Matt is a great interviewer. He asks a question and then he shuts the hell up and lets his guest talk. no interrupting etc. There are a lot of talk show and Pod cast hosts who need to learn to do this.
Absolutely loved the interview. One of the things I’ve learned from Henry is the elbows and knees off the ground when on top in side control. This has made training partners literally half again my size mention how heavy I feel. I also like the exploration of the meaning of connection. It certainly helped me understand the concept better, but I admit that my grasp of the concept is still quite tenuous.
Thank you thank you thank you .... Thank you both Matt and Henry, much needed and much appreciated ; privileged to witness this kind of dialogue between these 2 who have such rich and unique insight and experience. Very thought provoking.
Great interview. I hope his injuries do not impede his ability to continue his work. It was quite the coincidence that there was reference to what would happen to the knowledge if something happened to Rickson and then having a horrific accident himself.
Such sage words from Henry .. trains with weaker opponents to improve his technique. I knew basics class are majorly important to advanced class and more fun. Advanced classes are like Martial Artists fighting in the Octagon.
Henry dated Ronda Rousey back in her Strikeforce days. I'm sure everyone has seen the video of her demonstrating Judo on him. Good interview. Thanks Matt.
Rickson's refined basics come from Rickson, not anyone else. He didn't teach that many people in depth. He wanted to dominate, plus he never set out to be a business powerhouse like Gracie Barra or a tournament powerhouse like Alliance. As far as I can tell the only guy who got most of what he taught was Henry. Rickson just didn't make it that easy because I don't think he was itching to give it away and he prioritized what he was doing individually over passing it on. Henry just wanted it so bad that he got it. Thank you Henry.
Helio was obedient to Carlos. They weren’t different. The real difference is between Rorion and Carlson. That is, the two men’s sons. After assuming he was the heir apparent to the throne as the eldest son of the founder; also the first and best champion of the next generation, Carlson grew to realize the jiu jitsu crown had passed to Helio and would stay with his sons. All of this because his dad didn’t get on the mats much while Helio ran the jiu jitsu. After that he carried a revenge motive that was less about Helio than it was about the situation - almost more about is father forfeiting Carlson’s place of preeminence on the mats. The way to get revenge was to win in tournaments, thus the birth of the sport mentality. Anything that made Helio’s students tap to Carlson’s students was good; bye-bye to self-defense purity, hello to innovation and the competitive arts (cauliflower ear). Carlson may have even thought he could win back the crown through tournament dominance. If so, Rickson’s towering greatness dashed that dream. Carlson also rebelled against the aristocratic tendency of Carlos and Helio which they inherited from the Japanese. Jiu jitsu was for responsible civic leaders to increase order, not for lowly people looking for a meal, which would likely increase chaos. Carlson took the opposite approach. I think Carlos Jr. did something similar on the business side. He carried his dad’s name and chose to use the advantage to become a legitimizer in the sport. Very clever. Basically, by being flawed in many ways, Carlos Sr. gave his kids something to prove. Rolls needed to be the best to feel worthy because he had been given to his uncle by his father due to illegitimacy. Carlson needed to beat Helio to prove he should have stayed the heir to the throne. Carlos Jr. wasn’t so much proving himself as taking an opportunity due to his name and clear leadership skills - he took full advantage. Rickson was just very talented and Rolls showed him the way to think for himself and expand, though Rickson always agreed with his father’s philosophy. But Rickson’s direct jiu jitsu heirs often miss the fact that Rickson substantially changed his fathers jiu jitsu along the lines of his fathers philosophy. That is, he made his jiu jitsu a much better version of Helio’s than Helio’s. In other words, Rickson’s jiu jitsu is not old school jiu jitsu, it is Rickson’s transformation of old school jiu jitsu into what it had never quite been but thought it was. Carlos’s side, hungry to win and prove worth, created new moves to add to their Helio basics. They never had the Rickson basics. And you’ve never seen someone that goes deep with the Helio basics able to beat top tier sport guys. That is, people from Rorion or Relson or Valente or Sauer. They kept self-defense purity but they never made top-tier killers on the mats. Royler made some, but it happened when Rickson was running Gracie Humaita and right after he left. The late 90s bumper crop (Ribeiro brothers, etc.) came from Royler at a time when he was arm and arm with Rickson. I believe Royler got more from Rickson than any of his other brothers by far. Heirs of any of his brothers don’t have Rickson’s jiu jitsu. Maybe 10% here and there, but Rickson was competitive and didn’t freely give away his improvements to people he saw as potential competition. I believe Akins benefitted from his deep loyalty and submission to Rickson, his Americanness (less of a perceived threat), Rickson’s need to train a teacher for Kron, and Rickson’s realization that if he hoarded his jiu jitsu forever it would be a tragic loss. These are the observations of a 25 year appreciator of jiu-jitsu. I am a bit of a historian and writer and I’ve been thinking about this for 25 years. I have no doubt that more access to the people involved would improve this summary.
I finally get the difference between Helio and Carlos.. Both Gracie and Gracie Barra focus on self defence.. but Helio’s Lineage is Martial Arts Lore. The Dirty 12 speak about Rickson’s greatness like a cowboy describes a horse whisper. Their motivation is fuel by truth. It’s all about the Zen. ✊ California is the birthplace of BJJ
Helio was obedient to Carlos. They weren’t different. The real difference is between Rorion and Carlson. That is, the two men’s sons. After assuming he was the heir apparent to the throne as the eldest son of the founder and the first and best champion of the next generation, Carlson grew to realize the jiu jitsu crown had passed to Helio and would stay with his sons. All because his dad didn’t get on the mats much while Helio ran the jiu jitsu. After that he carried a revenge motive that was less about Helio than it was about the situation - almost more about is father forfeiting Carlson’s place of preeminence on the mats. The way to get revenge was to win in tournaments, thus the birth of the sport mentality. Anything that made Helio’s students tap to Carlson’s students was good; bye-bye to self-defense purity, hello to innovation and the competitive arts (cauliflower ear). Carlson may have even thought he could win back the crown through tournament dominance. If so, Rickson’s towering greatness dashed that dream. Carlson also rebelled against the aristocratic tendency of Carlos snd Helio which they inherited from the Japanese. Jiu jitsu was for responsible civic leaders to increase order, not for lowly people looking for a meal to increase chaos. Carlson took the opposite approach. I think Carlos Jr. did something similar on the business side. He carried his dad’s name and chose to use the advantage to become a legitimizer in the sport. Very clever. Basically, by being flawed in many ways, Carlos Sr. gave his kids something to prove. Rolls needed to be the best to feel worthy because he had been given to his uncle by his father due to illegitimacy. Carlson needed to beat Helio to prove he should get be the heir to the throne. Carlos Jr. wasn’t so much proving himself as taking an opportunity due to his name and clear leadership skills - he took full advantage. Rickson was just very talented and Rolls showed him the way to think for himself and expand, though Rickson always agreed with his father’s philosophy. But Rickson’s direct jiu jitsu heirs often miss the fact that Rickson substantially changed his fathers jiu jitsu along the lines of his fathers philosophy. That is, he made his jiu jitsu a much better version of Helio’s than Helio’s. In other words, Rickson’s jiu jitsu is not old school jiu jitsu, it is Rickson’s transformation of old school jiu jitsu into what it had never quite been but thought it was. Carlos’s side, hungry to win and prove worth, created new moves to add the their Helio basics. They never had the Rickson basics. And you’ve never seen someone that goes deep with the Helio basics able to beat top tier sport guys. That is, people from Rorion or Relson or Valente or Sauer. They kept self-defense purity but they never made top-tier killers on the mats. Royler made some, but it happened when Rickson was running Gracie Humaita and right after he left. The late 90s bumper crop (Ribeiro brothers, etc.) came from Royler at a time when he was arm and arm with Rickson. I believe Royler got more from Rickson than any of his other brothers by far. Heirs of any of his brothers don’t have Rickson’s jiu jitsu. Maybe 10% here and there, but Rickson was competitive and didn’t freely give away his improvements to people he saw as potential competition. I believe Akins benefitted from his deep loyalty and submission to Rickson, his Americanness (less of a perceived threat), Rickson’s need to train a teacher for Kron, and Rickson’s realization that if he hoarded his jiu jitsu forever it would be a tragic loss.
Matt is a great interviewer. He asks a question and then he shuts the hell up and lets his guest talk. no interrupting etc. There are a lot of talk show and Pod cast hosts who need to learn to do this.
A true Disciplened Martial Artist even in Interview !
Agreed
Thank you, Matt and Henry, fascinating conversation
Matt is my hero since 2006... since i discovered aliveness and sbgi!
Can’t wait to listen to this later. Heal up quickly Professor Akins!
Absolutely loved the interview. One of the things I’ve learned from Henry is the elbows and knees off the ground when on top in side control. This has made training partners literally half again my size mention how heavy I feel. I also like the exploration of the meaning of connection. It certainly helped me understand the concept better, but I admit that my grasp of the concept is still quite tenuous.
@@matthewlevy9802 i feel the same brother
Thank you Matt Thornton! Great interview.
Thank you thank you thank you .... Thank you both Matt and Henry, much needed and much appreciated ; privileged to witness this kind of dialogue between these 2 who have such rich and unique insight and experience. Very thought provoking.
So awesome to meet u in Portland Henry! Glad u are alive!
So many great ideas shared. I can't thank you guys enough for putting this out there. Much mahalo.
Awesome interview..please more of that
Great interview. I hope his injuries do not impede his ability to continue his work. It was quite the coincidence that there was reference to what would happen to the knowledge if something happened to Rickson and then having a horrific accident himself.
Such sage words from Henry .. trains with weaker opponents to improve his technique.
I knew basics class are majorly important to advanced class and more fun.
Advanced classes are like Martial Artists fighting in the Octagon.
Two of my favourite people in Jiu Jitus. Great conversation.
Look for Jack Tauffer with Budo Jakes teaching Rickson Close Guard ; Impossible for opponent to satandup in your Guard .
Seeing this video in my newsfeed felt better than when I was a kid and got my first Nintendo for x-mas...
#HiddenJiuJitsu
Loved this interview. But also watching this post the Khabib vs McGregor fight :D
Henry dated Ronda Rousey back in her Strikeforce days. I'm sure everyone has seen the video of her demonstrating Judo on him. Good interview. Thanks Matt.
Really? He seems so much older...kudos on him..
Rickson's refined basics come from Rickson, not anyone else. He didn't teach that many people in depth. He wanted to dominate, plus he never set out to be a business powerhouse like Gracie Barra or a tournament powerhouse like Alliance. As far as I can tell the only guy who got most of what he taught was Henry. Rickson just didn't make it that easy because I don't think he was itching to give it away and he prioritized what he was doing individually over passing it on. Henry just wanted it so bad that he got it. Thank you Henry.
Helio was obedient to Carlos. They weren’t different.
The real difference is between Rorion and Carlson. That is, the two men’s sons.
After assuming he was the heir apparent to the throne as the eldest son of the founder; also the first and best champion of the next generation, Carlson grew to realize the jiu jitsu crown had passed to Helio and would stay with his sons. All of this because his dad didn’t get on the mats much while Helio ran the jiu jitsu.
After that he carried a revenge motive that was less about Helio than it was about the situation - almost more about is father forfeiting Carlson’s place of preeminence on the mats.
The way to get revenge was to win in tournaments, thus the birth of the sport mentality. Anything that made Helio’s students tap to Carlson’s students was good; bye-bye to self-defense purity, hello to innovation and the competitive arts (cauliflower ear).
Carlson may have even thought he could win back the crown through tournament dominance. If so, Rickson’s towering greatness dashed that dream.
Carlson also rebelled against the aristocratic tendency of Carlos and Helio which they inherited from the Japanese. Jiu jitsu was for responsible civic leaders to increase order, not for lowly people looking for a meal, which would likely increase chaos. Carlson took the opposite approach.
I think Carlos Jr. did something similar on the business side. He carried his dad’s name and chose to use the advantage to become a legitimizer in the sport. Very clever.
Basically, by being flawed in many ways, Carlos Sr. gave his kids something to prove. Rolls needed to be the best to feel worthy because he had been given to his uncle by his father due to illegitimacy. Carlson needed to beat Helio to prove he should have stayed the heir to the throne.
Carlos Jr. wasn’t so much proving himself as taking an opportunity due to his name and clear leadership skills - he took full advantage.
Rickson was just very talented and Rolls showed him the way to think for himself and expand, though Rickson always agreed with his father’s philosophy.
But Rickson’s direct jiu jitsu heirs often miss the fact that Rickson substantially changed his fathers jiu jitsu along the lines of his fathers philosophy. That is, he made his jiu jitsu a much better version of Helio’s than Helio’s.
In other words, Rickson’s jiu jitsu is not old school jiu jitsu, it is Rickson’s transformation of old school jiu jitsu into what it had never quite been but thought it was.
Carlos’s side, hungry to win and prove worth, created new moves to add to their Helio basics. They never had the Rickson basics.
And you’ve never seen someone that goes deep with the Helio basics able to beat top tier sport guys. That is, people from Rorion or Relson or Valente or Sauer. They kept self-defense purity but they never made top-tier killers on the mats.
Royler made some, but it happened when Rickson was running Gracie Humaita and right after he left. The late 90s bumper crop (Ribeiro brothers, etc.) came from Royler at a time when he was arm and arm with Rickson. I believe Royler got more from Rickson than any of his other brothers by far.
Heirs of any of his brothers don’t have Rickson’s jiu jitsu. Maybe 10% here and there, but Rickson was competitive and didn’t freely give away his improvements to people he saw as potential competition.
I believe Akins benefitted from his deep loyalty and submission to Rickson, his Americanness (less of a perceived threat), Rickson’s need to train a teacher for Kron, and Rickson’s realization that if he hoarded his jiu jitsu forever it would be a tragic loss.
These are the observations of a 25 year appreciator of jiu-jitsu. I am a bit of a historian and writer and I’ve been thinking about this for 25 years. I have no doubt that more access to the people involved would improve this summary.
I finally get the difference between Helio and Carlos..
Both Gracie and Gracie Barra focus on self defence.. but Helio’s Lineage is Martial Arts Lore.
The Dirty 12 speak about Rickson’s greatness like a cowboy describes a horse whisper.
Their motivation is fuel by truth.
It’s all about the Zen.
✊
California is the birthplace of BJJ
Helio was obedient to Carlos. They weren’t different.
The real difference is between Rorion and Carlson. That is, the two men’s sons.
After assuming he was the heir apparent to the throne as the eldest son of the founder and the first and best champion of the next generation, Carlson grew to realize the jiu jitsu crown had passed to Helio and would stay with his sons. All because his dad didn’t get on the mats much while Helio ran the jiu jitsu.
After that he carried a revenge motive that was less about Helio than it was about the situation - almost more about is father forfeiting Carlson’s place of preeminence on the mats.
The way to get revenge was to win in tournaments, thus the birth of the sport mentality. Anything that made Helio’s students tap to Carlson’s students was good; bye-bye to self-defense purity, hello to innovation and the competitive arts (cauliflower ear).
Carlson may have even thought he could win back the crown through tournament dominance. If so, Rickson’s towering greatness dashed that dream.
Carlson also rebelled against the aristocratic tendency of Carlos snd Helio which they inherited from the Japanese. Jiu jitsu was for responsible civic leaders to increase order, not for lowly people looking for a meal to increase chaos. Carlson took the opposite approach.
I think Carlos Jr. did something similar on the business side. He carried his dad’s name and chose to use the advantage to become a legitimizer in the sport. Very clever.
Basically, by being flawed in many ways, Carlos Sr. gave his kids something to prove. Rolls needed to be the best to feel worthy because he had been given to his uncle by his father due to illegitimacy. Carlson needed to beat Helio to prove he should get be the heir to the throne.
Carlos Jr. wasn’t so much proving himself as taking an opportunity due to his name and clear leadership skills - he took full advantage.
Rickson was just very talented and Rolls showed him the way to think for himself and expand, though Rickson always agreed with his father’s philosophy.
But Rickson’s direct jiu jitsu heirs often miss the fact that Rickson substantially changed his fathers jiu jitsu along the lines of his fathers philosophy. That is, he made his jiu jitsu a much better version of Helio’s than Helio’s.
In other words, Rickson’s jiu jitsu is not old school jiu jitsu, it is Rickson’s transformation of old school jiu jitsu into what it had never quite been but thought it was.
Carlos’s side, hungry to win and prove worth, created new moves to add the their Helio basics. They never had the Rickson basics.
And you’ve never seen someone that goes deep with the Helio basics able to beat top tier sport guys. That is, people from Rorion or Relson or Valente or Sauer. They kept self-defense purity but they never made top-tier killers on the mats.
Royler made some, but it happened when Rickson was running Gracie Humaita and right after he left. The late 90s bumper crop (Ribeiro brothers, etc.) came from Royler at a time when he was arm and arm with Rickson. I believe Royler got more from Rickson than any of his other brothers by far.
Heirs of any of his brothers don’t have Rickson’s jiu jitsu. Maybe 10% here and there, but Rickson was competitive and didn’t freely give away his improvements to people he saw as potential competition.
I believe Akins benefitted from his deep loyalty and submission to Rickson, his Americanness (less of a perceived threat), Rickson’s need to train a teacher for Kron, and Rickson’s realization that if he hoarded his jiu jitsu forever it would be a tragic loss.
Basics with Depth
17:30
Great wisdom, but never underestimate Russian wrestling
All that wisdom and then he was dead wrong re. Khabib v McGregor.
If you don't know Hidden Jiujitsu ,you are doing jiujitsu as sport combat not Martial Art.
You can be great at jiu Jitsu, but that doesn’t make you a great instructor. Henry is great at both.
Matt looks half asleep.