Author: Adisa Banjoko

In the 1935 Japanese classic Musashi a Buddhist Monk named Takuan laments "People talk about combining the Way of Learning with The Way of the Samurai, but when properly combined, they aren't two- they're one. Only one Way." While many fighters and philosophers over the years agreed openly, outwardly it has been difficult to see with clarity. Flashes of it could be seen through interviews with some of the giants within "the gentle art". Men like Helio and Rickson Gracie, Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, and Minotauro have all shared flashes of this eternal truth. Still, there was never a consistent place online where a serious student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu could gain access to both the fighting art and the philosophies that give a martial artist a clear road map to victory.

Enter Jiu Jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia and chess icon Josh Waitzkin. Garcia is arguably the Michael Jordan of Jiu Jitsu of this era. Anything Marcelo does or says is repeatedly analyzed and debated by BJJ competitors around the world. Josh Waitzkin destroyed minds and hearts of grown men on chessboards since he was a boy. So much so that the cult classic film Searching for Bobby Fischer is about his life. Shortly after leaving the world of chess, he became a world champion of Tai Chi and then chose the path of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Since becoming friends, the two have launched a new website meant to give BJJ practitioners immediate access to the training techniques and philosophical approaches that make you a champion, www.MGInAction.com. Here we will talk about how these two met, the goals with their new venture and the fusing of the body and mind for BJJ.

Click here for Adisa's interview with Marcelo and Josh