Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory
How to Master Your Mind, Body & Breath Like a Warrior | Rickson Gracie (Fan Fav)
27 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What does it mean to be a warrior in today's world?
After my biggest loss in my life, which is losing my son with 18 years old, I was confused for a while, about three or four years in the dark, thinking about suicide or thinking about drugs, thinking about, you know, what's the purpose of life. And I realized with Roxo's departure, we may not have tomorrow. Tomorrow may never happen.
Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Impact Theory. Today, I am joined by a living legend. This man's life is so extraordinary.
Chapter 2: How can martial arts tools help in everyday life?
The one, the only, Master Hickson Gracie. Thank you, Tom. Thank you so much for being here, dude. Read your book cover to cover. I was blown away. I watched the documentary choke. I knew who you were before I read your book and before I saw the documentary. But this was performance on a level.
Chapter 3: What role does spirituality play in mastering oneself?
The note I took was this is a person who's actually made use of his full potential. It is really extraordinary what you've accomplished in jujitsu. Thank you. I mean, the Gracie name at this point is synonymous with jujitsu. Yes. In large part, thanks to just your unbelievable accomplishments.
We'll get into some of the specifics for sure as we go, but there was one moment in the documentary that defined for me why you're so different than everyone I've ever met. And that is you were in a championship fight, but the way that it was was it was rounds back to back, or fights back to back. So you would beat one opponent, then you'd get paired with another opponent.
Chapter 4: How does one control their mind, body, and spirit effectively?
And so you and this other guy each had, I think, two full fights before you met. Yeah. And he had been punched in the face so many times that he couldn't see. And in the locker room, somebody in your corner said, you've got to punch him. And do you remember what you said?
Yes. I said, I don't want it, and I don't need to hurt him to win the fight. Because I felt compelling based on he's a warrior, he's a tough guy, he's lighter. His previous fight against... a Dutch guy who was very mean and dirty, and poked his eye with the finger. And he was hurt. And he won this fight after about a battle of 30 minutes or 40 minutes fight.
And then he fought another big wrestler who's also... And then he ended up in the finals with me.
Chapter 5: What moral values should be developed through martial arts?
It was an eight-man tournament. And my training partners, my people say, oh, you have to kill this guy, punch him. I said, I don't have to be violent on this guy because I'm not intimidated by him. The opportunity is based on striking. So I will be gentle because I believe I'm more technical than him and I can win. So that's what I did.
And this was a very interesting... Because Japanese are very... particular in observing details, moral details, personality, ego, you know, brutality. And after that match, the press recognized my kindness and the spirit of the true samurai, which was not exactly overpower, you know, you just do what you have to do in a loyal and nice battle.
Chapter 6: How can discomfort lead to personal growth?
And that was the thing that I found so interesting in your whole journey. And even when you ask your brothers and cousins, like, what are the things that made you so special? You hear that idea of spirituality a lot. Like he really understood his body.
Chapter 7: What lessons can children learn from martial arts?
He understood like the transcendent nature of the fight. And seeing that, the honor of that, and that for you, fighting seemed to be connected to something else. How do you conceptualize fighting? Because there were times where, I mean, you've said many times, I am prepared to die, literally die in this fight.
Chapter 8: How important is breathing in mastering life challenges?
So how does the same guy that's prepared to die to protect his honor fight? say, I don't have to be violent to win this fight?
Yes, because for me, I was never prepared myself to be a fighter. I was not seeking for elements to win an opponent. I was representing jiu-jitsu. I was not seeking for learning box or learning elements to just be prepared in all the corners to defeat my opponent in an event to make money or so.
I was there to fight for free, to represent the art, to just acknowledge the fact what I've been practicing is a legacy from my family, which brings a technique which enhances the weaker one in a fight to give possibilities. So I was focused on representing the family, representing the style. With this being said,
You pick just a fight, but if you get any achievement, if you wanna buy a car, if you wanna get a girlfriend, if you wanna buy a house, if you wanna get a new job, whatever endeavor you focus on is somehow a challenge, somehow a battle, somehow you have to use martial arts. You have to use the ability to, because martial arts give you tools.
The tools are connection, base, deflection, strategy, emotional control, the capacity for you to visualization, and other elements. If you want to buy a car, you have to use strategy, the same way you use to win a fight. You have to see how much you have to put in the car or everything else after that. So basically, in order for you to achieve happiness, you have to be strategically correct.
You have to be capable to control emotions. You have to be focused. You have to be persevering. Nothing comes easier for free. So, and happiness is always changing. What make you happy today and years from now is not gonna be the same thing. You're gonna have different goals, different expectations. So in order for you to really feel happy, you have to be present, you have to have a goal.
My goal always been representing my family and that's make me happy to go in a challenge situation, to represent my family, to be able to to bring everything I got in a positive mission in my life.
You said that being born a Gracie put a lot of expectations on you. You fought in no holds barred tournaments, which is important for people to understand. You fought where people would show up at your training facility to challenge you and show up to hurt you. Yes.
And how, with all that expectation, with so much physically riding on the line in so many of these fights, how did you control your mind? Like, how do you get control of the field?
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