Hip-hop icon and actor LL Cool J has joined the growing list of celebrities discovering just how humbling Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be.
During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, LL Cool J revealed that he has recently begun training Jiu-Jitsu in Brooklyn — and he’s learning under an instructor with one of the most respected lineages in the sport.
His teacher is Brian Glick, a longtime Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under John Danaher and Renzo Gracie. Glick has spent decades within the Renzo Gracie lineage and is described as one of Danaher’s longest-running students.
When Rogan asked about his current training, LL Cool J explained:
“I recently started doing Jiu-Jitsu, which has been a lot of fun.”
Asked where he trains, the rapper answered:
“Brian Glick. He’s in Brooklyn. And he trained under Danaher.”
Rogan immediately recognized the pedigree, calling it a “great lineage” and referencing Renzo Gracie and John Danaher.
LL Cool J explained that he was introduced to Glick through his friend Scott Caan and has since been working with the Brooklyn instructor.
But like virtually every new Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, it didn’t take long for the martial art to challenge his perception of his own toughness.
“It’s very humbling.”
He then joked about one of the great realizations almost every beginner experiences:
“You think you’re a tough guy, but you’re really a little old lady. You find out really quickly.”
LL Cool J: Jiu-Jitsu Makes You Feel Helpless
LL Cool J isn’t completely new to martial arts.
He explained that when he was younger, he experimented with several martial arts, mentioning karate and Wing Chun among the styles he had practiced.
But grappling has given him a very different experience.
One of the biggest shocks, he explained, is discovering just how helpless an untrained person can feel when controlled by someone who understands Jiu-Jitsu.
Rogan agreed, explaining that you don’t necessarily realize how vulnerable you are until someone puts you in a position such as closed guard and simply tells you to escape.
LL Cool J described that realization as part of what makes the experience so interesting.
The exchange also led to a broader discussion about one of Jiu-Jitsu’s defining characteristics: the art doesn’t care who you are outside the gym.
Rogan argued that this can be particularly valuable for celebrities because status, fame, personality and charisma have virtually no influence once someone is physically controlling you.
As Rogan put it, there’s no way to “charisma your way out” of an Americana or Kimura.
For LL Cool J, however, the challenge appears to be exactly what makes the experience appealing.
He connected learning Jiu-Jitsu with his broader philosophy of continuing to learn and trying to maximize one’s potential.
And despite being at the very beginning of his grappling journey, he has already discovered something that generations of BJJ practitioners know well:
The mats have a remarkably effective way of showing you exactly how much you still have to learn.
Brian Glick’s credentials make LL Cool J’s choice of instructor particularly interesting. Glick is a veteran of the legendary Renzo Gracie Academy environment in New York and has trained with numerous elite grapplers and MMA fighters over the years. JiuJitsu Magazine
And Glick’s own instructor, John Danaher, is a Renzo Gracie black belt whose students have included some of the biggest names in modern grappling and MMA, including Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon and Georges St-Pierre. BJJ Heroes
For LL Cool J, though, none of those accolades change the immediate reality of being a beginner.
You walk onto the mat.
Someone puts you in a position you don’t understand.
You try everything you can think of.
And suddenly being famous doesn’t help very much.
Welcome to Jiu-Jitsu.