John Danaher — the eponymous founder of the Danaher Death Squad — is on The Joe Rogan Experience as I write this.
For those who don’t know, Danaher is not only a BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie, but he holds a masters degree in philosophy. In fact, he almost went for his PhD.
That philosophy major was put to good use today when Danaher challenged Rogan to explain why Brazilian jiu-jitsu takes people to the ground.
Some people might answer, “That’s just how it is.” But those who know Danaher know that such an answer would not suffice.
Instead, Danaher used a clever analogy to explain why BJJ takes fighters to the ground. Imagine how far a javelin thrower would be able to throw her javelin if she were forced to throw it on her knees. She obviously wouldn’t be able to throw it far, right?
The reason for this is because you can’t produce as much power on the ground as you can when you are standing. Taking opponents down is therefore an easy way to reduce your opponent’s power.
Danaher naturally also talked about his leg lock philosophy.
The podcast is going on as this article is being written, so be sure to check it out at the link below:
