Rickson Gracie reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis, sees it as ‘gift from God’
Rickson Gracie revealed in an interview with Kyra Gracie he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease “two years ago.”
Gracie, 64, who was undefeated as a vale tudo fighter between 1980 and 2000, said the condition, a chronic degenerative disorder, has affected his motor system, causing tremors with his hands and diminishing his ability to move. Yet the son of Helio Gracie said the diagnosis “wasn’t traumatic.”
“I’m ready for anything in my life,” he said. “I accept not only my mistakes, but also my victories. I accept life and what I’ve done, so I’m happy today. But this neurologic condition opened my eyes to my age and to reality. It hasn’t changed much since then, but I have some hand tremors, a certain movement deficiency, things I didn’t have before.”
Gracie said the symptoms “don’t bother me much, because my motivation to get up in the morning and work are still here.”
“I don’t see it as a surprise,” he added, “but as another gift from God to see what I’m going to do about it. If I give you a lot of money and you do bad things, money hasn’t served for anything. But if I give you a lot of money and you do good things, then I’m proud I’ve given you so much money.
“God has given me a situation I can transform for the good. And the most important reaction I have today in my life is that I can really express may gratitude for jiu-jitsu, to continue working for jiu-jitsu and empowering people, transforming it in a way that makes [jiu-jitsu] more accessible for those that need it the more. So I see myself swimming freely on a perfect blue ocean, waiting for the next day without too much concern.”
Gracie won all his nine official vale tudo matches in Brazil and Japan, most notably a pair of armbar finishes of Nobuhiko Takada to launch PRIDE in the late 1990s. But he has touted as many as 450 unofficial victories around the globe.