“We Suspected That He Had It for a While” – Diagnosed With Parkinson’s at 63, Rickson Gracie’s Battle Comes to Light in Bjj Legend’s Close Aide’s Disclosure

Rickson Gracie is perhaps fighting the most difficult battle of his life. And it’s not even on a mat. The legendary Jiu-Jitsu master has very recently opened up about his uphill battle with one of the most deadly diseases in the world. His opponent is called, Parkinson’s.

A degenerative disorder that damages the nervous system, Parkinson’s makes lives difficult. However, as expected, Gracie is taking the fight head-on like a true fighter. Recently, he gave an interview to Kevin Maurer. And the findings were rather insightful.

Rickson Gracie will fight until the very end

Parkinson’s is not a disease that can be cured with an injection or surgery. It sticks with you your entire life, and all you can do is fight off the symptoms to your best. It has no other way to be treated, like all other degenerative diseases. However, the Gracie name means fighting.

When interviewer Maurer met Gracie two years ago, his diagnosis was fresh and his symptoms subtle. Now, things have changed. In July 2023, Gracie’s symptoms were visible. His knees bounce out of control, his hands are shaky, and a tremor is visible in his aging body.

“I’m not scared of death,” Gracie said. “Everybody is going to die. But quitting is not an acceptable option.”

At the age of 63, Gracie is still trying to fight off the disease. And why shouldn’t he? A 9th-grade BJJ red belt, Gracie has known nothing but fighting. He told the interviewer that it was never the possibility of death that frightened him in the first place.

What does Gracie’s biographer have to say?

The fighter was born in Rio de Janeiro. He had earned himself a black belt by the age of eighteen, and it was looking like he’d be an unstoppable force of nature by all means. And it was true as well. Many would agree that it was Gracie who made martial arts a thing of beauty for America. Now, his biography, Breathe, is out and selling. And the biographer couldn’t believe the diagnosis either.

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“We suspected that he had it for a while,” said Peter Maguire, who co-wrote the biography with Gracie. “It was sad irony. I don’t know anyone who had better control over their body at the height of their powers than Rickson.”

It was clearly a shock and a sad revelation to many. But the fighter in Gracie still fights on as Maguire works on a second volume of the book. How far will Rickson Gracie go to fight and win his battle against the disease? Perhaps a fighter’s spirit will take him eons ahead.

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