The transcript below is from the video “Tom Hardy Dominates in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament” by Krufessor Rad.

Krufessor Rad:

Tom Hardy is an awesome actor. I think his best work is in the roles where he plays a serious badass. He just always has the attitude, the demeanor and the physicality to pull it off. But Tom Hardy is a rare breed and that he is also a badass in real life and he doesn’t just play one on tv.

I discovered recently that Tom Hardy competed in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament and he won gold. So what do his skills look like? Looks like Tom Hardy gets into an armbar. I don’t have the other footage of the match but this is a solid setup for an armbar. His knees are a little wide but he’s not giving up on the grip. It’s solid. Breaks the grip and gets the submission. For a blue belt, that’s a solid submission.

Krufessor Rad:

What is that like to show up at your table for your match and there’s Tom Hardy’s your opponent? Like, is it bad form to ask for an autograph or a picture afterward?

So, here’s another one of Tom Hardy’s matches. Starts out pretty normal. They engage. Okay, this guy pulls guard again. Tom Hardy’s pretty stable. He’s got a good combat stance. Looks like he’s trying to open the guard, a standing pass, good pressure. This guy’s just closed guard. He’s not trying to drop him, neither deliver or anything. This is blue belt though. Looks like Tom Hardy starts to reach back for an ankle and the guy gets a little excited trying to kick free and he doesn’t seem too upset but that had to have set him off a little bit and he drops right into the ankle lock.

Krufessor Rad:

Now, this is impressive. It’s a good setup. He’s got solid grips. This guy is trying to break the grips. He’s not scraping the heel off. Tom Hardy turns over on the shoulder, he’s gonna lean back here and tap. Man, that was a solid ankle lock. That’s not like I train a couple times a week type skills what I’m seeing here. Another win for Tom Hardy. That’s dope.

And then I found this he also did nogi. Again, rolling through, control, looks like single leg x, his knees are a little wide but he gets the tap. Another straight ankle lock

Now, you don’t get those kind of skills training a couple times a week like you’re putting time on the mats. He’s not making sloppy beginner mistakes. He’s got legitimate skills. He actually knows how to grapple and that does not happen unless you are committed to learning Jiu-Jitsu. So he’s putting the time on the mat and man, I respect it.

Krufessor Rad:

As if I needed even more of a reason to like respect this man as a bad m*therf*cker. There’s footage of him sparring. Now, obviously, he uses MMA training and striking and Jiu-Jitsu to stay in shape and to change his physicality for different roles, which I think is awesome, man. That’s dope. But he’s in here, he’s not just going through the motions and hitting pads and doing the safe training. He’s in here sparring. He’s in here getting hit in the face. I mean, his hands look decent, you know. He’s getting his combos off. He leaves his head open a little bit but he’s in there mixing it up. I mean, it’s light sparring but it’s sparring and it’s contact, man. I don’t think you’re gonna see a lot of celebrities in there doing this kind of training. Even when they’re training to be fighters in a movie, I don’t see sparring footage.

Krufessor Rad:

So again, Tom Hardy is just a badass on and off the screen. Now there are plenty of celebrities who train in Jiu-Jitsu. I mean, you could google that and you’ll get a very interesting and lengthy list. But when they cross over and actually test themselves in competition, to me that’s the next level. I mean, most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners don’t ever compete and that’s fine. It is not a prerequisite. You get your roles on the mat. But the ones that choose to challenge themselves in competition, man, that’s another breed. Jiu-Jitsu itself is freaking hard for the average person and the above average person. And most celebrities who train in martial arts, I’m certain it’s done in a safe manner. They’re protected because of their status and I don’t think they really have to go through the hardships that the average person would have to on the mats.

Krufessor Rad:

So you got all these celebrities, you got people like Mario Lopez, you got Mark-Paul Gosselaar, you got Jonah Hill doing Jiu-Jitsu now, Russell Brand on his YouTube channel constantly talks about his Jiu-Jitsu journey and I think he just got his purple belt, like I would love to see that guy even roll, let alone do a competition. So, it’s so good for Jiu-Jitsu and it’s so good for these people because if you watch my channel, you understand how I feel about Jiu-Jitsu and what it can offer people. So I love that these people, who pretty much have infinite means, are choosing something that’s of so much complexity and so physically brutal. And they’re just falling in love with it so much that they want to compete. That is awesome!

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