Interview Highlights:

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Welcome, everybody. I'm really glad to have you today. Today we're joined by Master Carlos Machado, 10-time Brazilian national champion, 8th degree, coral belt, founder of the Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu Association.

You're just a legend in martial arts, I'm so pleased to be And I'm so glad to get to talk to you.

We had a pre-conversation and I've thoroughly enjoyed it."

Master Carlos Machado:
"So thanks so much for being here. My honor and my pleasure, sir. Thank you"

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Okay. Well, great. Well, tell me a little bit about how you started. What was it like growing up in the Machado family and training?"

Master Carlos Machado:
" think you started training when you were very young. Yeah. So I'm a first degree cousin to several of Gracie cousins.

You know, my family is related to the Gracies. And we, when I was four years old, my mom used to take me to train with the late patriarch, Haleel Gracie, Grandmaster Haleel Gracie.

That's where I started doing some training. Then I trained with late Grandmaster Carlson Gracie, Holtz Gracie, then Carlos Gracie Jr., and then from then on, he became my main instructor for most of my life.

Uh, so, so it was kind of like we're, we're born into it, sort of. So it became very natural.

Um, my. My I have several cousins that are peers to me, and all my brothers, we are very close in age, so at one point in time, everybody was on the mat at the same time, training, and growing together with that culture, and I was a student, I was never, the part about teaching and being involved as a career path in the martial arts was not something that I planned in my early years, but it kind of felt natural after a while."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"I think that happens with a lot of us."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, well, they're bringing your peers, my peers kept me honest, you know, a lot of times, you know, within my family and my cousins, had the hierarchy on the mat, we all knew who was the top gun, we all knew that if we select in our training, you'd be there reckoning anytime we came back to train.

So even my brothers, you know, all of them were notable in their own rights. So it was an amazing experience with our peers. Thank In terms of us being very tight, close together, we competed together, and I'm very fond of the little memories I had.

Of course, there was a lot of pressure being related to your instructor, you know, like anytime you're on the mat, you want make sure that you make him proud.

So when I had classes, I always had butterfly in my stomach, sometimes going to class because I had some, you know, classmates that are really tough and I want to make sure that I didn't fall behind whenever the training session was.

But this was just part of, you know, growing up and eventually growing out of it as we got wiser"

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Well, you grew up with some legends that you were training with. Maybe they didn't, maybe for you, from your point of view, maybe it wasn't that way, but they certainly turned into legends in the martial arts community."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, quite, I mean, most of them, most of the individuals. The that I trained with are notable and exponentially, you know, popular."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yeah, that's amazing. How old were you when you started their first class?"

Master Carlos Machado:
"My first class, I was four."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Oh, four years old. Okay. So back then, and you know, we're more than we're more than 20 years old, think, between the two of us. Back then, there weren't probably as many kids doing martial arts."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Ironically, some academies were specialized in kids. And what city in Brazil was that? Okay, so it was in the, I would say, in the mid to late 60s.
That's when I started to compete. Uh huh. And I would have, I would see some other academies that, they had a strong component of kids, you know."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Okay."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Now, if you fast forward to America, it took a while for Jiu Jitsu to become more popular amongst kids."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Nowadays, it has become quite popular."

Master Carlos Machado:
"I would say some schools within our group, the vast majority are kids. Some others, they have a split, sometimes even, sometimes a little bit less kids and more adults. Now, bear with me. Jiu Jitsu has a very strong adult component. A lot of adults look for it, not just lame individuals that have no experience, but also quite a few martial artists from different styles that also want to complement with Jiu Jitsu."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yes, sir. I want to come back to that too. that but what..."

Master Carlos Machado:
"What city was that in Brazil? I'm just curious. was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Okay, I've been to Rio a few times. Yeah. So was the school you trained at in Rio?"

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah. All my training before I left was in Rio. Yeah. Oh, that's amazing."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"So it almost sounds like in Rio and in Brazil in that area and with the Gracie's, they were ahead of their time with kids. Cause if that was the sixties and you started when you were four, I mean, I don't think in the U S we probably got is moving along with kids until the Karate Kid movie came out."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"So, yeah, it sounds like the, the, I think that, I think that would be a big mind shift for people that they would realize that in Brazil, they were ahead of their time, you know, were ahead of the United States in terms of working with kids."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Maybe so for different reasons, you had less schools. So the first generation, as they grow a little older, start to have kids, you know, they started to. hank you. It could be a mix of reasons, but I do think, though, that there's still some places in which jiu-jitsu is not as popular among kids, but for the vast majority of the places I go to, kids' programs are quite substantial."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"That's awesome. When you mentioned that you didn't initially intend to be an instructor, was there a moment where you decided, I really wanted to do this?"

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, when I was between the age of 15 and 16, I'm 61 right now, I became an assistant instructor.
I would just kind of cover some schedule, help during the classes. I also spoke English even back then as a second language.
So whenever we had a tourist, I was mainly the guy that would teach the class to those guys because I was more fluent than my instructors at that time in the English language.
So, good memories. But anyhow, once I got the taste of teaching, I felt like, man, I was teaching, and I was going, you know, finished high school, went to college to do law school, and throughout my entire college tenure, I still was teaching throughout, and it came to a point where I had to choose between the suit and the jiu-jitsu uniform.
And I thought, you know what, the weather's too hot here in Rio for me to sweat on a suit.
If I'm going to sweat, I might as well sweat on a uniform. And my dad was a very influential judge of high court, and he had my whole career laid out, but he was very gracious when I spoke to him and told him, you know, that I've been doing the teaching of jiu-jitsu for so long, I don't want to stop and turn my back to it.
I have quite a few people that, you feel that power that you have to influence and change people's lives through the martial arts. people, on task you've that So it was hard to abdicate, you know, so, so for me, was a natural choice. And then once I made my decision, the rest was history, you know, that's awesome."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"So your dad was supportive."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, yeah, he was supportive. All my dad wanted us to do whatever we feel we needed or we wanted, you know, so he would be on our corner every time"

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"That's different from my dad. My dad, when I told him I wanted to open a taekwondo school and leave my engineering career that I had built up, he was mad at me, man. He would not, he wouldn't talk to me for a couple days. Then he was o kay, but he just didn't understand. He didn't understand what we did or the culture or anything about it. So I'm glad you had the better experience than me."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Well, I'll tell you what, though, this is not unusual. I have students who were in medical school, all just like yourself in engineering, they had their career path, they had all their, you know. Envisioning everything that their parents had planned for them, and they had a call, a change of heart, or a call, a calling, you know, and they said, you know, that's what I want to do. And it took a while for some of the parents like yourself to make terms, make peace with it. But eventually they saw, first, they were happy with their choice. They were following what they truly wanted."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"And second, the results."

Master Carlos Machado:
"They event usally became successful on their own right. So what else can you do, you know, choose to do what you really want to do it and apply yourself to it and get the results. And I think the world will be on your side, you know, whether they had problems with you in the past or not."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Well, I think that's a good message for people that are thinking about, you know, changing careers. And they have there's a lot of them getting kind of feeling like they're stuck in there. They could be a doctor or a lawyer or something. But this can be a really great career and they can make a big difference in people's lives like some of these other things. That, you know, in, ways that they can't in other ways, that convoluted."

Master Carlos Machado:
"One example here that kind of relates to what we're talking about, you, you, you probably have had the same experience.
We have quite a few students who become instructors, but they still have a full-time job, you know, their main job.
And then they have the school, but they have something to fall back upon. So, but eventually, as I guess the martial arts expands or hits a certain point, they said, you know what, I'm going to just leave whatever other job I was doing and go all out, burn the bridge, what's behind me, and just focus.
And I, I've had this happening so many times within the group that I have, and it's kind of like refreshing to a certain extent.
It can be scary, but refreshing for me to see from the outside, I see they have to do a daring move.
You know, they didn't want to be stuck in a corporate job. They really want to dictate on their own terms.
How they're going to live their lives and what kind of business they're going to get involved with, and I complimented them and said, man, it's not for everybody, but now, Mr.
Moody, I could tell you that it's a dream, but it's also a challenge. The martial art is not for the faint of heart.
It is not. If you're thinking that you're going to get it easy, I can tell you, and I'm not saying that doing the things the way you're supposed to, like yo u said, you invest your time educating yourself in your marketing ability, how to run a business properly, and then keep your martial art passion intact until you deal, because it's such a close-knit, personal relationship that you have with staff.
And I always say, relationships, you know, it takes you to the bliss or to the abyss"

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yes. You know, I kid you not."

Master Carlos Machado:
"And for me, say, just I see that on and on, you know, one of the greatest challenges that I see, and I've been, you know, I've confronted this myself, is dealing with staff.
All right. So for me, I think, and I've been playing with this, one of my major, I mean, in recent times successes was to focus on my staff more.
Because a lot of times I was delegating and leave them at B when they were not ready to walk with their own feet, you know, and then I feel, okay, so now, so when there's structure and there's a system, then the engine will run, whether you're there or not.
My, my part is I'm the name of the door. And I feel if I don't show up at all, at one point in time, it won't matter, but still matters a lot to many of those because I have students out with me for several years, you know, decade plus or more. I do have the love of being on the mat, sharing my, you know, being with the students, you know, that's a good part of my life, you know, in terms of, it gives me, it gives me a lot of joy, you know."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yeah, so, so it's, it's key, I think, for a lot of martial arts school owners that are, that are, you know, I work with and that might be reading this, is that you spend enough time with your students or with your instructors and your staff so they can walk alone."

Master Carlos Machado:
"I think some of those people get in the, I think in the, in the middle grou nd of, they're doing a lot of stuff and they want to delegate it, but they don't spend enough time training their guys. Yeah, well, the thing is, it's a plant that you have to water every day, otherwise it eventually will die out. And it's not only when you give them all they need and they can go on their own feet, you still have to continue the relationship part and be present enough that you give them the extra. And it's only you give them the extra motivation to."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"We could probably talk about staff and working with staff for a long time. You came to the U.S."

Master Carlos Machado:
"In 1990. What made you decide you wanted to come to the U.S.? My brother, Hegan, he's the middle child. He came first. He came a couple years before the first Gracie Academy was opened in Torrance, California. And he was invited by our cousin, Horian Gracie, to work with them, you know, because Horian was about to open this mega school, which he did eventually. And he wanted to have enough instructors to kind of carry on because Jiu Jitsu, he was building it up. At that time, they had a lot of garage dojos."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"They were like double car garage size."

Master Carlos Machado:
"They had enough mats to accommodate a certain number of people. And they're all full. They had people coming in, coming out for group classes or.
He had his first Playboy interview about that time in the late 80s, and he created a whole bus in the L.A. scene, and a lot of different people would come to the ga rage, and so when he arrived, so Higgins came first, came back, then he went to visit Brazil, had a conversation with me and my brother John, said, man, you guys got to come with me, because he was actually doing ref, wrestling as well, at the university, and he wanted to have enough time to do both, to do his wrestling training, and also to help out and be an instructor at the new Gracie Academy, so we arrived, so we arrived a little over a year after Higgins came, and our initial objective was to do part-time job at the Gracie Academy, so we could kind of have time, you know, for other things, Higgins was interested in the wrestling academy.
So it was kind of like my brother talking me into it, but deep inside, Mr. Moody, we had whatever we acco mplished in Brazil back then, all the tournaments were winning, and I mean, but there's no prospect of, you know, in terms of, you know, opportunities.
We still had enough students that, you know, we're living okay, I could pay my bills, I rented a nice aartment by the beach and stuff, you know, I was single, I was having fun, but there was not a landscape that I felt, man, we have to build something solid.
I didn't see it. And I think that was actually the real reason that I didn't realize until I came to the United States. And coming here on Jiu Jitsu was not anywhere. And when that, when 93 took place and my cousin Royce Gracie won the UFC three times in a row, man, it became like a wildfire, right?"

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yeah. So, and Chuck Norris, we're out."

Master Carlos Machado:
"I was ve ry close to Chuck Norris. He was the one that actually helped us open our first location in California, and he's the reason I came to Dallas, Texas, because he wanted to still continue training jiu-jitsu, but he was relocated to Dallas to run his TV show, Walker, Texas Ranger, and so he came in 1992.
I arrived in LA in 1990. I would say four or five months after our arrival, decided we wouldn't work with our cousin anymore.
I don't think he had enough space for all the people that were there to start off right away. It was kind of like a good idea, but not practical, you know, and we felt, you know, we're going to go on our own.
And Chuck Norris at that time was doing classes with us in our garage, you know, or he would invite us to his home gym, and we will do our training. You know, believe me, that total gym that you see on the commercial."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"He really does that thing, man."

Master Carlos Machado:
"That guy, he was, you know, doing amazing workouts back then. But, you know, going to what I was saying, Chuck had a mall that was called home by the late Bob Walp."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Okay."

Master Carlos Machado:
"And we're there rent free for a year. Oh, wow. Yeah. And got us going. Then from then on, we opened another location in Redondo Beach.
And then eventually, three years later, I came to Texas and, you know, never looked back."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"So you came to Texas kind of following Chuck out there."

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, 100% "

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Because you were training him at that time?"

Master Carlos Machado:
"Yeah, I was training him and he told me that I was actually traveling a lot already throughout the country, Canada, Mexico, and everywhere from east to west, west to east. And the thing is, anytime I had to do a seminar, it was like an overseas trip. "

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"It would take four or five hours going from LA to New York or whatever."

Master Carlos Machado:
"And Chuck said, you know, I'm going to do this, I'm going to have you doing stunts on my show every week until your school gets big enough, so I'm going to beat you up, I'm going hurt you, I'm not going you as much as if you fought for real. He sai d, oh man. And I asked him, am I going to have a trailer on my name? He said, yeah, I'll even do that. said, deal. So that's the first part, but the other part is Carlos, there's nothing in Texas or the Southwest. You go there, I mean, there's nothing. You 're going to really be the one propelling that. And also you cut whatever travel time I had anywhere in half, because I'm already in the midst of the country. So all those things put together made very enticing. You know, he made me an offer I couldn't ref use.."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Yeah"

Master Carlos Machado:
"Well, so if I watch Walker, Texas Ranger, I'm going to get to see you beat up on that show. Yeah, you're not going to see me winning unless there was one episode that I did. It was all my brothers that we played ourselves. If you check on YouTube, it's called Rodeo, and at that one, we train with Chuck in the ring area for a little bit of time, and then the next scene, we're in a bar, and there's a fight that breaks out, and my brothers beat up the bad guys, and me and Chuck are just ch atting while they do the job."

Dr. Greg Moody, Chief Master, Go2 Karate Magazine:
"Thank you, Master Machado, and congratulations on your Go2 Karate Lifetime Recognition Award!

Master Carlos Machado:
"Thank you so much. Gr eat to spend time with you. You take care, my friend. Thank you so much."