JRE MMA Show #73 with Jean Jacques Machado
Joe Rogan (host), Jean Jacques Machado (guest)
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Jean Jacques Machado, JRE MMA Show #73 with Jean Jacques Machado explores jean Jacques Machado Explains Jiu-Jitsu’s Roots, Reality, and Longevity Secrets Joe Rogan and Jean Jacques Machado dive into the history and evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, from the early Gracie era in Rio to the global explosion after the first UFC. Machado details the family dynamics, the Gracie vs. Machado naming split, and how jiu-jitsu established itself through real fights, rivalries with Luta Livre, and events like Abu Dhabi. They explore how training philosophy, movement, breathing, and connection to nature shaped legends like Rickson Gracie and guided Machado’s own transition to no-gi and long competitive success. A major focus is on jiu-jitsu as a lifestyle and mindset—using the art to build resilience, humility, health, and longevity on and off the mat.
Jean Jacques Machado Explains Jiu-Jitsu’s Roots, Reality, and Longevity Secrets
Joe Rogan and Jean Jacques Machado dive into the history and evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, from the early Gracie era in Rio to the global explosion after the first UFC. Machado details the family dynamics, the Gracie vs. Machado naming split, and how jiu-jitsu established itself through real fights, rivalries with Luta Livre, and events like Abu Dhabi. They explore how training philosophy, movement, breathing, and connection to nature shaped legends like Rickson Gracie and guided Machado’s own transition to no-gi and long competitive success. A major focus is on jiu-jitsu as a lifestyle and mindset—using the art to build resilience, humility, health, and longevity on and off the mat.
Key Takeaways
Train for self-defense first, sport second.
Machado’s generation in the 1980s trained primarily to protect themselves, with very few tournaments each year. ...
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Develop elite defense before chasing endless submissions.
He describes Rickson Gracie’s real superpower as almost impenetrable defense—letting people mount him or take his back and still escaping, then finishing them. ...
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Use movement and angles to neutralize size and strikes.
Concepts like constant flow, changing angles from guard, and closing distance are central to surviving ground-and-pound and bigger opponents. ...
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Introduce leg locks later to protect development and health.
In his system, students don’t learn leg locks until blue belt so they can build a solid guard and understanding of base first. ...
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Train for longevity: control, not chaos.
Machado attributes his relatively injury-free career to always staying in control, avoiding forcing techniques from dangerous positions, and being willing to abandon a submission attempt rather than risk his neck, knees, or back. ...
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Supplement mat time with targeted strength, conditioning, and recovery.
He lifts weights twice a week (split upper/lower), runs trails 3–4 times weekly, uses an Iron Neck for neck strength, and relies on sauna and Epsom salt baths for recovery. ...
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Use jiu-jitsu to shape character, not just fighting ability.
Stories about turning street opponents into students, “healthy bullying” of white belts, and intentionally letting struggling students do well to build confidence show how he uses jiu-jitsu to teach humility, persistence, and better life decision-making—not just submissions.
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Notable Quotes
“Jiu-jitsu is a healthy way for you to be bullied by someone.”
— Jean Jacques Machado
“When you’re tired, your opponent is dead.”
— Jean Jacques Machado (quoting an old samurai saying he lives by)
“When we say jiu-jitsu is a gentle art, we mean that. Jiu-jitsu gives you the choice to hurt someone or not.”
— Jean Jacques Machado
“Anybody that I want to train, I would never, and I refuse, I never give a belt to anybody unless they deserve the belt.”
— Jean Jacques Machado
“The family is the most important family in the history of martial arts by a long shot. It changed the world.”
— Joe Rogan, about the Gracies
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can modern sport-focused jiu-jitsu schools reintegrate self-defense and strike awareness without losing competitive edge?
Joe Rogan and Jean Jacques Machado dive into the history and evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, from the early Gracie era in Rio to the global explosion after the first UFC. ...
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What specific defensive drills or progressions did Rickson use that practitioners today could adopt to build his kind of “you can’t get me” defense?
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Where should instructors draw the line on introducing leg locks so they get the benefits of the modern game without exposing beginners to unnecessary injury risk?
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How can an everyday practitioner structure their week—jiu-jitsu, strength, cardio, and recovery—to maximize longevity like Machado describes?
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In what ways can coaches consciously use psychological strategies, like the ‘rooster’ story, to build students’ confidence and resilience both on and off the mat?
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Transcript Preview
(claps) Boom. And we're live. Jean Jacques!
Joe Hogan.
(laughs)
Yes.
Pull, pull this up. Pull this up, like a... Right?
It's, it's, uh, been quite some time, but, uh, we made it.
Yeah, we made it. We made it happen.
Yeah.
People still, to this day, all my friends call me Joe Hogan, because of you.
Uh, I don't know, man. (laughs)
Joe Hogan! That's a funny Brazilian thing, you know? The Portuguese translation of Rs to Hs.
I think, I think when we speak English, you have to use your tongue in a way that, in Portuguese, we are just flat out. And-
But you use Rio. You don't say Hill, right? Do you say Hill?
No.
Or Rio?
Rio. Rio.
How's that work?
Some how, the... It's, it's... In Portuguese, the first two letters are the strongest one in the word.
But, but Rickson and Royce and...
Say Hick-son.
Right. But it's, but it's not Rickson, but it's Rio.
Yes.
How's that work?
It's... I don't know. When it comes to a name, it's different than when you say a city name.
Oh, really?
Yes.
Oh.
It's funny. Rio, it's more something for... And when you say personal, it becomes a little, I don't know. Hick-son.
So with people-
Royce.
... it's an H. But it can be an R, like a "rrr" sound, with objects and things?
Yes.
Or just places?
I'm think more places. And, and it's funny because in each region in Brazil is a different accent.
Really?
Yeah.
Oh, that makes sense. Kinda like America.
Yes. Each place is like, "What country is that?" 'Cause it, the sound's very different.
Oh.
Go-
But b- it's a beautiful language. Portuguese has like, especially Brazilian Portuguese has like a sing-songy, like a flow to it.
It's the Bossa Nova, Carnival. Then-
Yeah. (laughs)
(laughs)
But it's that, the way you guys talk, it's cool. It sounds good, you know?
It, it's more or not almost like singing.
Yeah. How many Americans have like put on a fake Brazilian accent once they started really getting into jiu jitsu? Must be-
Oh, man. I think, I think in a way when jiu jitsu establish their flag outside Brazil, it make funny... It's funny in a way that people... Our goal is to make that area become more Brazilian than any other place. It's not that we're trying to speak more English, but we'll make the English become more Portuguese.
Mm.
And almost every student that I have, uh, maybe probably because of my accent, they start listening and speaking very similar, the way we do.
Yeah.
In every jiu jitsu school.
Yeah. Well, that's, uh, you, we s- used to see that in tae kwon do too. Guys would have like fake Korean accents.
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