Hafthor Bjornsson, Martins Licis Grapple in Jiu-Jitsu Training With Gordon Ryan

Hafthor Bjornsson and Martins Licis train jiu-jitsu with world champion Gordon Ryan.

World Strongest Man champions Hafthor Bjornsson and Martins Licis do jiu-jitsu training with multiple time world champion Gordon Ryan. The two strongman veterans were pushed to to new limits as they experienced the thrill and the agony of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Not all athletes are not created equal. A strongman will find it difficult to excel at Jiu-Jitsu in the beginning. The same is true for a jiu-jitsu player looking to compete in a strongman competition; chances are they’re not going to fair all that well. It takes time, dedication, patience, and consistency in order to excel at just about anything.

Where jiu-jitsu and strongman is concerned, it’s essentially learning two different approaches to training and competing. While strongman may be competitive, it’s not a physical confrontation between the athletes. For jiu-jitsu the game is as much about strength as it is about being mentally flexible, creative, intuitive, and having supreme endurance in order to be high level. World’s Strongest Man champions Hafthor Bjornsson and Martins Licis learned that lesson well as they trained under the guidance of multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion Gordon Ryan.

Bjornsson vs Licis

A terrifying blend of strength, athleticism, and supreme grappling knowledge, Gordon Ryan is the perfect candidate to help walk these two strongman champions through this jiu-jitsu experience. Hafthor Bjornsson and Martins Licis learned a fair amount from Ryan before putting it to work themselves. Bjornsson and Licis would end up rolling, utilizing their massive strength against one another.

Ohh maaan, if we tried again, @thorbjornsson would have surely destroyed me! 😅 The endurance he gained from boxing far surpasses mine, and he was ready to continue rolling. After this, I was laying on the ground like a pancake. Time to do more cardio! – Thank you @thorbjornsson for grappling, let’s do it again sometime, or maybe you can kick my ass in some sparring 🥊 🤕 And thank you @gordonlovesjiujitsu and @jiujitsugiant for teaching us some moves! 💪

 

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Rolling With The Champ

Gordon Ryan also got in on the fun and ended up grappling Hafthor Bjornsson showing that size doesn’t matter if you have quality strength and high level technique.

Literally went against the best and got humbled quite badly. @martinslciis and I got the opportunity to meet up with @gordonlovesjiujitsu while he was doing his last workout before he competes tomorrow. I love trying out new sport and what a pleasure it was. Excited to watch Gordon crush his opponent tomorrow! This guy is next level! 🔥

See the full training here.

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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

Jonathan Salmon
Managing editor of Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. He has been writing about bodybuilding, combat sports, and strength sports for over 8 years. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.