Interview with Gracie China Instructor Chet Quint [Part 1]

Chet Quint is the BJJ instructor at Gracie China, and currently the only BJJ black belt in China. He also has an academy in Shanghai and an affiliate school in Hong Kong. As a key figure in China's rapidily developing BJJ community, I asked him to answer questions on topics ranging from his own personal background to his insights on China's young MMA scene.

You are the first Brazilian Jujitsu black belt in China. Before we talk about what made you come here, can you talk about your background ?
How and why did you start BJJ, and did you study other arts ? Who did you learn BJJ with ?

I first heard about Jiu Jitsu back in 1989 when Rorion Gracie produced the "Gracie in Action" video. There. for the first time I got to see real footage of martial artists fighting each other. At the time I was boxing and was training Muay Thai and Kali. I also had black belts in Taewondo and Goju Ryu. My Goju Ryu teacher was heavily influenced by judo and Japanese Jiujitsu so I had a lot of exposure to those styles as well. I guess I was sort of a martial arts junkie, because I trained anything I found interesting. Like many of us, I was very interested in Bruce Lee and his philosophies about martial culture. Along with TKD and Goju Ryu I have a Black Belts in, of course, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Chinese Shuai Jiao and I am a Full-Instructor in Muay Thai. I didn't get a chance to actually experience Gracie Jiu Jitsu until 1996 when I moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and met Pedro Sauer, my teacher. Pedro was 65 kilos and despite the fact that I was already an accomplished fighter and was 40 kilos heavier and 10 years younger he tapped me out like I was a child. I couldn't believe it. I signed up that day and haven't stoped training since.

What got you interested in China ? How did you decide to come here, and what made you think at that time that there was a future for BJJ in China ?

When I was living in Brazil I trained with Rilion Gracie at night and with Rolker Gracie during the afternoon. It was at the Gracie Academy in Centro, Rio de Janeiro that I met an Australian guy named Aaron Gardiner. He told be about the BJJ club he trained at and explained that they only had a blue belt there. They were pretty much trying to figure out things on there own.

Mitsuyo Maeda left Japan to teach Jiu Jitsu in Brazil. [...] So, I feel that teaching the art abroad is kind of a tradition in this style.

I spoke a little Chinese and always wanted to live in Asia so a year later I went out there to visit him. The guys in the club were all nice guys, but they didn't really have an idea what was going on. They lacked an understanding of the basics. I liked Beijing, so I decided to move here and teach Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Mitsuyo Maeda left Japan to teach Jiu Jitsu in Brazil and the Gracie brothers along with Pedro Sauer left Brazil to do the same in the United States. My other teacher, Rilion, just left Rio to teach Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Miami. So, I feel that teaching the art abroad is kind of a tradition in this style.

What do you think of the rising Chinese MMA scene ? Do you think China is a promising place for MMA to develop, and do you think Art of War
(arguably the best-known MMA org in China right now) is doing it right ?

It really isn't my place to say what is right and what is wrong. We all do the best we can so you have to appreciate their effort. I think that the MMA scene here is still very much in the beginning stages. The Art of War guys have a very difficult task because of the way that entertainment and sporting events work here in China. Currently there is no real mechanism that allows a fight promoter to make good money in China. Pay-Per-View doesn't exist here and the Central Government controls the media. If it weren't so hard, the big players like the UFC and Pride would have been here a long time ago. Anyone can set up shop and put on an event if they have enough money. The trick is to make the event profitable. Why isn't professional boxing here? It's because they still can't make good money in China. Once that bridge is crossed, the real fight organizations will be here in force but I don't think China is ready for that just yet. Not when you can set up a multi-million dollar event in Japan or Korea with a phone call. So things have to change here first. That kind of change will happen in small steps. I sympathize with their problem and I wish them luck.

part 2