Gordon Ryan is considered the current “king of jiu-jitsu” after winning numerous accolades in the sport. In a recent interview with famous illusionist Chris Angel on his podcast, Ryan discussed his approach to real life incidents outside of organized jiu-jitsu matches.
According to Ryan, street fights against untrained opponents feel “literally like playing with a child, no matter what size they are.” He states that “Every fight I’ve been in, it’s like, the simplest. I mean, training with a person who has never done any martial arts or grappled in their life is literally like playing with a child, no matter what size they are.”
Ryan explains that his strategy is to quickly take down and control an untrained opponent. He says “The whole dilemma is always either exposing the center line or exposing the back. And so most people when you’re fighting or already standing square. So the center lines expose. So they just shoot double legs on them. And after standing bladed, then you just arm drag take their back and taking down.”
By quickly taking down and gaining dominant positions over untrained individuals, Ryan is able to end confrontations quickly, often in 20 seconds or less. He notes that without grappling training, most people have no idea how to defend against basic takedown and submission techniques.
This is mirrored by something he recently shared. On his social media, Ryan shared a poll casting doubt over whether WBC heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Tyson Fury, would be able to defeat him.
Other topics discussed in the interview include Ryan’s approach to online critics, his motivation and discipline in training, learning from losses, and his thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg after meeting him. The conversation promotes Ryan’s accomplished career in jiu-jitsu and his reputation as one of the current greats of the sport.
