Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Master Royce Gracie visits Joslin’s Martial Arts

#throwbackthursday – BJJ Legend Royce Gracie visits Joslin’s! What an epic moment for myself and our team.

By winning 3 of the first 4 UFCs using solely Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques, Royce Gracie tossed the world of martial arts on it’s head. How could someone win a fight without throwing punches?!

It was shocking!

At that moment martial artists of every other style had a choice: Ignore Royce’s success and hope that these grapplers get KO’ed soon so that the hype train stops OR accept that things change and start learning some grappling techniques.

At first I didn’t want to learn how to do jiu-jitsu. I was a striker dammit! I had dedicated years to the striking arts and rolling around on the ground just didn’t interest me much. Plus I didn’t have access to a BJJ coach as there weren’t any in Canada at the time.

Things changed soon after UFC #2 when I stumbled upon a set of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructional tapes. These tapes changed my life forever. The VHS machine become my Sensei. An obsession was born and 12 years later I had earned my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt under my professor Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti.

Royce was my idol. I set a goal to start fighting pro at age 27 because he was that age when he won the UFC. Without Royce and his family I never would have learned to become a complete fighter or fought on the world stage in the event that they created (the UFC). Worst of all, I would have never experienced the amazingly wonderful martial art that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is. I truly can’t imagine my life without it.

Huge thanks to Royce Gracie and the Gracie Family for everything they’ve done for the world of martial arts!

Jeff Joslin

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