In a candid social media post, renowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach John Danaher revealed he faces multiple surgeries that could significantly impact his coaching career. The announcement comes amid recent controversy surrounding his appearance on Jake Shields‘ podcast.
Danaher disclosed that he requires four major surgeries, beginning with a bilateral inguinal hernia repair, followed by hip and knee replacements, and finally, lens implants to address his deteriorating vision. The coach, known for mentoring champions like Gordon Ryan and Georges St-Pierre, explained that his physical challenges stem from a pre-existing leg condition that has led to compensatory issues throughout his body.
“You have to work with what you’ve got,” Danaher wrote, describing how his compromised mobility has affected his coaching journey. Eight years ago, he underwent his first hip replacement, which allowed him to continue coaching at a professional level. However, his other hip began deteriorating four years ago, a situation complicated by the need to rebuild his team from scratch after a squad dissolution.
Medical professionals have warned Danaher that the upcoming procedures, particularly the knee replacement, could mark “the end of any kind of Jiu-jitsu type movement at high level.” This prognosis has led him to consider shifting his focus from elite athlete coaching to recreational instruction.
“Despite the uncertainty, there is something of which I am very sure. If I do have to step away from coaching professional athletes, my students are without exception, truly outstanding teachers so I am extremely confident that they can represent what we espoused far better than I ever did and contribute greatly to the sports continued growth,” he stated.
This revelation comes at a time when Danaher faces scrutiny within the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community. BJJ black belt Stephan Kesting recently criticized Danaher’s decision to appear on Jake Shields’ podcast, citing concerns about platforming controversial figures in the sport.
The timing of Danaher’s announcement has sparked discussions about the future direction of high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction and the broader implications for the sport’s development. As he begins his medical journey, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community watches closely to see how one of its most influential figures will adapt to these new challenges.
Danaher teased a potential break previously in 2017. In a facebook post, he detailed his medical history saying:
New challenges: Those of you who know me better know that my body has some rather severe problems that began long before jiu jitsu.
When I was in in my early teens I had a series of severe Knee tears that were diagnosed as MCL tears, but which more advanced doctors here in the US have told me we’re almost certainly ACL tears (no MRI’s in those days). This culminated in a final tear at age 17 that left me with a very unstable knee.
An operation to go in and tighten the MCL was proposed – it was a disaster – leaving me with a shortened leg that would not straighten along with severe misalignment.
From that day forth I walked with a limp and all left knee movement was painful and dysfunctional. As time wore on, the knee developed chronic arthritis and arthrofibrosis. Because of the misalignment of my body I soon developed severe back pain and eventually severe hip arthritis on the same side.
In my mid-forties, the hip became so bad I had to get a hip replacement at age 48. This went well and I entered jiu jitsu again with a new focus – I would now focus entirely on my students, since my own days of hard sparring were over.
Then three months ago my knee appeared to collapse during a simple demonstration of a guard position, with several more cases since then, some from such innocuous actions as taking off a shoe. Yesterday my knee collapsed again and I finally went to get X-rays and MRI and examination.
The prognosis is rather grim. I apparently need a full knee replacement. This would effectively end much of what I do on the mats. Knee replacements are generally much less robust than hip replacements and curtail movement much more.
My dear students have kindly put up with my inability to demonstrate moves these last three months and the senpai (senior students) always help brilliantly when I can’t perform the demonstration, but I was always very proud throughout my coaching career to personally demonstrate and show the philosophy of my style on the mats – it appears those days may be over.
The best NYC surgeons are telling me to get the replacement- I am holding out hope for some kind of recovery. This has come at a very bad time. Georges St-Pierre is planning a comeback and the squad is on the verge of breaking through to a new level of development. I am sorry to all those who wanted to do private classes or book me for seminars – my body just wasn’t capable and I did not want to disappoint anyone.
All my jiu jitsu career I have made my living through private classes and seminars – teaching on average six private classes a day on top of group classes. I may have to change that now as my body won’t allow me currently to even walk properly or demonstrate a move. All jiu jitsu is about adaptation of our body to the principles of the sport. All my adult life I have adapted to the limitations of my crippled left leg. When my hip gave way I adapted my lifestyle to those changes. Now I must adapt around these new problems with my old nemesis left knee. I am hoping I can recover enough in time without surgery that I can continue to do as I always have, but if not, I will find new ways to improve the performance of my students even if my body is not involved. There are cases of outstanding coaches who were not able to physically participate in workouts but who nonetheless played a valuable role in athletes’ development. A big thank you to all my students who have been helping through this rather frustrating time and an apology to those I could not teach. I shall endeavor first to get through this without surgery and recover – but if I find surgery is unavoidable I will get it done and find a way to adapt and improve myself as a coach – I have done it before and will do it again. Wishing you all well – John Danaher
The full post he made yesterday:
“You have to work with what you’ve got: In my Jiu jitsu journey one of the biggest issues was always my own body. I began the sport late with a crippled leg. I always tried to live as active a life as my body would permit. Unfortunately when one part of the body is compromised, other parts have to take an added strain, which in the long term will always cause problems. Eight years ago I got a hip replacement and was able to resume coaching at a professional level. About four years ago my other hip started to deteriorate in a similar way. I was going to get it replaced, but when the squad broke up I had to start a new team from scratch and so I had to delay it. Recently my hip went into final decline and now doctors are urging me to get it replaced and also the crippled knee that was the root cause of the problems. This year I will have to do four surgeries to try and get a satisfactory body back. I started today with the easiest surgery – a bilateral inguinal hernia repair that I’ve been putting off too long. Then I will have to schedule the much more serious hip and knee replacements (after that I have to get lens implanted my eyes to get my deteriorating vision back in order).”
This post comes a day after BJJ black belt Stephan Kesting criticized Danaher over Jake Shields‘ podcast appearance.
