Damon Martin: With MMA On Hold for Now, Kyra Gracie Looking to Inspire Girls in Jiu-Jitsu

Growing up with the last name Gracie is an honor but it also comes with certain expectations.
The family lineage is one of the most famous in all of combat sports with champions and legends that make a list a mile wide, and Gracie is the family name most associated with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts.
The list of women in the Gracie’s that have achieved black belt status in the family’s trade is short, but only one stands out when it comes to active competition and championships.
Kyra Gracie has become synonymous as the female member of the legendary family who has gone on to do great things in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A multi-time champion, Gracie has competed against the best of the best in the grappling world, bringing home titles from Abu Dhabi, Pan-American and the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championships.
Now as she heads into the latest installment of the Worlds, Gracie is not only focused on becoming a champion, but becoming an inspiration to the next generation of female grapplers who might want to follow in her footsteps.
“It’s awesome. Little girls are training and they come to me like I’m their role model, and now I have my little cousins, my sisters are training, so it’s awesome to be a role model for this new generation of girls that are doing jiu-jitsu right now. Because before when I was growing up, we didn’t have anyone to look up to,” Gracie said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com.
Kyra grew up with legendary family members like Royce, Renzo, and Ralph, but she now wants to be the person young ladies look up to when they are thinking about pursuing the love of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“That was always my dream and my goal in life to be the face of jiu-jitsu for girls,” Gracie stated.
Another dream that Gracie has held near and dear to her heart for the last couple of years is an eventual shift into the family trade of mixed martial arts. She’s flirted with the idea before, but with her grappling schedule keeping her busy her MMA debut has been put on hold for now.
Gracie is still committed to making it happen, but there’s just no timetable on when it will go down.
“I was really thinking about moving to MMA and then I competed at Abu Dhabi and I won, and then I had to do a lot of seminars, I was traveling a lot so I had to keep it on hold for a little bit. I’m really looking forward to competing and making my debut in MMA. It’s something that I want to have this experience like everyone in my family,” Gracie said.
“I’m looking forward to do it, but I don’t know yet when.”
But when she does finally make the move, Kyra believes it will be a great boost to women’s MMA to have a Gracie involved because the legendary name carries a lot of weight in the sport and once again, she’s looking to inspire the next generation of fighters that want to carry on the family legacy.
Also check out a documentary below about Kyra Gracie “The Main Tournament of My Life”

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