Jean Jacques Machado is considered a legend in the world of BJJ today. Not only is he well known in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but also in the world of business as well. He is known as one of the pioneers who has revolutionized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to what it is today.
Jean Jacques Machado is also unique for the reason that he was born with a condition called Amniotic Band Syndrome where he is missing fingers on his left hand. Imagine grappling or doing wrestling without a left hand? And that didn’t stop him from excelling and winning in major BJJ competitions for over 20 years from the 1980s to the 2000s.
Despite this, he has gone against well known medium heavy opponents like Marcos Almeida, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, Ricardo Arona, Dean Lister, Caol Uno, and Matt Serra just to name a few and one of his notable successes was he finished everyone in his division, 66–76kg and was awarded the Division Gold Medalist and Most Technical Fighter Award in ADCC back in 1999. He was also a silver medalist for the following years for ADCC. He has won and dominated major competitions as well in his home country, Brazil from 1982 to 1992.
Early Years of Jean Jacque Machado
Jean Jacques is one of the five Machado brothers that include the likes of Rigan and Carlos. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he learned directly from the Gracies 40 years ago, as the Machados were connected to the Gracies through their mother who happened to be the sister of Carlos Gracie Jr’s mother.
Once they started training with their cousin Carlinhos Gracie, they were exposed to the likes of Rolls Gracie’s Academy where Carlos works as an assistant coach. Later, they would accompany their cousin to Barra da Tijuca and formed Gracie Barra. Here, Jean Jacque was able to train some of today’s legends including Helio ‘Soneca’, Soca, and Gordo to name a few.
Moving to the US
Jean Jacque moved to the US in 1992, following his brother Rigan Machado who already established an academy in California. His intention was to help Rigan grow his academy. One of the trends that the brothers started was to give instructions to Americans. It was done during the time when showing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu taught to foreigners has been considered taboo by the community. Because of this, the Machados have somewhat gained areputation in Brazil for training with Ricco Rodriguez and Mark Kerr when they faced Brazilians.
Another important trend that Jean Jacques Machado started is to make the sport more popular for the general public by teaching celebrities the gentle art. He was able to teach the likes of Steven Segal and Chuck Norris. Today, he has a roster of notable students including Eddie Bravo and Joe Rogan.
He has more than a few notable titles under his belt that include:
- Rio de Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu State Championships (1982-1992, Cruiserweight Champion)
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Championships (1982-1992, Cruiserweight Champion)
- Sambo Wrestling Championships (National and Pan American Cruiserweight Champion, 1st Place 1993 Oklahoma, 1st Place 1994 San Diego, California)
- Grappling Style Challenge Japan (Champion, 1995)
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu American Championships (Champion 1995-1998)
- Black Belt Super Challenge Championships (Champion 1998, 2000)
- ADCC (1999 66-76kg Gold; 2000 66-76kg Silver Medalist; 2001 Absolute Silver Medalist)
Jean Jacques is currently a 7th degree Coral Belt. But unlike other Coral Belts, Jean Jacques remains active in teaching in his academy.
Alpha Jiu Jitsu and Machado Lineage
Alpha Jiu Jitsu is an affiliate academy of Jean Jacque Machado. Alpha Jiu Jitsu’s mission is aligned with Master Jean Jacque’s philosophy in BJJ which is to bring the art to everyone. We offer an environment that not only fosters competition and practical application of BJJ, we also open our doors to hobbyists and people who simply want to stay fit.
Our goal is to share the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lifestyle as a way of life just like how Master Jean Jacques Machado did.
