John Danaher Explains Why He’s Never Competed

John Danaher has opened up about why he has never competed in Jiu-Jitsu despite being well known as one of the best coaches and teachers of his generation, and being one of the people responsible for the leglock revolution that Jiu-Jitsu has seen over the past few years alongside people like Lachlan Giles and Ryan Hall.

Somewhat ironically considering his student’s preference for leglocks, he mentions that one of the primary reasons for his lack of competition was the fact that he suffers with a rather sever knee injury, something he refers to as a “crippled leg“. He explains that this injury might not be much of an issue when grappling at a light pace with other highly-skilled training partners like his protege and Danaher Death Squad poster boy, Gordon Ryan, but it would definitely be a problem during aggressive competition rounds with elite athletes determined to beat him.

It’s also interesting to hear him say that his motivation has always been to be the best at what he does and if he couldn’t compete due to this injury, then he would just have to become the best teacher instead.

“I’ve always felt that the greatest times of joy in my life always came from helping other people get to their goals, rather than any goals that I might have achieved in my own life.”

That quote says it all really.

The interview with John Danaher on why he has never competed comes courtesy of the London Real YouTube channel, click here for more of their content.