was legit and Catch used to exist 50/100 yrs prior but grappling not necessarily dominate. Bruce Lee, Ali would rival anyone.
My friend trained with Royce before the first UFC's existed. He showed me their compilation tape, Rickson vs Zulu grossed me out. He challenge me and I got him in a headlock that he couldn't get out of but I was always bigger, stronger and meaner then him. Also when we got jumped at a party he got stomped pulling guard, other times he won convincedly.
Biggest regrets are not training at Ricksons on Pico, Beverly Hills JJ/Bas/Igor/Ruas/etc on Robertson and in the early 2000;s Catch at SaMoHS with the pencil neck geek. Whata jerk I was/is.

I saw Rodger grapple at a event in ca and it was something special how effortlessly and easy he made it look.

Pure gold. 👌💪👍🍻Thanks so much.

I came here for the rashguard but stayed for the thoughtful conversation

Wish John would come back to New Zealand & turn us into a BJJ powerhouse.. oh welllllll

OMG! They finally did come out with the Rashguard that looks like kick-ass leather jacket! Serious; John looks really good in street clothes! It's all about trying new stuff and stepping out of "the box"! It just makes you more complete!

Love both these guys.

John knows more about Roger than Roger knows about Roger lol

Awesome interview from two of the best on jj science

On the subject of the standing portion of the match being the second noticeable weakness of Jiu Jitsu as a grappling art, I agree, but I don't think the problem is as large as we make it out to be. Systemically it is a problem, but there are so many individuals and small groups with takedown skills that expanding the knowledge base in this area is very achievable provided that adult participants and their coaches have the will to do standing training. Are effective standing techniques taught in Jiu Jitsu classes themselves? In some instances yes, in some instances no. The interesting thing will be looking at the current BJJ standup meta, and further developing techniques that are unique to BJJ competition (wrestling techniques done from gi grips being a major feature in international competition, especially in the heavier weight classes) and modifying techniques from other grappling arts to fit a BJJ context. Some examples being: the single leg with a lepel or belt wrapped around the leg (can't do this in Judo or Wrestling), the collar drag into either single, double or the back, The swing single off of the collar grip, kibisu gaeshi or ankle pick off of gi grips, and the 2 on 1 series off of breaking an opponents collar grip. In addition you have any time limited asymmetrical grip or leg grab assisted technique discouraged in Judo by the current IJF ruleset. These are just some the gi techniques allowable in Jiu Jitsu and not in Judo as it's practiced today. You also have the practice of modifying techniques from Judo to avoid overthrowing both yourself and your opponent, and gripping modifications and throw selection to avoid creating unnecessary back exposure. Overall an exciting area for development!

I Love John Danaher, I would love to have a long conversation with him.

Greatest crossover event in history

I did not know Matt Serra and GSP were connected in this way. Fascinating.

JD is a boss everyone in the comments thinks he’s wearing a jacket... That’s his GI

Interested to see how he approaches his takedown evolution

John always seems to have a cold personality, but this time he looks so relaxed.

Legends both. U.K. will never appreciate Roger Gracie or Mauricio Gomez until they retire or are no longer available to teach.

Danaher dressed like he's gonna go desecrate an art museum with the Joker after the interview.

1:01:07 for Johns opinion on what is the most dominant position in Jiu-jitsu.

John Danaher has to be the coolest cat on the planet 🌎

Great conversation!

Danaher's views on takedowns are interesting (around 33:00), but one major issue with BJJ takedowns is that (with some exceptions) the rules do not really encourage any standup. It's different from leglocks, which are quite advantageous in submission-only grappling. With takedowns, most rule sets don't give much incentive (outside of ADCC which penalizes the guard pull, and maybe heavyweight categories where guard is a lot harder to play). Pulling guard and sweeping is usually safer, more consistent, and more energy efficient.
The other issue is that takedowns are inherently risky, which makes passivity a great strategy. The fact of the matter is, without rules designed to stimulate activity, it is better to stall and wait for the opponent to overcommit or tire out before slapping on a submission or a counter takedown. Judo and wrestling have evolved to deal with this -- out of bounds rules, passivity penalties, gripping penalties, etc.
Perhaps one thing that might help is to start matches with a mandatory standing period for 2 minutes -- no guard pulls allowed, out-of-bounds is enforced, and stalling is penalized. Sacrifice throws and flying submissions are legal, but will result in a loss of 2 points if they fail. After 2 minutes, guard pulls are legal without any penalty, because it's a waste of athletes' and spectators' time if it's just 10 minutes of passive wrestling. This would accomplish Danaher's goal of getting all high level BJJ athletes to become competent on the feet, while still allowing most of the matches to take place on the ground.

Two great minds

fukin unbelievable, to be able to listen to two masters like this, w/ a long history of familiarity w/ each other-omg

Learning Bjj is like doing science... Whenever you solve a problem dozens of new ones arise. So you can't learn it all. Just go super heavy on basics and add in your own flavour

I rolled with Roger Gracie. Mind bending experience and arm bending, my arm, certainly not his.

I’m here because I’m doing a presentation report on roger Gracie. And he looks pretty cool. I’m now interested in learning more about ji-jutsu

O wow just seen this. Roger is a beast man. Johns a mastermind.

Mans got the leather jacket on with the beret with the Adidas tracksuit bottoms on, practicality and style, John stays ready. 🤣🤣

Lol Danaher is gangster. I love it. He is a great person.

The problem with BJJ on the streets is that it works 1 on 1, if 2 people attack you, striking is much better.

1:44:00 Roger talks about HOW TO ACTUALLY GET GOOD.

The sport should do its best to reflect the street fighting and self defense aspect from which it originated and standing should be equal in proportion to the ground.

The irony of GB being less receptive to BJJ is that it spearheaded Catch Wrestling.

1:55:11 the most surprised you’ll ever hear John

We can change stand up by awarding different points for different takedowns in bjj based on how much damage you inflict.

I see solid judo players come in bjj comps with modifications to their throws winning with added ground Jiu jitsu techniques

Roger is my favorite martial artist along with GSP. He would have been my best friend. Too bad he is half my age.

Now Samuel L Jackson has done EVERY role!

He has the history of the old fusen ryu or kosen judo throws

My 4 year old 🥋Francess anntonia has just started at roger gracie Salford . I hope to see her go far in life 😎✌️

John is a diehard villain!

Danaher looks like he just went to some store and asked for a NY tough guy outfit, which he's now rocking for the first time ever over his beloved rash guard.

Weird seeing him in normal clothes 😂😂
He probably has a black rashguard on underneath

John has the same wardrobe he had when he began BJJ. So much time on the mat you know this man cares little about his fashion. 😂 Great Conversation between two titans of BJJ. No ego involved.

Danaher dressed like Mj in the last dance documentary minus the goggles

that backwards flat cap is the fookin truth JD!!

Jon's fashion style is like a Italian New York mobster in the movie Donnie Brasco haha

Why does danaher look like a member of biggies crew in the 90s lol

Calm down everyone, John always puts his rashguard back on when he gets in the shower.

don't even practice bjj, just like listening to Danaher for some reason.

Could incentivise throwing/takedowns by giving them more points?

there can never be a comprehensive system of standing grappling in bjj b/c there will never be a bjj tournament that ENDS in a throw or pin or takedown. leglocking skill could increase because there are no points competitions that can END in a leglock. there will need to be competitions that can end in throw or submission, or possibly 2 out of 3 falls or possibly higher points for takedowns.

Huge honor and hespect for me

Of course a leather jacket a few days before summer starts 😂😂

1:55:00 John Danaher is hilarious lol "Nooooo"

I did not understand when Roger talked about the lack of "grappling" in Europe in the early days, i think it's the opposite, Judo which is very similar to JJ is a huge sport in Europe and well more developped than in the us

The mind of Danaher is an extraordinary asset to the art of Ju Jitsu.

So you guys are talking about Kosen judo. Competent in standing position and excellent on the ground.

The "best of your generation" comment is a backhanded slight. Roger is the 🐐! PERIOD! It's not close.

Why is Danaher dressed like a black panther?

Danaher mentions that the person escaped his headlock and basically that attracted him to jiu jitsu. Unfortunately, met purple and brown belts who don't know how to escape headlocks. Sport BJJ took over (in a negative way).

John's definitely pulling

John Danaher, full time guru, part time Russian hitman.

Just as a philosophical question. Why did you go for BJJ instead of Judo (or wrestling)? As a bouncer, you would acquire a more relevant skillset in pinning somebody to the ground, without having to break a joint or choking somebody out. It is just out of curiosity. Were you infatuated by the early spectacle of the UFC?

The fashion industry saw this and tapped