Carlos Machado is the eldest of the Machado brothers, a family whose fame in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is rivaled only by their cousins, the Gracies. Machado is a red-and-black coral belt who currently resides in Texas, thanks to student, the legendary martial arts actor, Chuck Norris. Norris isn’t the only famous actor Machado has work with, either. The 53-year-old jiu-jitsu instructor was also on the set of “John Wick 2” to help his brothers train Matrix star Keanu Reeves.
MMA fighters have also benefited from Machado’s knowledge. Former UFC welterweight title contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and retired UFC star Travis Lutter have both had the honor of calling Master Machado their instructor.
I had the opportunity to chat with Master Carlos via Skype on Tuesday night. He was an extremely enthusiastic guest who was eager to not only share his thoughts on self-defense jiu-jitsu versus competitive jiu-jitsu, but also talk about Chuck Norris’ photographic memory, Rickson Gracie’s red belt, and why the jiu-jitsu world would be on another level if more students were like Keanu Reeves.
Watch my exclusive video interview with Master Carlos Machado below, and be sure to check out his book, “Putting the Pieces Together: Volume 1” available in paperback and on Kindle at Amazon.com.
Here is a rough breakdown of what we discuss in the video:
0:01 – Keanu Reeves
17:47 – Chuck Norris
31:06 – Demian Maia
39:14 – BJJ competitions
53:03 – Rickson Gracie’s promotion
