In the absolute division final of the 2009 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, Kyra Gracie faced an adversary nearly twice her size, Lana Stefanac. The match ended with her caught in her opponent’s kimura, but the Gracie black belt doesn’t hesitate to affirm that she would not give up: “Helio didn’t tap to Kimura, uncle Renzo didn’t tap to Sakuraba, I wouldn’t tap either.”
On Brazilian television show Sensei Sportv this Friday, Kyra shows how her MMA preparations have been going training standup with Claudio Coelho, and takedowns with Leo Leite. “I’ve already received offers to test myself in MMA, but I can’t yet reveal in which event it will be,” says the three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion. But fighting in the gi is still the primary focus in Kyra’s career. “I want to be to women’s Jiu-Jitsu what Rickson is to men’s Jiu-Jitsu,” she says in finishing.
Kyra Gracie and Claudio Coelho. Photo: Ana Hissa
Also on the broadcast, Brazilian actor Marcelo Novaes, a brown belt, talks Jiu-Jitsu and Acadepol (Rio de Janeiro police academy) shows how officers are trained in the art to stop fights. “Street fighting is a crime, and street toughs will be treated as criminals,” guarantees Acadepol’s black belt Miguel Murad.
