Jozef Chen Admits Following Marcelo Garcia’s No-Lifting Philosophy Didn’t Work

Jozef Chen spent years taking Marcelo Garcia’s famous no lifting philosophy at face value. It was not until a stubborn knee injury refused to heal that he finally questioned the approach and started strength training.

Speaking on the Jake Nicholls podcast, Chen traced the full arc of that journey, from childhood admiration for Garcia’s methods to working with a strength coach today.

Jozef Chen explained his early thinking.

“I was like, oh, Marcelo said he never lifts, so I’m just not going to lift as well”

The logic made sense to a younger version of him. Marcelo Garcia had built one of the most decorated careers in grappling history without conventional strength training, famously emphasizing technique, mat time and consistency. For a generation of grapplers, that became a guiding idea.

But the approach had limits. When Chen developed a series of lingering injuries, the philosophy stopped holding up.

“Wow, my knee is still hurting. It’s been three months since I injured it and it’s not getting better. I may as well try lifting”

The decision was less about performance and more about durability.

“A lot of my motivation to lift is more from like a self preservation standpoint. I just got so many injuries”

The results surprised him. Chen credits his flexibility as a likely factor in his injury history, suggesting it came at the cost of stability.

“I think maybe I had a lack of stability in a lot of positions and that led to me getting injured a little bit more”

Strength training addressed that gap. Chen now trains in the weight room around three times per week and works with a coach who builds his programming.

“He just sent me a new program like three weeks ago so it’s nice”

Chen’s experience places him in broader company. Roger Gracie famously reduced heavy lifting after finding it affected recovery and mat performance, later shifting toward explosive conditioning work. Mikey Musumeci has also spoken about moving away from weights entirely, claiming improvements in training efficiency and body awareness. The debate around strength training in elite jiu-jitsu remains unsettled and Chen’s case adds another layer, showing that avoiding strength work entirely can carry its own drawbacks.

Garcia’s philosophy was never presented as a universal prescription. It was rooted in his personal approach to training, where mat time was prioritized above all else. But as ideas spread through the sport, nuance is often lost.

Garcia came up again later in the podcast when Jake Nicholls asked Chen about hypothetical matchups against retired competitors. Chen initially pushed back, noting the influence of Lachlan Giles’ well known win over Garcia on those discussions. But when the question shifted to Garcia in his prime, Chen responded without hesitation.

“If you’re talking about prime, holy, okay, yeah. Then Marcelo is going to be an insane answer. Basically for anyone”

The respect remains clear. Chen simply lifts now.

Chen also discussed receiving the coveted invite for ADCC 2026.

“I don’t think I’m like 88 sized necessarily, but I’m a little bit heavier. I started doing 77 when I was 17 years old. So it became harder and harder over time. And not to, I still think I can make 77. But I have a lot of friends there. And so that made me think, why not try mess around at 88, see what’s up.”

The weight cut had been taking a real toll.

“Every time I have to cut to 77, I think the combination of training hard and dieting, it’s quite hard to stay in good health. It’s very miserable. I often get sick and injured.”

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