Photo: Steven Lippman
Photo: Steven Lippman

Master Jean Jacques Machado

One of the pioneers of the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and one of its greatest champions, Jean Jacques Machado is one of five brothers of the world-renown Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family.

​Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Machado began his Jiu-Jitsu training more than fifty years ago. He was awarded his Black Belt at 18 years old by Carlos Gracie Jr. and dominated the competitive arena of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his native country, capturing every major title and competition award from 1982 through 1992.

​In 1992, he arrived in the United States to continue his competitive success. Dominating the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu scene both in the United States and in international competition, Machado gained worldwide recognition in 1999 with his performance at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Submission Wrestling Championships. In 2011 Jean Jacques was awarded his Coral Belt (7th degree Red/Black) by none other than legendary master Rickson Gracie. Today, Jean Jacques is one of the very few Coral Belts who continues to actively teach full time at his academy in Woodland Hills, CA.

​Machado’s talents have been showcased in several major motion pictures and television appearances. He has appeared in the motion pictures “Force of the Spirit” and “Redbelt” as well as the television series “Insider Training”.

Jean Jacques has also produced numerous types of instructional media for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu including videos, DVDs and 4 best-selling books. Always an innovator, he was also the pioneer of the online training phenomenon, launching the very first online training program for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu back in 2006. He currently the host of his popular podcast "No Gi Required".

2024 was a year of major accolades for Jean Jacques. In August he joined a small but very prestigious group of athletes as was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments in submission grappling. In October he was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame for a second time as Instructor of the Year.