it is my pleasure to summarize all these responses. it is so much easier this way so i decided to help out. besides, this helps avoid the same questions being asked over and over.....
what do you think now Royce? can I escort you down to the ring at your next fight? *hehe*
Thanks alot Rushinbear! You Rule!
Thanks a lot Russian Bear! I really appreciate it!
Thx Rushin, you are without a doubt the man!
Royce, I heard that you were coming to kosovo this winter to put on a seminar, is that true or is it Rorion? Thanks. Jason Hathaway
I have not heard anything about that, I have no idea what you are talking about, but I do teach Army and Special Forces in fayetteville, NC. If kosovo wants to do a seminar, I am ready
How long did it take for you to get your black belt? And what do you think about BJ PENN as a fighter and the 1st American to receive his BB in just 4 years! I received my BB when I was 17, have been doing JJ all my life, never seen PENN fight, I think its great that he got his BB in 4 years. Yes my dad was tougher on us giving belt to us. Who cares about the belt anyway, the belt only covers 4" of you ass, the rest you have to back it up on your own.
Im not going to menition any names, but I see alot of guys, PROFESSIONAL fighters, keeping a closed guard when they are getting pounded. THis recently happened in the title bout in the UFC. Am I missing something here? I open mine and try to at least keep my knees or hands on biceps. Or kick them away. Whats your take on this? you have to know what you are doing, close guard, open guard, in the guard. If you do not know what you are doing you will get your head pounded. You have just brough a good point, this is exactly the difference between someone who is good on the ground, or someone who just gets on the ground and does not know what to do. A lot of people know say Royce what about everyone doing the ground figthing, can you still fight them, well you just asked the question, a lot of guys go to the ground, that does not make them good ground fighters just means they go to the ground.
What did you think about Tank when he fought in the UFC? He stated in an interview with Sherdog that he would grap your gi and beat the crap out of you. Everyone know's that's B.S. What would your stradegy be with him? Against Tank Abbot, I will get in a clinch take him down and kick his ass, he is a looser
you think Royce named his clothing line after Sepultura's song "Attitude", (in which, he kicks ass in the video)? No I did not name the clothing like after the song. But I am good friends with Paulo, I just got a phone call from him today and the whole thing is about the Good Attitude and Bad Attitude. Caro Royce de uma chegadinha no qa em português para conversar com a galera brazuca. Tenho certeza que todos lá como eu o tem como ídolo. Assim que tiver um tempo vou vizitar voces um abraco
Hi Royce. On behalf of the TPC, I would like to say thanks a million for coming down and giving another great seminar. Cant wait to have you back. Clay Copeland Texas Pussy Cats Clay you are doing very good, you guys are the toughest Pussy Cats in town. Royce- Would you ever consider adding say 20 lbs. of muscle to your frame to give you an edge if you fight a heavy guy. If so would it be beneficial to your fighting game? I wish I could, I have a very hard time, because i do so much cardio, just can not put on any weight. You see without taking drugs I just can not see putting on 20lbs of muscle, and I do not do drugs have you ever been to Australia? You should come over for a holiday. (its better than Bali!!!) Not yet. Its hard to belive that Australia is better then bali, but I will try Royce is aikido a good defense system. I never see any aikido fighters in tournaments. why not? Its better to know something then not to know anything. Let me ask you this... what part of Renzo's game do you think you could help improve? And, what do you think Renzo could help you improve with? As a sporing partner, Renzo already knows everything, I could help him as a sparing partner, I know how to play an opponent very well. But other then that, Renzo knows everything there is to know. Same thing other way around, he can help me study the oponent work on stratagy. I've read that Sakuraba says you were striking pressure points during your fight with him. Also when you fought Pat Smith he tapped quick, when you had got only a couple hits in. 1. Was it because you practice specifically striking certain points on the body, or do you just "go for it" when an opening comes up. 2. Where are you aiming to strike when in the mount position. I noticed when you fought "the black dragon" Karate guy, you used open hand strikes rather than closed. Why was this. 3. Also, have you ever knocked anyone out with strikes? No I was not hitting Sak in any presure points, I just go for it when opening come up. because he new that he could not escape from the mounted position - pat smith When I fought Ron, I did not want to break my hand, so I hit open hand, becase I knew that i had to fight again, so I did not want to break my hand. and no I have not knock anyone out with strikes YET
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What did you think of the Sperry vs Igor Match. Would you have approached fighting Igor in the same way, or would you have preffered to work from the guard? Sperry had the right game, perfect tratagyHow have you been? Lori and I wish you and your family the best. Dave Gomez hey Dave, give me a call let me know who things are going over there in MI, I have been busy doing seminars all over the place, say hi to Lori and the girls. Where's Royce? According to mike he was supposed to be posting by now. I think that after this fiasco with the FAKE Royce, Royce is going to have 2nd thoughts about ever posting here again. Oh well, too bad. It was good while it lasted. I am back............. Stop crying and tell me what is your question Royce, your opinion on Mario Sperry--both as a sport JJ player and a NHB fighter. I just met him for the first time, seems to be a very nice guy, was nice to me. Royce let me say I and 90% of the people practicing ground fighting today owe you a debt of gratitude. Without your awesome display in the early UFC's their would be no underground forum, and most of the guys who talk shit about you would still be doing Kung Fu!!!! LOL Anyways whether you continue to fight or if you never fight again, you will always be a legend, and your families Jiu Jitsu is still the #1 fighting art!! Thank you for your support. Royce call me back or else. dont make me work you over ... Rob k Rob, I am going to make you my b.... this weekend. Royce, you have stated that you won't fight in the UFC due to the rules. I don't understand your logic. You will no longer be fighting bigger fighters, so you no longer need as much time to wear oponents down. Also, against Sakuraba, if the fight had only gone the regular 15-minute time limit, most people feel that you would have won the judges decision. I guess I'm really asking what you don't like about the UFC rules since I feel you could do very well fighting within them. On the street there is not time limit, no judges, I want to have a clean fight not a show. that is why I do not jump up on the ropes when I win and do not make faces and act up. Its a fight not a show.
Just reiterating, if you were to compete in the Middleweight Grand Prix (Pride) next year and had to face Renzo because of the draw, would you both agree to make it submission only? I would never fight Renzo Royce, do you get a large say in who will be your next Pride opponent? I personally would like to see you against Carlos Newton (he has one Pride fight left). Yes, i have a large say in who will be my next oponent, Carlos Newton would be a good match. Man you know how to match the fighters I am impressed. I have not thought about not time limit if the guys is my weight. But I will give it some thought.I know someone else asked about this, but the Pride president said he'd like to have V.Silva, Sakuraba and Royce Gracie participating. Have any opponents been offered to you for upcoming Prides? No oponens have been offered to me yet, we are negotiation right now, What did you think of the recent Pride Royce? Some fantastic fights. Do you get an urge to be a part of the action when you're there? This was the first time I watched Pride as a spectator. It was fun. I did not get an urge, I will turn that on when I sign a contract. Someone else from brazil? I have always found it odd that you rarely see two people from brazil competing outside of the country. All the big events seem to be outside brazil, and with the exception of johil vs nino at pride 14, I dont think I have seen two brazilians competing against each other outside of brazil itself. If pride approached you to fight someone like pele, vanderlei, or arona, would you except? Or do you wish not to fight people from your home country in pride? I am a fighter, I will fight anyone I do not care. Just curious what fighters you like/admire on the mixedmartial arts scene presently Here's a few for starters.... V. Silva Noguera B.J.Penn Randy Couture Noguera, Sakuraba, Silva, I like guys that come in to fight anyone that comes in to fight, not like guys like Takada This thing is dead. ... YOGA_MasterIts not dead, it here and alive. I am BACK YOGAMASTER Hello Royce, will you train with Renzo now, or do you have your own team? what about Royler? If i have a chance and I am in NY, I will train with Renzo, if Royler is in town or if I am in brazil I will train with him. People do not understand that they have their own schedule they live in different parts of the worlds, when we were growing up we used to always hang out together, train together, now we have out own lives and sometimes its hard, I would love to train with them all the time, but the only way for that to happend if I move to NY or Brazil or them move to Torrance. But I would love it, if them have the time to train with me for my fight I would appriciate it, and I am sure that if they need me to train for their fights I will be more then glad.ROYCE,Thanks for the great seminar in Cleveland,& a special thanks from all those you rolled with.A great time was had by all.CLASSY you are most welcome, can not wait to come back
In UFC3 a lot of people argue that you would not have been able to beat Manuel Yarborough in UFC3. They say he was matched against a good sriker so he would be taken out before he met you in the semi finals. I think you would have got his back and choked him out, how would you have approached this fight if it had happened? There is only one way to find out if I would have beat him is to put us in the right and find out. back then we used to draw out of the hat who was fighting who, what not setup. it was the luch of the draw Would you be willing to offer any insights into Carlson's spilt with the family? Have you talked with him recently? And what are your thoughts on the training of the Top Team? Would you be interested in training with either Carlson or the Top Team? Its not a split, I would not call it split the thing with Carlson he alway builds fighter to fight against the family members, so he trys to create fights inside the family, instead of getting them to fight outside the family, I have no idea what is going on inside his head. It would be great, tough guys some of them are doing very well right now, I just met up with Mario Sperry and Murilo and Nogueira in Japan and some of the other guys we are talking had a good time after the fightTell us what happened with Pride! What talks did you guys have. What names for fights were being thrown around the room? I do not that talking my manager does, I just show up and make an appearance, and tell Pride that I am willing to fight, after I leave the negotiations start.I do not know yet, I have not heard yet, but once I find out you guys will be the last ones to know - ha, ha, ha just kidding you will be the first ones to know.Im wondering who was your tuffest opponent? Was it Kimo? Would you fight your tuffest opponent again? My toughest opponent is inside my head, I fight that guy everyday. He is a monster that i created inside my head and if I can deal with him, I can deal with anyone. What goes through your mind during a fight? What do you try to focus on? Secondly, Please fill in the blank: The secret to jiu jitsu is ____________. The Secret to Jiu-Jitsu is - technique I do not think about anything during a fight, I am on an autopilot, that is why I train hard for the fight, so that I do not have to think.We train one 3 nights gi and one night no gi. When it comes time for us to start training for our NHB fights, should we take off the gi and just train NHB, or should we continue trainig with the same schedule we always use? If you are going to fight NHB you should allow yourself of at least 2-3 month of not gi, forget the gi, if you are training for JJ match, then put the gi back on. I know you are currently studying becoming a better striker. Are you currently or have you ever studied any other grappling styles, i.e. freestyle wrestling, sambo,etc. and have you ever competed in any tournaments besides BJJ. I study some wrestling, very little, I study some Judo and compeated in some Judo tournaments, being involved in ma I always check on new stuff Will you be fighting in pride soon? What did they say? My manager is doing the talking right now, I am sitting down and waiting, negotiations have started. Royce who are some of your favorite fighters in the differnt weight classes of pride and UFC? Which ones to you cheer for when watching them fight.And as as fan what would be your dream match to watch that you cant fight in?Thanks I like Nogueira style there a bunch of others. Tyson vs Lewis would be the fight that I want to see.
I was just wondering if you will ever come back to UFC now with the new ownership and all...Also, is there anyone you are interested in fighting now? Rumours all over the internet were that you wanted to fight Igor. But I don't believe anything unless it from a direct source.The UFC have to do something about their rules. The presentation of the event is much better, but the rules have to change. I am a fighter I will fight anyoneI read that you at one time challenged Mike Tyson. Mike Tysons promoters did not want it to go through, not because it would jepordise mike's carrier, but because it would jepordise boxing in general. What do you think of Yuki Nakai? I am training at an associated school of his under Naoya Uematsu. I was curious if anyone knew who Yuki Nakai got his black belt from... I know of Yuki Nakai and I know of Naoya Uematsu never met them, have no idea where they got their black belts from, I heard that they have been compeating in Brazil and Yuki has done pretty good in Brazil Do you anticipate needing to change your training, or expand your style to accomodate a new fight game? I do change my training, depends on who I am fighting, I adapt to be able to fight that persons style, and I am always willing to learn new things. How are the Gracie's treated in Brazil. I've heard people like Wallid say that the Gracie's are like the mafia, and people are scared of the Gracie's. I assumed a lot of people are jealous so there would be some negativity towards your family. I would think the family gets respect from most of Brazil and couldn't see how anyone wouldn't respect the accomplishments of your family. We are not the mod, we do take care of business, if people talk trash, they better be ready to back it up, because we do pay them a visit. You have demonstrated many great techniques in your fights... What is your favourite technique, and why? also What is the most unusual way or technique you have used to finish an opponent? I like a choke, any kind of choke. Why because the opponent will pass out if he does not tap. Art Jemerson in the first UFC, I mounted on him and he quit. So the mount was the most unusual technique I have ever used to finish an opponent. Hi i was just wondering your thoughts on weight training: how many times a week do you do it? how many sets total and per body part per session? do you do plyometrics? train to failure? does your routine vary a month before a fight? I have James Strom as a weight trainer and I do not think about this stuff, he just writes the program. If I am in training I do lift 3 times a week. James is the guy that is also a trainer for K Johnson from the Tampa bay. I am getting a video ready that will show what I do to train for the fight and that includes weight training I would like to know your opinion on Minotauro as a fighter and how you see his big wins over Coleman and Herring? What estrategy would you use if you are scheduled to fight him? I just met him in Japan, on the last Pride, him and his brother very nice guys, I like they way hi fights, he reminds me a lot of me. I have not though about that, there are a lot of fighters and I do not pick a strategy untill I have to fight them. Just saw the pic of them (Royce's children) on the website... they both have long legs and big feet like their dad... They will be scary on the mat!!Yes, they are learning JJ already at this age, they love to hang out with me, when I train, each one has a paid of boxing gloves, have at least 4 gi's.
Royce -- If you go to the Underground Forum, you'll see a thread titled "Eric isn't doing well - please read". The guy loves MMA and is in a hell of a fight with cancer, and I'm sure a word of encouragement from you would mean a lot to him. Please consider posting a message to him on that thread. Thanks Royce! You're a great man. Thank you very much for pointing this out to me, I have visited the post and its really a heart breaking story. I made sure to leave a message, thank you once again for bringing that to my attention. Royce
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