It is no secret that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is becoming more popular than ever. More tournaments are being hosted each year and more people are competing in each tournament. Most of the popularity of BJJ is due to the rise of MMA and the UFC. As BJJ grows in popularity, the ranks of celebrities participating is also growing. Is it the popularity of jiu jitsu that is driving celebrities to train or is it the celebrities training in BJJ that is driving the popularity of the sport. I think this phenomenon is celebrities jumping on the bandwagon with the added benefit of further increasing the popularity of the sport.
Here is a list of celebrities that currently or have ever trained in brazilian jiu jitsu:
Chuck Norris has a black belt in BJJ from the Machado school (some sources say he only has a brown belt)
Nicolas Cage trains under Royce Gracie
Joe Rogan is a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu
Milla Jovovich
Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie train together
Jim Carrey
Mel Gibson
Mickey Rourke
Tommy Lee
Michael Clarke Duncan trains in Gracie Jiu Jitsu and has a purple belt
Joe Rogan has trained under Jean Jacques Machado as well as Eddie Bravo, he has a brown belt
Steve Irwin trained before he died
Nicolas Cage (Actor): Trains under Royce Gracie.
Rikki Rockett
Ben Granfelt
Zack Roth
Sean Patrick Flanery
Olivier Gruner
Kevin James
Ulises Bella
Harley Flanagan
Rakaa Iriscience
Tommy Lee
Herman Li
Ed O'Neill
Paul Walker
Mario Van Peebles
Maynard James Keenan
Alex Varkatzas
Bruce Williams
John Milius
David Mamet
Josh Waitzkin
David Callaham
Rakaa Iriscience
Richard Norton
Ulises Bella
Zack Roth
Chris Conrad
Steven Daniells-Silva
Michael Dudikoff
Brittney Skye
Dan Inosanto
Ray Mancini
David Jason Silve
Milena Roucka
Suga Pop
Phil Lipscomb
Do you know any other celebrities or famous people to add to the list?
I'm fairly certain Norris is a black belt and has been for a while. He was training with the Machados back in the early 90s, to the extent that Carlos Machado actually traveled with him to filmshoots. They would mat out Norris' hotel room and roll.
ReplyDeleteThanks for catching my mistake. Some sources say brown, others say black.
ReplyDeletejoe rogan is black belt now
ReplyDeleteGuy Richie - film director (couldn't see his name on list)
ReplyDelete