30 Oct The Principles of Gracie Jiu Jitsu

We all start training martial arts for the same reason, realistic application, health, fitness, friendship, fun.  The top of the list has to be self defense for the vast majority of all practitioners.

The development of the sportive approach to training has reduced the dedication of Jiu Jitsu instructors to prepare their students for realistic situations.  Instead, students are told they will learn self defense + sport application.  This is generally because they believe they will gain notoriety if their top students win tournaments against other schools in a limited grappling space defined by arbitrary points, limited rulesets, and short time limits which highlight speed and athleticism.  Although this is a great line to promise both self defense and sportive training from day one, it doesn’t stand up to a pressure test.  It is with certainty we say: “If you have mixed objectives, you WILL get mixed results.”.  If a student walks into a school and they learn a self defence move, but then they spar with another student and are on the receiving end of a choke or a cool (possibly painful) lock, they will go home only thinking about how to avoid that “threat” the next time they go in to class.

Preparing to defend ourselves, or our loved ones in realistic situations does not involve defending against skilled Jiu Jitsu movements, it has to do with defending against violent, explosive punches, grabs and aggressive movements, incredibly different.

What we assert is; that new students focus ENTIRELY on the realistic application of Jiu Jitsu in a way that is realistic, diverse, versatile, and alive until it is completely reflexive.  After our students go through the Gracie Combatives program, they are free to enter the Master Cycle and explore more advanced self defense applications, and spar in sportive ways that will continue to sharpen the sword.  We believe this is the absolute best entry point into the art of Jiu Jitsu.

Rener emphasizes how “people learning sport are being confused into thinking that they’re getting ready for a fight, but they’re not (…) It’s possible today in the sport, in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world, that you get a purple belt or more, and go out in a fight and get beat up.”