Nicky Ryan is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under John Danaher. He is perhaps best known for his child prodigy tag as he began training BJJ at a young age and was tipped by many to do great things. Like many prodigies, Ryan started training at 8 years old which explains why he got so good, so quickly. Interestingly he was said to be overweight and sluggish when he first started, which is a million miles away from his physique of today.
He is also the younger brother of Gordon Ryan, who many consider as the greatest nogi grappler of all time. Read on for more information about Nicky Ryan.
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How old is Nicky Ryan?
Nicky Ryan was born in 2001. At the time he was born in New Jersey and he would spend most of his childhood years on the east coast of America. He eventually moved to Puerto Rico for a few months aged 19, before settling in Texas shortly after.
Before he left the east coast, he was promoted to the rank of BJJ black belt by John Danaher, aged 19 at the time. As you may have figured, this is quite an early age to get promoted to black belt. Still, based on his skills and when he started training, it’s not like anyone held this against him.
What happened to Nicky Ryan?
Although Nicky Ryan is a great competitor, some have claimed that he’s an even better coach. As a result, his image morphed into a coach during his early 20s. Whilst training at the B-Team in Texas, he also taught there and you can see some of his lessons online. Various people praised his theoretical and analytical skills whilst coaching.
Although he’s an elite competitor, often many athletes struggle to make the crossover towards being a good teacher. Therefore, Nicky Ryan proved both were possible and his reputation grew even more so as a result.
What happened between Gordon and Nicky Ryan?
Interestingly, when the Ryan brothers returned to US soil after their stint in Puerto Rico, they didn’t stay together. They’re both currently located in Austin, Texas but live separately. Nicky Ryan has gone on record to say his brother didn’t mess with his money which was intriguing but pointed that there was no rift between the brothers. Saying this, it looks as if the Danaher Death Squad is dead for now.
Interestingly, Nicky’s B-Team co-founder Nick Rodriguez later claimed, “There were some issues within the team. Certain people had certain issues with really, one person. You’ve got to cut the poison out” It’s not known who he meant by this but his statement got people talking. Ultimately, unless you’re within Nicky Ryan’s inner circle then you won’t know what went on as the group has kept things private for now.
Did Nicky Ryan go to school?
Aged 16 years old, Nicky Ryan famously dropped out of high school to pursue a career in BJJ. At the time, no one really did this so it was quite a leap of faith. Having said this, at this point he was already making some money from BJJ and those around him were doing well financially so it makes sense.
Remember, his older brother Gordon Ryan made a fortune selling DVDs and doing seminars, so it’s not like Nicky Ryan would starve for his profession. It seems to have paid off. In his early 20s, he co-founded the B-Team gym and can easily make a living from seminars, superfights, and teaching privates. Whilst this move may not work for everyone, it did for Nicky Ryan.
What is Nicky Ryan’s BJJ like?
In his earlier career, Nicky Ryan was best known for his leg lock game and playing butterfly guard. Here, he would access the legs by elevating people up by getting underneath them. At the time, this was a similar strategy that had proved successful for a lot of his teammates. However, as he got older, his BJJ improved and became less one-dimensional.
He began incorporating wrestling into his game and would often use wrestling takedowns from the guard. He also started to favor passing more, whereas before he was primarily a guard player. In short, he can play on top or bottom and is well versed in practically every area.It should also be noted that like his brother, he sticks with nogi. There are probably multiple reasons for this, but you probably won’t see Nicky Ryan in a gi anytime soon.
What height and weight is Nicky Ryan?
Usually, Nicky Ryan competes around the Lightweight bracket which is under 77KG. However, he did compete at under 63KG earlier on in his career and has even competed at 83KG later on. This makes sense, as he was still going through puberty when he was younger and has since then packed on a lot of muscle. Put another way, his weight is probably somewhere between Lightweight and Middleweight.
Nicky Ryan’s height is roughly 5’8 feet tall which is a good height for a grappler. This is quite a lot smaller than his brother Gordon Ryan who is well over 6’0. According to coach John Danaher, Gordon Ryan was at the high end of his family genetics in terms of height, whereas Nicky Ryan was towards the lower end.
