Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

In the late 1920s Grand Master Helio Gracie started developing Gracie or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after he realized that he was too frail to utilize the traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu techniques. Over the past 80 years, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has proven to be the most reliable system for a smaller person to defeat a larger, more athletic opponent. The techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu are based on precise timing and effective use of leverage so that virtually anyone can do them, man or woman, regardless of their age or athletic ability.

Gracie Combatives

Although Gracie Jiu-Jitsu consists of over 600 techniques, studies of the fights conducted by members of the Gracie Family have shown that 36 techniques have been used more often and with greater success than all the others combined. Originally developed for the U.S. Army, Gracie Combatives is the only course entirely dedicated to the mastery of these 36 essential techniques.

Step 1: Learn the Techniques
We have divided the 36 Gracie Combatives techniques into 23 one-hour classes so that you can complete the course at your own pace. We strategically designed the lessons so that you need no experience to participate in any one of them. As a result, you can complete them in any order, and as many times as you wish. Upon enrolling, we will issue you a Gracie Combatives Card on which we will track your progress through the 36 techniques. Each month, you will receive a Gracie Combatives Calendar identifying which techniques we will teach on each day of the month.

Step 2: Develop Your Reflexes
Once you complete each of the 23 Gracie Combatives lessons two times, you will qualify to participate in the Reflex Development Classes. In these lessons we use a revolutionary training process called Dynamic Reflex Development™ to build your reflexes in the execution of all 36 techniques in every possible combination and at various levels of intensity.

Step 3: Earn Your Blue Belt
Once you complete all of the Gracie Combatives lessons three times, and develop your reflexes in the execution of all 36 techniques individually and in every possible combination, you will qualify to take the blue belt qualification test


Master Cycle 

Beyond blue belt, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu consists of hundreds of advanced techniques, all of which we have organized into a clearly defined, systematic curriculum called the Master Cycle. In order to streamline the learning process, we have divided all the techniques in the Master Cycle into seven Positional Chapters: Mount, Side Mount, Guard, Half Guard, Back Mount, Leg Locks, and Standing. For more detailed learning, we further divided each positional chapter into 2-4 specialized subsections.

In the Gracie Combatives course, the objective is to give the students a broad understanding of the essential principles and techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. In the Master Cycle course, the objective is to take each student from basic understanding to positional mastery by dedicating 8-16 weeks to the study of each chapter before moving on to the next. By spending such a prolonged period of time on the specialized study of one position, students learn several closely related techniques. This enables them to “connect the dots” more effectively than if they were learning random techniques, from random positions, every day of the week. This type of scrambled learning, although entertaining in the short term, greatly increases the amount of time it takes for the students to master each position.

The secret to success as a Master Cycle group class student is disciplined attendance. Since we will dedicate a finite number of weeks to the study of each position before moving on to the next, the students who benefit most are those who attend class most often during each chapter. Students understand that once we complete a chapter, we will not repeat the instruction until we have cycled through the other six chapters. Each time a student recycles through the 7 chapters they have the chance to learn new techniques as well as strengthen and expand their foundation of existing skills. This cyclic process continues for several years until the student becomes a master in every position of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, one of several prerequisites for promotion to black belt