The relationship between MMA and jiu jitsu: In my teachings I try never to lose sight of the relationship between jiu jitsu and MMA. This is something I inherited from my teacher, Renzo Gracie. My first four teachers and training partners from white to brown belt were Renzo, Ricardo Almeida, Matt Serra and Rodrigo Gracie. All four were both grappling and MMA stand outs. All of our grappling was done in the context of fighting. Indeed, if jiu jitsu had not figured so heavily in early MMA, I never would have taken notice of the art and joined up. Effectiveness in fighting will always be the most basic appeal of any art that seems to call itself martial. As modern jiu jitsu has matured, the relationship with MMA is slightly more distant. This is a natural consequence of the two sports evolving and pushing in their own directions and the need for specialization to stay ahead of the competition within a specified rule set; but those early years still bear heavily in my thinking and in all honesty, no part of my coaching gets me as excited as helping an athlete prepare for a professional fight. Here, Georges St-Pierre and Kenny Florian go through their grappling drills in our Monday afternoon class.
