Comedian Russell Peters Uses Jiu Jitsu To Stop Thief

By Ismail Safi, March 20, 2019

Russell Peters is one of the most successful and hilarious comedians on the scene right now. The Canadian comedian was listed as the number three most paid comedian on the Forbes’s list in 2013. Peters currently has three stand up specials available for viewing right now on Netflix as well.

In November 2016, Russell Peters began his path in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He started training under one of most popular grapplers ever, the Coral Belt Jean Jacques Machado. Russell also trains occasionally with Joe Rogan, notoriously famous in the BJJ community and black belt under Eddie Bravo.

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Morning training with the master @jeanjacquesmachado and my brother @russellpeters! Russell is a legit blue belt! I’m very proud of him and impressed with his development! We’re training at headquarters in Tarzana where I started way back in the 90’s. For those asking that’s a @dsgear hemp gi. They’re the same company that makes the JRE backpacks I sell at http://higherprimate .com

A post shared by Joe Rogan (@joerogan) on Mar 8, 2019 at 10:00am PST

Interestingly, Russell Peters has described multiple instances where he almost used or did have to use Jiu Jitsu to deal with aggressive people. In one story, Russell describes an aggressive interaction with a man in the Philippines that ended in Russell hitting an armbar against the guy and kicking him in the face.

In his most recent public use of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Russell Peters, who is currently a blue belt, used his grappling skills to fend off a jewelry shop thief. In the video below from Joe Rogan’s podcast, Russell Peters shows a clip from the incident and gives us some commentary. See below:

It is a little hard to tell exactly what Russell does to stop the aggressor, but it appears he uses some sort of choke from the rear and gets him to the ground. After that, it appears that Russell is just maintaining some sort of top position and preventing the guy from getting back up.

Not only is it great to see celebrities like Russell Peters train Jiu Jitsu and put it on the map, but seeing anyone use it effectively to defend themselves or prevent a crime from occurring is always heartening and reminds us grapplers why we train.