Updated – September 2016
When it comes to celebrities, we all have a soft spot for them. Whether they are in our favourite movies, sing our favourite songs or score match winning goals, there is a sort of admiration to someone who is obviously successful. But what makes those people even better in our eyes? Jiu Jitsu. If that person trains, then we know that we share a sort of kinship with that person, even though we’ll probably never meet them, we know that they are a certifiable badass. Over the year’s we’ve seen celebrities take to the mats, and whether training for films or fitness, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of “stars who train”, or have dabbled on the mats. Enjoy!
Rebel Wilson
Over the last few years, Aussie funny-woman, Rebel Wilson, has been spotted entering the sacred hallows of a BJJ Gym. Can has recent weight loss be attributed to her Jiu-Jitsu? Only time will tell.
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie is a Spanish born British actress who has found fame through the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, where she plays the little girl with psychic powers, Eleven (11). Millie was awarded her 2nd stripe at Phoenix MMA by her instructor Trevor Chamberlin, who is a black belt under the famous Terere.
We loved Stranger Things so much that we have even release our own range of patches! Buy our “Strangle Things” patch today!
Margot Robbie
Ahead of her film “Suicide Squad” where she plays the role of Harley Quinn, Margot was training in gymnastics, trapeze and Jiu-Jitsu three times a week. “I was doing gymnastics every second day and going to the gun range every second day. I did jiu-jitsu three times a week, boxing four times a week and personal training.”
Russell Brand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEc1qeD7UQc
Russell Brand featured on one of the best JRE podcasts that have been made, as well as talking through a plethora of subjects including, meditation, politics and altruism, Russell touched upon his training in BJJ.
Joey “CoCo” Diaz
Comedian and long-time friend of Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo Joey “CoCo” Diaz was recently awarded his blue belt by Alberto Crane/ The American-Cuban Comedian has also trained with the likes of Rigan Machado and Eddie Bravo.
Ashiko Westguard
Welcome to Jiu Jitsu @ashiko_westguard ?? A photo posted by AJ Agazarm (@thefloridaboy) on
Canadian born actress and model Ashiko Westguard has joined the list and has been training with AJ Agazarm.
Having spent many years modeling internationally she now resides in Los Angeles. Ashiko has studied acting with renowned Canadian teacher David Rotenberg whom she considers a mentor.
AJ Agazarm told BJJEE.com about of how he started training Ashiko in the gentle art:
“Ashiko and I are working on a special project together showcasing modern day traveling and bjj. She’s fierce, funny, and now knows how to triangle choke anyone!”
Scott Eastwood
Clint Eastwood’s son Scott is also part of the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle. Scott is a blue belt and stars along side Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad (see the connection?).
“I do a lot of Jiu Jitsu. I think it promotes a healthy ego, and that’s why I like it. No matter what level you’re at, you’re always getting choked out, and you’re always choking someone else out. It’s humbling. That grounds you. It doesn’t give you a false sense of confidence. It gives you a real sense of confidence going, “I know I get my ass kicked, and I know I can kick someone’s ass.” I don’t have anything to prove, because I prove it on the mat.”
Jenna Marbles
Youtube personality Jenna Marbles, looks to have taken to her own personal mat space to try out some BJJ on her blue belt boyfriend. In the video, she tries out a variety of techniques. The great thing about this is that she is influencing an encouraging a new generation into our sport.
Freddie Prinze Jr
Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. (husband of Sarah Michelle Gellar) is among the growing list of celebrities who practice Jiu Jitsu.
Prinze is a blue belt under the Gracie Academy. Freddie is a regular contributor on the Joe Rogan Experience
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher is probably one of the most talked about actors who trains. A few years ago he appeared in a number of pictures with Rigan Machado. Rigan has developed a “celebrity” form of Jiu-Jitsu that allows them to train but keeps them away from live sparring in order not to injure them. However, Ashton, who is a known college wrestler is quite the killer on the mats. He was even rumoured to compete at a JJ World League event, but sadly pulled out.
Keanu Reeves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip2tNK0Zq1A Keanu is another celebrity who has been dabbling on the mats with the Machado brothers. The Machados are also regularly known for choreographing fight scenes in major movies, and one such movie is John Wick 2, which Keanu is currently filming. Keanu can regularly been seen on the Machado mats in a Do or Die Hyperfly gi.
Anthony Bordain
Probably the most talked about celebrity in BJJ right now. Tony Bordain is a blue belt under Igor Gracie and an IBJJF gold medalist after winning his division at the IBJJF New York Open. He can regularly be seen on the mats at Renzo’s academy training with his wife Ottavia, who is part of the Danaher Death Squad.
Paul Walker
The recently deceased Fast and Furious star was a brown belt under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller at Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Paul’s love for Jiu-Jitsu started like most people. He was given a tape of UFC 1 and watched Royce dominate his opponents. Paul was awarded his Black belt posthumously after his tragic car accident.
Spencer Pratt
Self-proclaimed BJJ Black belt is actually a brown belt (in fact when he claimed he was a black belt he was a purple belt at the time). Another student of Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller Spencer has known to be notoriously lazy, with Ricardo regularly goading him into training claiming he has “pussiaidtis”. In 2014 is emerged that he wanted to a Metamoris match with Ashton Kutcher, however nothing really came from it.
Tim Tebow
Remember Tebowing? Yeah me neither. Anyway the NFL quaterback has been seen training with Ralek, Rener and Ryron at the Torrence Gracie academy. Tim has been doing BJJ to mix up his athletic training, because quite frankly the gym is boring.
Ed O’neill
https://vimeo.com/65788765 If you look on any celebrity BJJ list you’ll find Ed O’neill a.k.a Al Bundy from married with children. Ed’s not just you’re typical celebrity BJJ black belt, Ed is Rorion Gracie’s only black belt outside of promoting his sons Rener and Ryron. A true claim to fame.
Guy Ritchie
Celebrity black belt Guy Ritchie is a real badass. Guy has been training Jiu-Jitsu for a very long time! He was actually a brown belt for 7 years before finally getting promoted by Renzo Gracie in 2015. Before moving to america, Guy actually trained in London under Roger Gracie, so you know his mount to cross-collar choke is going to be on point.
Clark Gregg
Marvel’s Agent Coulson is a black belt in BJJ under Renato Magno of Street Sports BJJ. Gregg was a brown belt for 2 years under Magno before he received the illustrious honour. “I really liked it right off,” Clark told Fox Sports in an interview. :I found a lot really useful about it. Being able to relax and breathe when you’re under great pressure, it comes in handy all around your life. It’s been a really long road. Sometimes I work late and Renato will come in and beat me up in private when that happens.”
Sean Patrick Flanery
SPF is probably the only celebrity on our list who is also an instructor. The Hollywood BJJ teacher is in fact a black belt under Shawn Williams. During filming for The Boondock Saints 2 Sean Patrick Flanery was only 15 mins away from Renzo’s academy, so on his lunch he was trek down for an hour’s roll.
Joe Rogan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTIb16BiGc4 Everyone’s favourite standup comedian and UFC commentator doesn’t just call fights, he’s pretty skilled in them too! Joe Rogan is a 10th Planet black belt under his best friend Eddie Bravo. Joe also hosts his own podcast that regularly has MMA and BJJ stars talking about techniques and the sport. Check it out!
Steve Irwin
Crickey! That’s right folks, everyone’s favourite Aussie crocodile hunter was actually a beast on the mats. What makes this even better is that Steve used to train with the mighty Greg Jackson! “I would have to say the highlight would be hanging out with Steve Irwin and his family for the years I got to spend with them,” said Greg. “And, right before he passed, getting to wrestle crocs on the Kennedy River.” Steve was a blue belt before he sadly passed away.
David Akers
NFL kicker David Akers is no stranger to pressure, especially when he went on to kick the winning field goal at Super Bowl XXXIX for the Eagles. However, during the off season, Akers is known to train in multiple martial arts, including Kempo and BJJ. Akers currently holds a blue belt in the sport.
Chuck Norris
If the world’s most dangerous man didn’t train well there would be something wrong in the world. Chuck is probably the only person on this list who rolled with late, great Helio Gracie. Infact Helio put Chuck to sleep and his whole world was turned upside down. Chuck trained all around the world before settling with the Machados to earn his black belt. In 2015 Chuck earned his 3rd Degree from David Dunn, under the guidance of Jean Jacques Machado.
Nicolas Cage
Nic Cage doesn’t just run around punch women in the face (ever see The Wickerman?), he also trains. Nicholas Cage is apparently a long-time student under Royce Gracie.
Michael Clarke Duncan
Before his tragic passing Michael Clarke Duncan was a purple belt under Rener and Ryron Gracie at their Torrance Academy. The Green Mile actor was known to the dedicated to the sport and regularly attended classes. A statement on the Gracie Academy website stated, “Michael started training jiu-jitsu at the Gracie Academy in 2005, and even though his acting schedule kept him busy, he always made time to get in his jiu-jitsu lessons when he was in between films.”
Mel Gibson
Before UFC 1 even hit our televisions we were treated to Mel Gibson choking out Gary Busey with a triangle choke at the end of Lethal Weapon. This was more than likely taught to Mel by Rorion Gracie, who was a technical advisor on the Film set.
Milla Jonovich
Though, it is not entirely confirmed, it is rumoured that Milla Jonovich has donned the Gi a few times to train. Apparently she trains in Beverly Hills, but it’s more than likely she has privates as hers.
Kevin James
In preparation for his film role in “Here comes the Boom”, Kevin James took to the mats to brush up on his MMA and BJJ Skills. For a while he trained with Romulo Barral. If you haven’t watched “Here comes the Boom” it’s worth a watch on a slow Saturday afternoon, and even features everyones favourite MMA star Ras Butten!
CM Punk
Has CM Punk competed in the UFC yet? No? Okay move along people…
Jim Carrey
Here’s a surprise entry to the list. The Pet Detective star is apparently a brown belt under Royce Gracie. This was revealed after MMA star Richie Franklin spilled the beans on Carrey’s rank after someone noticed a likeness between them. He has been spotted a few times training in Jorge Gurgel’s MMA gym.
Dave Batista
Want to roll with a monster? Then head to Cesar Gracie’s gym in Pleasant Hill, California. Here you’ll find purple belt and ex WWE star Dave Batista hunting for fresh meat. “He’s a natural athlete,” said Cesar Gracie back in 2010 when Dave just started. “He’s got a lot to learn but his strength alone is impressive. Obviously he’s a beginner at jiu-jitsu but we can take a guy like that that’s already a strong athlete like that and teach him what to not get caught in. You’re talking about a guy who is very powerful, very strong and an extremely hard worker, and if he can put it all together he could be a very formidable force. And he’s at the right camp for that… Our camp is known for bringing people with nothing and making them into something. We like to make champs.”
Jason Statham
Believe it or not Jason has been in the Jiu-Jitsu game for over 12 years! He actually started training with his good friend Guy Ritchie, and while Guy is not a black belt, Jason is still working towards his. In an interview with Combat Bear he actually mentions that Fedor is one of his favourite fighters of all time, but he doesn’t want to step into the car anytime soon. “There’s not too much contact with the face[In BJJ]”, says Statham, “so the face won’t get hurt and that’s very important in my profession. You know, one mistake during the sparring and it’s hard to be in front of the camera when you have bruises or any kind of damage, so you have to try and, you know, do something else.”
Vince Vaughan
Recently Vince earned the hardest belt he could in out sport, his white belt. He was recently pictured on Instagram doing an bow and arrow choke on Rener Gracie and filming a video with Rener, looking like everyone else post roll. Let’s hope the “Wedding Crashers” star keeps up his training!
Chris Conrad
Young Hercules actor Chris Conrad is also to have known to have dabbled in the gentle art. While his grade is unknown, he is known to train under Jean Jacques Machado.
Scott Caan
Scott Caan is another OG Celebrity BJJ practitioner. After 15 years of training the Hawaii 5-0 actor earned his BJJ black belt from Egon Inoue of Grappling Unlimited. What is incredible about this achievement, is not only his dedication to the art to achieve his black belt but the fact that, as an actor, Scott has dedication 15 years to the art. A celebrity who is a true ambassador to the sport.
Travis Barker
Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, regularly trains at Torrence Academy with Rener and Ryron. He even loves it so much, he regularly tweets about it. Travis often trains with his two children, Alabama and Landon
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes is another one of Rigan Machado’s celebrity training sessions. However, Snipes’ holds black belts in multiple disciplines of martial arts and was even close to fighting Joe Rogan in the Octagon, but sadly it never came to be. In fact, Rogan still believes he would choke out Snipes, who has been training martial arts since he was 12. Rogan’s probably right…
Dan Blizerian
John Danaher has the Danaher Death Squad, Rigan Machado has the Machado Celebrity Squad, and the man that nearly very man wants to be, Dan Blizerian, also joins the ranks of the MCS (That has a pretty good ring to it!).
Rhasaan Orange
Rhasaan Orange has been in the Jiu-Jitsu community for a very long time. Don’t know the name? Try googling his alter ego Renato Laranja. The self-proclaimed 27 time world champion, is actually a real-life black beltch under Eddie Bravo. If you haven’t watched the Renato Laranja show on youtube it’s definitely worth the watch. Porra!
Tori Spelling
Known for her roll as Donna Martian in the 90’s version of Beverly Hills 90210, Tori Spelling has also donned the Gi under Jean Jacques Machado. It looks like Tori has followed the steps of her children Liam and Stella, who have been training with under the Machados for a few years.
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel, has jumped about from mat to mat in Hollywood, currently he is training with the Machados under Rigan, but he is known to have trained with Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham under Marcus Vinicius. “I have a very good relationship with Vin Diesel. He loves Brazilian culture,” says Marcus. “He came in very humble at the gym, I taught at his house, but due to the success he couldn’t train much, but he always treats me very well when he meets me… Sometimes their progression through the ranks is slow because of their commitments, and the turbulent life that celebrities lead. Some try to stay a little longer, others learn, try, but do not continue. He was very fond of Jiu-Jitsu, but after the movies it became impossible as he had to travel the whole world.”
Naomi Watts
It’s widely known that Naomi Watts does Judo, in fact she actually completed at the World Amateur Championships between 1989 to 1992, but did you know that Naomi’s been brushing up on her Newaza? That’s right the Divergent actress apparently trains!
Steve O & Chris Pontius
These two “Jackasses” travelled the brazil during their Wildboyz spinoff show and during their time there they tried their hand at a bit of BJJ! During their visit they travelled to Royler Gracie’s gym and get submitted multiple times by a young Leticia Ribiero.
Dwanye Johnson
It is unknown whether Dwayne actually trains BJJ, but one thing is for sure, he is a massive fan of the UFC. In an interview with UFC Magazine, he remembers sitting in the front row for Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie at UFC 60 and the time he shook Helio Gracie’s hand, “I was always a fan of the UFC, dating back to UFC 1 in ’93. But what actually drew me to MMA was when I attended UFC 60, when Matt Hughes faced Royce Gracie in a non-title catchweight fight. I was interested in MMA at that time, so I went to the Staples Center early and sat in the front row to watch every fight that night— including all the prelims. I wanted to absorb as much I could and become somewhat of a student for the night. When the main event was about to start, they sat the Gracie family next to me. Specifically Helio Gracie—his energy and presence was powerful. I’ll never forget shaking his hand. Royce lost, but even in defeat, the grace, pride and poise he and the Gracie family showed that night was inspiring. I went home that night with such a greater respect for the sport and all its fighters.”
Charlie Hunnam
Charlie Hunnam is another one of Rigan Machado’s Celebrity Jiu-Jitsu crew. Charlie has a love of MMA through his work in Sons of Anarchy after Theo Rossi took him to a few events.
Theo Rossi
Charlie Hunnam’s co-star Theo Rossi is also a bit of a jiu-jitsu fiend, however it looks like he was the instigator of it all. The long-time MMA fan has been known to take his co-workers to a couple of UFC events and even trains himself “I do, I love it. I currently train with Royce Gracie”, said Theo in an interview with MMA Mainia. “Which there’s no better teacher than that. He’s become one of my dear friends.”
Kelly Slater
World Champion Surfer Kelly Slater is a bonified Blue Belt, who trains regularly at AOJ and Studio 540. However, there was a bit of a miss understanding between himself and good friend Joel Tudor, an instructor at 540. “Crock of shit – the guy has been wearing a blue belt for years in pics and always made excuses when I would call him on it,” said Joel in an Instagram post. “If he wants his belt , tell him to go sign up and put in the work like everybody else who starts at white and goes through hell to graduate to blue – anybody on here talking shit to me more than likely doesn’t train and has zero clue about Jiu Jitsu.” However, Robert Zepps, owner of Studio 540, set the record straight, “You need to talk to Joel. The whole Kelly Slater thing is getting blown out of proportion. Bjpenn had an article where Joel apparently “slams” Slater for wearing blue belt. In reality they are best friends and he was just busting his balls. But from articles you would think it was a real beef.”
Steve Aoki
House music producer Steve Aoki, not to be confused with Shinya, was spotted at Saulo and Xande Ribeiro’s University of Jiu-Jitsu where he started training. He posted this picture on his twitter.
Tom Hardy
The Mad Max star took to the mats with the Royal Marines not too long ago. However Tom Hardy is no stranger to the mats, he starred in one of the best MMA movies to date, Warrior, where (Spoiler Alert!) his character had his shoulder broken by an omopalata in the final match against his own brother.
Scarlett Johansson
Remember those flying submission attacks in Iron Man and The Avengers? That’s right ScarJoh trained a lot of MMA and BJJ in preparation for her role as Black Widow in the Marvel films. She’s be quite fetching in a gi don’t you think?
Eve Torres
Eve Torres-Gracie isn’t just a blue belt under Rener Gracie at Torrence Academy, she is also his wife! the 3 x WWE Divas champion actually works with Rener on their Gracie Woman Empowered Self-Defence Program (quite the mouthful).
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Don’t recognise the name? Remember Zach Morris from Saved By The Bell? Yeah me neither. Anyway, it looks like Mark-Paul Gosselaar is a fiend on the mats. Mark-Paul is actually part of the Onnit Pro Team and has competed in the Crossfit games and now dedicates his life to his healthy lifestyle.
The Undertaker
Now this is a bit of a controversial subject in the Jiu_Jitsu world. When Rolles Gracie awarded Mark Callaway with his Black Belt in BJJ, there was quite the uproar in the community. When asked by reporter Ariel Helwani prior to today’s UFC Live event ‘The Undertaker’ commented: “I make no secret that I like mixed martial arts. Over time I’ve got to know a few of the UFC guy’s. Okay I don’t like Brock Lesnar but me and Rashad get on okay, you know”. He added: “The tipping point for me was when I saw Rashad awarded his black belt”. ‘The Undertaker’ is believed to have begun training the art since January 2010 under closed doors. The controversial decision at the time by Rolles Gracie to award Rashad the black belt caused considerable debate. Accusations came towards Rolles of a ‘watering down’, commercialisation and popularisation of the sport. Purists argued the MMA star, with a wrestling base, did not deserve the coveted accolade. Many within the BJJ community including renowned practitioner Joe Rogan derided Rolles. The criticism focused on the fact that the MMA star had never trained in the gi or even attempted a submission within the octagon.
Tom Cruise
Now Tom Cruise gets an honorary mention in this post, purely for his ability to triangle himself, as shown in his film oblivion.
Jude Law & Robert Downey Jr
Now, Jude Law and RDJ may not regularly train (though Robert Down Jr is a black belt in Wing Chun) they showed off some sweet moves in their Sherlock Holmes movies. And guess who directed these movies? That’s right everyone’s favourite black belt Guy Ritchie!
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. a.k.a Synyster Gates, the guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold, actually trains when he’s at home. Apparently he trains at Cleber Luciano in Huntington Beach, Ca and doesn’t wear his makeup when he rolls. Imagine getting that out of your favourite white gi!
Robert Duvall
As if we needed any further proof of the penetration of BJJ in the World lifestyles, apparently Hollywood legend Robert Duvall and his wife Luciana are taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons with Master Pedro Sauer. Academy Award winner, Duvall has been a regular at the academy and according to Pedro: “Is a super nice guy and tough as nails!” Duvall has also been seen training with Rigan Machado.
Jonathan Lipnicki
From the nerdy child-star of Jerry Maguire and Stuart little to a killer purple belt, Jonathan Lipnicki has come a long way. While acting is still his main passion Lipnicki, doesn’t shy away from competition, regularly competing in local tornaments and the occasional IBJJF competition. When it comes to MMA, it looks like Jonathan hasn’t made up his mind yet, “It’s something that crosses my mind a lot and one of those things I think about doing, but I just don’t know. I’ve been pretty busy filming and I would need to put off a certain amount of time to really train for a fight and be in amazing cardio shape and really work on my striking more. I’m not saying no and I’m not saying yes,” said Lipnicki.
Henry Caville
So it looks like even Superman needs to don a gi now and again to keep his skills sharp Henry Caville, was recently pictured in a crisp white gi, next to the legendary Roger Gracie. If Superman beats lex luther with a cross-collar choke from mount we’ll know where he learned that from!
Maynard James Keenan
Tool! #maynard #armhunter #armhunterapparel #camarillo #jiujitsu #bjj #cjj A photo posted by “Armhunter Apparel” (@armhunter) on
Without a sign of Tool’s next album, it looks like MJK has been keeping himself busy with Jiu-Jitsu. Maynard was award his purple belt in 2015 and also teaches wrestling. He started training at Rickson’s at the same time as Henry Akins and was awarded his Blue Belt 19 years ago. MJK then became famous shortly after. Touring obligations, injuries and family have apparently kept his training from ever being regular but lately he’s been making it a huge priority and it’s paying off.
Billy Graziadei
“I started out with the Gracies in ’95, and I moved out to L.A. in ‘08 and have been training at the Torrance academy,” said Graziadei. “I became friends with Ralek, and when he finished his record, he asked if I wanted to be in a video and I was down (for it).” Graziadei originally was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu through the band’s drummer, Danny Schuler, who had read about the Gracies in a magazine article. Having heard the Gracies were to be associated with a no-holds-barred competition in Colorado, Graziadei immediately jumped on it.
Herman Li
Music and BJJ are two things in life that are like two peas in a pod, however, BJJ and guitars? Can someone say fingers? These are two things that shouldn’t mix but regularly do! In comes Herman Li, flying fingers guitarist for Dragon Force, you know that “Through Fire and Flames” song that was rock hard on Guitar Hero. “In the past, I had mats that I could carry with me on the tour bus,” said Herman. “I did a tour where I was training with Zoltan Bathory from Five Finger Death Punch. He’s a purple now. He was a judo black belt before that. When I was training with him, he didn’t do any BJJ yet he was only a judo guy. But I guess after doing that tour, he got into it. I still have mats around on tour, but unfortunately I currently don’t have many people on tour to train with.”
Matt Heafy
Trivium Guitarist and sparring partner for Herman Li is currently a blu belt in BJJ and currently trains regularly out of Gracie Barra Orlando. He actually got into BJJ when he went to watch UFC around a friends house and they explained the finer details of the tactical positioning. However, when it comes to hands, fingers and BJJ, Matt is living proof that is can’t always work. “So being a singer-guitar player in a semi-internationally known band, BJJ is one of the worst hobbies I could have. My tour manager and I were grappling on the Volbeat tour in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in a parking lot. I put my hand up, but he drove into me and tackled me to the ground and my finger touched the back of my hand. I kept grappling that day anyway. Six months in and I’m finally at 90 percent mobility. I had to get shots in my tendons.” Matt is also sponsored by PeelGI and regularly wears their gear while performing.
Rikki Rockett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8YbP65nTQw Rikki Rockett is probably our highest-ranking BJJ Celebrity as a 2nd degree black belt. The poison drummer trains under Renato Magno at Street Sports Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Rikki has competed in multiple tournaments, including the Pan Americans in 2010 where he lost by an advantage to Joao Crus. When he met Rigan and Jean Jacques Machado at a rally in 1998, the Brazilian brothers invited him to their school. “I had roots in wrestling and some ground fighting skills and thought I’d do just fine,” Rockett writes on his official website. “I got tapped out by their students more times than I can remember! I signed up the next day and have been an avid student ever since.”
Ice T
“You can do it, put your back into it”, is what they would say to Ice T when trying to perform an Upa. An avid Boxing and MMA fan, it’s also know that Ice T takes part in a bit of rolling in his spare time.
Usher
While we don’t think that Usher is a regular trainer, we do believe that his roots started with Rigan Machado at his celebrity Jiu-Jitsu training sessions. However, it does look like Usher does also take time to train outside of the Machados Gym, including Anderson Silva’s Mauy Thai College gym.
Tommy Lee
Although we don’t seem to know where or how often Tommy Lee trains, we have it on good authority (going by the picture!) that he does, or used too, in fact roll.
LL Cool J
As part of his MMA fitness training, it looks like LL Cool J has also been on the mats rolling. Born James Todd Smith, the hip-hop artist and Hollywood actor, who resides in the 12000 block of Blairwood Drive in Los Angeles, California, managed to detain a recent house intruder after leaving him with a broken nose and jaw, which required hospitalisation.
Prince Jackson
When it came out that Prince Jackson trained BJJ the whole community were quite surprised and pleasantly surprised. Prince, regularly trains and Torrence Academy and recently received his blue belt from Ryron. When approached by TMZ about his training and about if he would ever achieve his black belt, Prince merely replied “A black belt only covers 2-inches of my ass.” Well played Prince, Well Played.
Adrianna Palicki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRGn84gft5A
While preparing for her roll in John Wick with Keanu, Adrianna picked up a few nifty moves along the way. Remember that sweet bow and arrow attempt with her own jacket? Yeah that had me and all the other BJJ geeks jumping out of their chairs.
Triple H
So while the lines of WWE and MMA get blurred, now we have more stars crossing over into BJJ. It looks like Triple H has also joined the Jiu-Jitsu Family and is training with Rener and Ryron.
Teri Reeves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE_mGNyQJ0c
Chicago Fire actress Teri Reeves is a massive follower of the sport. She trains around 4 times a week at Gracie Barra Encino. In an interview on the Gracie Barra website, she talks about how she first got into the sport, “I actually got involved in BJJ because I’m an actress. I’ve played mostly girl-next door type characters and wanted to play more of the strong, leading lady, kick-butt type of woman so I needed martial arts on my resume. The closest martial arts studio to my house was a Gracie Barra. They had a free intro class so I said, “Why not? I’ll try it, probably train for a month, put it on my resume, and then quit.” Three years later, I can’t stop. I love it.”
Marlan Wayans
My funniest student ? A photo posted by Chris Light (@1chrislight) on
Marlan Waynes are recently snapped by Gracie Academy’s black belt instructor Chris Light. I hope his techniques are as good as his jokes!
Demi Lovato
https://youtu.be/xuDpdFiuuBo
So it looks like Demi Lovato has been bitten by the BJJ and MMA bug. Looks like she is currently training with World NoGi champion Orlando Sanchez.