Episode 200 with Pedro Sauer | Rickson, Helio, Dojo Storms & the Gracie Challenge

Welcome to the Jiu Jitsu Dummies Podcast, presented by Black Belt Digital Marketing and AcademySafe.org

Episode 200. We needed a legend for this one, and we got one.

Eighth-degree black belt Pedro Sauer joins Milton and Ben for one of the most unfiltered history lessons we have ever recorded. Pedro is one of the very few black belts Helio Gracie ever awarded, the first coral belt from outside the Gracie family, and a man who spent years getting folded in half by Rickson Gracie every single night.

His first day of Jiu Jitsu? Helio put 16 ounce boxing gloves on him, let him swing at his students, and Pedro got smashed so badly he spent half an hour throwing up in the bathroom while Helio and Rickson stood at the door. He signed up that same day.

From there, Pedro takes us through the wild days of Rio in the 1970s: the Gracie vs. Luta Livre rivalry, the beach fight between Rickson and Hugo Duarte, the Helio and Carlson Gracie camps, and his first tournament, where he survived six minutes under one of Rolls Gracie's toughest guys. He tells us how Rickson called him at 1 a.m. to bring him to America, about the war in Rickson's garage on his first night in the USA, the Gracie Challenge days in Utah, and the radio station challenge that led to his fight with Mr. Utah.

We also get the full coral belt story, including why Pedro refused to wear it and how his first coral belt ended up around Rickson's waist.

In this episode:

• Growing up in Rio, boxing in the 70s, and meeting a teenage Rickson on the street

• Getting destroyed in his first class and joining anyway

• Training six hours a day and getting tapped 50 times a day by Rickson

• Getting his black belt from Helio in 1985

• Gracie vs. Luta Livre and the beach fight with Hugo Duarte

• Moving to America and the first night war in Rickson's garage

• 16 years in Utah, dojo storms, challenge matches, and the Mr. Utah fight

• Becoming the first coral belt outside the Gracie family

• Why he tells everyone to "minimize muscle, maximize technique"

• How he still trains at 68 with 16 surgeries and 11 screws

• Racing Rickson up the mountain to Petropolis on two wheels

• Listener questions, the Drill Down, and the big one: does he wash his belt?

Follow Pedro Sauer on Instagram: @pedro_sauer_ Find his membership, seminars, and Brazil camps at pedrosauer.com

Thank you to everyone who has listened, watched, shared, and showed up for 200 episodes. Peace, love, Jiu Jitsu!

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