The Future of Jiu-Jitsu (Rickson Gracie)

[tang]

Jiu-Jitsu has reached a critical point in it's evolution. On one hand, it is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet, on the other hand, it is at risk of losing its identity and suffering the same fate that has negatively affected nearly all other martial arts. What made made jiu-jitsu famous in the 80s and 90s was its unprecedented effectiveness in real fights, yet today, most jiu-jitsu academies do not teach the elements that make the art applicable in a real fight.

In this groundbreaking gathering, Rickson, Pedro, Ryron and Rener sit down to discuss the current state of jiu-jitsu and the critical steps that must be taken to preserve its original identity as a complete system of self-defense. Acknowledging that the formative years are most critical for any jiu-jitsu student, Rickson discusses his vision for the "perfect blue belt" and the critical roll of a structured curriculum in preserving this path.

To fully align themselves with the Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation, and Rickson's vision for the perfect blue belt, Ryron and Rener have made three significant changes to the Gracie Academy belt system:

1) Creation of a "Gracie Combatives” Belt
All students who complete the Gracie Combatives course, which takes approximately 12 months, will earn a "Gracie Combatives” belt as a symbol of their foundational self-defense proficiency. The belt is white with a navy blue stripe running through its center.

2) Sparring Required Before Blue Belt
Upon earning the Gracie Combatives belt, a student will start the Master Cycle, the Gracie Academy’s advanced jiu-jitsu program. In the Master Cycle, the student will learn techniques for defending against a jiu-jitsu trained opponent while continuing to enhance their arsenal of street self-defense techniques. Most importantly, the student will develop resiliency and adaptiveness through live sparring against resistant opponents (with and without strikes). Only after 6-12 months in the Master Cycle, will a student be considered for promotion to blue belt.

3) No More "Online Blue Belts"
The Gracie Combatives belt is the only Gracie Jiu-jitsu belt that can be earned through the Gracie University video evaluation process. The fact that the course is comprised of set number of techniques (approximately 75), which are exclusively designed for an non jiu-jitsu street aggressor, means that an experienced instructor can effectively verify a student’s proficiency visually, in person or via video upload. All other belts, including blue belt, can only be earned via hands-on live sparring evaluation at an authorized Certified Training Center.

For more information on the Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation visit http://www.JJGF.com

For more information on the Gracie Combatives program or to find a Certified Training Center near you, visit http://www.GracieUniversity.com

 

[SC MMA MD]

I am suprised there has not been more cheering about #3, given how much grief they have gotten about the online belts

 

[member 603]

I LOVE that Rickson stepped up and set the nephews straight with the online blue belt thing. And since I teach Gracie self defense techniques as well as sport Jiu Jitsu and MMA techniques, I appreciate that he mentioned that there IS a need to focus on training against other Jiu Jitsu trained fighters (so the Valente Bro's shit of "only doing self defense" and "no sport training" is garbage).

Cleaning up and implementing training in both the self defense system and sport/MMA training..... this is what BJJ should be

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

As someone that's only ever trained at a Renzo Gracie affiliate. This whole concept confuses the shit out of me.

 

[member 603]

As someone that's only ever trained at a Renzo Gracie affiliate. This whole concept confuses the shit out of me.

The Gracie family has always stressed that Gracie Jiu Jitsu is a self defense martial art first and foremost, and said that they'll challenge anyone else and their martial art style to a fight to prove it's dominance. Along the way, even in the Gracie family, some of the family started focusing on training and applying Jiu Jitsu only against other Jiu Jitsu practitioners (rather than the self defense system).... Helio's side of the family focused on self defense/real fights, and Carlson Gracie and his side helped develop sport Jiu Jitsu tournaments (and the IBJJF). The trickle down to today is, there are schools that don't teach the self defense system (and only focus on sport), or schools that focus just on self defense (and don't actually spar)........ Rickson is saying that both of these styles are wrong, and that you need to teach/train in both.

That's the basic jist of it

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

The Gracie family has always stressed that Gracie Jiu Jitsu is a self defense martial art first and foremost, and said that they'll challenge anyone else and their martial art style to a fight to prove it's dominance. Along the way, even in the Gracie family, some of the family started focusing on training and applying Jiu Jitsu only against other Jiu Jitsu practitioners (rather than the self defense system).... Helio's side of the family focused on self defense/real fights, and Carlson Gracie and his side helped develop sport Jiu Jitsu tournaments (and the IBJJF). The trickle down to today is, there are schools that don't teach the self defense system (and only focus on sport), or schools that focus just on self defense (and don't actually spar)........ Rickson is saying that both of these styles are wrong, and that you need to teach/train in both.

That's the basic jist of it

I'm aware of the family's history. I'm saying I don't understand the concept of a "only sport", or a "non sparring school". Sound, position based Jiu Jitsu will always be the best of both worlds

For what it's worth I believe you're really short selling Carlson. Although he created some monster competitors, his aggressive style also adapted really, really well to MMA. Carlos Jr's GB schools teach some very competition specific stuff though. Sport BJJ was also very different back then than it is now.

 

[member 603]

I'm aware of the family's history. I'm saying I don't understand the concept of a "only sport", or a "non sparring school". Sound, position based Jiu Jitsu will always be the best of both worlds

For what it's worth I believe you're really short selling Carlson. Although he created some monster competitors, his aggressive style also adapted really, really well to MMA. Carlos Jr's GB schools teach some very competition specific stuff though. Sport BJJ was also very different back then than it is now.

I'm giving a very abridged version of this all.... I find it important to do both, I teach self defense seminars frequently (and at my gym it's part of my class structure), but I've also been a sport tournament director and a MMA coach, I have trained with Rodrigo Gracie, I am DEEPLY appreciative of Carlson Gracie and his impact as much as I am of Helio and Royce (who I've trained under too).

 

[kneeblock]

I have to say I'm a little suspicious of this. It seems like yet another money grab. Adding an additional belt to the hierarchy seems like a capitulation to the pressure Rener and Ryron were facing from the larger BJJ community, but it's also a way to add additional testing fees, open up the market for more instructors to use online testing and generally bifurcate the art.

Smaller academies can't necessarily afford to have a self defense only day where they keep the cohorts of students focusing on attaining the blue and white belt segregated in technical instruction and probably not doing the fun stuff like rolling.

Also, the self defense question to me seems outdated. Due to the cost of jiu jitsu, most students training in it hail from a certain socio-economic background. Those people are statistically unlikely to ever encounter violence that they themselves didn't provoke. It's like training for a war you're never going to fight and all the accompanying psychological baggage that carries. I think it's great to infuse self defense into the curriculum either every class or once a week, but having it be foundational or even competitive as Rickson implied will likely lead to a false sense of security in its practioners, particularly in a post-UFC world where a takedown or submission attempt isn't going to catch people off guard quite as much as it would have when the system was developed.

To me, the best instructional method has always been when introducing a technique, showing the sport and self defense application in the same session and having students drill both. If it's impossible to pull off while being punched, it's important for a student to learn that in practice rather than just being told "don't berimbolo in this situation."

I will say I'm glad to see the disparate parts of Helio's lineage working together rather than at cross purposes.

 

[member 603]

@Kneeblock I don't think it is that they're adding a belt (I remember that horrible experiment the IBJJF did adding an adult green belt... that went away fast.... I still cringe when I see an adult wearing them at tournaments). The belt they are talking about is for people who are only training in the self defense aspect of BJJ and not training against other BJJ practitioners. I'm reading it as they won't give a blue belt to anyone who isn't training the sport aspect of BJJ, so that white belt with a blue stripe is basically a ceremonial achievement belt.

In regards to the self defense techniques being outdated, some of them are... and I've seen Royce, Rickson, Pedro, Caique, and others adjust the old school stuff. My gym is located in an area right by Bay Hill (the famous golf course).... it's a very well to do area, lots of the Orlando Magic players and coaches and execs live there, as well as other NBA, MLB, NFL, PGA, LPGA, and celeb types live around us.... we get more people coming in saying that they've been attacked or their kids are being bullied in school. I guess my point is, it doesn't matter where you live, these techniques still apply (I can show you the testimonials of parents thanking us for teaching their kids how to defend themselves, and adults saying the same).

 

[kneeblock]

@Kneeblock I don't think it is that they're adding a belt (I remember that horrible experiment the IBJJF did adding an adult green belt... that went away fast.... I still cringe when I see an adult wearing them at tournaments). The belt they are talking about is for people who are only training in the self defense aspect of BJJ and not training against other BJJ practitioners. I'm reading it as they won't give a blue belt to anyone who isn't training the sport aspect of BJJ, so that white belt with a blue stripe is basically a ceremonial achievement belt.

In regards to the self defense techniques being outdated, some of them are... and I've seen Royce, Rickson, Pedro, Caique, and others adjust the old school stuff. My gym is located in an area right by Bay Hill (the famous golf course).... it's a very well to do area, lots of the Orlando Magic players and coaches and execs live there, as well as other NBA, MLB, NFL, PGA, LPGA, and celeb types live around us.... we get more people coming in saying that they've been attacked or their kids are being bullied in school. I guess my point is, it doesn't matter where you live, these techniques still apply (I can show you the testimonials of parents thanking us for teaching their kids how to defend themselves, and adults saying the same).

I guess I just think it's unrealistic that people won't get the upsell to learn the "full art" once they've gotten to that blue and white belt and face pressure to do so. If they're saying self defense plus sport=the complete art, as they seem to be implying, why not overhaul their curricula to teach the two alongside each other at all times? Whether you're including strikes or not, a double leg is a double leg. It's just that the set-ups and timing change. Pretending they're entirely different in a fundamentals curriculum seems disingenuous to me.

Rickson says his primary concern is not to encourage people who have no interest in sport, but to make sure BJJ instructors have the ability to defend themselves. To me that means he's looking for long term gains with this innovation whereas Rener and Ryron seem more focused on catering to the general audience. This is a good compromise between the two, but I'm just not clear why it requires a new belt to denote that. So now all the Gracie Combatives certified karate instructors will just become blue and white belts. It's lipstick on a pig.

When I said outdated what I meant was the need for training martial arts, and specifically Gracie jiu jitsu as PRIMARILY a means of self defense is an outdated concept. It made sense in high crime Brazil in the military dictatorship and thereafter, but seems almost quaint in the middle class US setting where it thrives now.

Of course you're right that several students come in who are being bullied or who have faced violence regardless of economic status but that's selection bias. All martial arts are marketed as a tool to keep oneself safe so of course there's going to be an appreciable percentage of people who come for that first and foremost. I guess the question is, should that be considered the primary BJJ audience? Rickson, Rener, Pedro and Ryron seem to be saying it should. The global market dominance of the mostly sport oriented Gracie Barra tributaries suggest that maybe it's not.

At bottom, I support the idea of more emphasis on self defense, but to me what makes BJJ so effective as a self defense art isn't a package of 60 scenario based techniques, but the lessons you learn about what you can take while being ground into the mat and the toughness you gain from finding creative ways to turn that situation to your advantage. Splintering the audiences into isolated groups seems to dilute that principle.

 

[member 603]

I guess I just think it's unrealistic that people won't get the upsell to learn the "full art" once they've gotten to that blue and white belt and face pressure to do so. If they're saying self defense plus sport=the complete art, as they seem to be implying, why not overhaul their curricula to teach the two alongside each other at all times? Whether you're including strikes or not, a double leg is a double leg. It's just that the set-ups and timing change. Pretending they're entirely different in a fundamentals curriculum seems disingenuous to me.

Rickson says his primary concern is not to encourage people who have no interest in sport, but to make sure BJJ instructors have the ability to defend themselves. To me that means he's looking for long term gains with this innovation whereas Rener and Ryron seem more focused on catering to the general audience. This is a good compromise between the two, but I'm just not clear why it requires a new belt to denote that. So now all the Gracie Combatives certified karate instructors will just become blue and white belts. It's lipstick on a pig.

When I said outdated what I meant was the need for training martial arts, and specifically Gracie jiu jitsu as PRIMARILY a means of self defense is an outdated concept. It made sense in high crime Brazil in the military dictatorship and thereafter, but seems almost quaint in the middle class US setting where it thrives now.

Of course you're right that several students come in who are being bullied or who have faced violence regardless of economic status but that's selection bias. All martial arts are marketed as a tool to keep oneself safe so of course there's going to be an apprecia le percentage of people who come for that first and foremost. I guess the question is, should that be considered the primary BJJ audience? Rickson, Rener, Pedro and Ryron seem to be saying it should. The global market dominance of the mostly sport oriented Gracie Barra tributaries suggest that maybe it's not.

At bottom, I support the idea of more emphasis on self defense, but to me what makes BJJ so effective as a self defense art isn't a package of 60 scenario based techniques, but the lessons you learn about what you can take while being ground into the mat and the toughness you gain from finding creative ways to turn that situation to your advantage. Splintering the audiences into isolated groups seems to dilute that principle.

Well said and I agree. I have always felt that if they walk in your doors and want to learn, teach them..... if they take it and want to apply it to giving them a sense of self confidence in defending themselves against an attack, or they want to become a sport superstar, or an MMA fighter, or train/teach special ops/security/LEO/etc.... that's their choice and the school shouldn't balk at them as a result.

 

[Hwoarang]

Fuk all this marketing gimmick shit, just avoid the Gracie name at all costs if you wanna train bjj.

 

[KWingJitsu]

I am suprised there has not been more cheering about #3, given how much grief they have gotten about the online belts

Well Rickson threatened to push Rener's shit in if he didn't stop.

And Renzo called him a prostitute or something lol... so yeah... it was bound to stop.

 

[tang]

We train Gracie Jujitsu at my gym. There are couple ppl i see that sport the blue-white belt. Everyone just says that they are white belts about to be promoted to blue.

I am a humble white belt just focused on honing the fundamentals of jujitsu. having its own self-defense belt is one thing but I definitely agree with having the mindset of survival.

When I try to go hard, smash and pass all the time, and try to catch people with my limited submission skills I always come out of training with new injuries such as sprains, dislocations, neck injuries, ear injuries, many scrapes and burns.

But when I try to have the self-defense attitude, i guess more like a open, closed, half guard-game off of my back, i come out of training unscathed which means I can continue to train more without worrying about recovering the injured parts of my body.

From a white belt perspective, I think it's important to develop the skill and mindset of self-defense before moving onto higher level of Bjj

 

[Darqnezz]

Most schools don't train self defense separately. They figure you'll learn how to protect yourself while getting smashed on the progression through your belts. I like how Gracie Combatives teaches it. Learn to protect yourself first, then learn all the fancy shit used to have fun later. Using their street ready criteria, the online system is good enough to earn a blue belt. It wont make you capable of beating a world class blue belt, but it will allow you to defend yourself against most one on one situations on the street.

 

[BJJMMA]

I LOVE that Rickson stepped up and set the nephews straight with the online blue belt thing. And since I teach Gracie self defense techniques as well as sport Jiu Jitsu and MMA techniques, I appreciate that he mentioned that there IS a need to focus on training against other Jiu Jitsu trained fighters (so the Valente Bro's shit of "only doing self defense" and "no sport training" is garbage).

Cleaning up and implementing training in both the self defense system and sport/MMA training..... this is what BJJ should be

As someone that's only ever trained at a Renzo Gracie affiliate. This whole concept confuses the shit out of me.

Maybe y'all can explain this to me. How the crap are you supposed to train BJJ exclusively through videos? Where I train (10th Planet Decatur) we train leverything. Earlier is focused on practical more self defense based BJJ then later in the training when folks start leaving we tend to focus in on BJJ that is more geared to competition. I just don't see how you could get the needed instruction via video.

 

[member 603]

Maybe y'all can explain this to me. How the crap are you supposed to train BJJ exclusively through videos? Where I train (10th Planet Decatur) we train leverything. Earlier is focused on practical more self defense based BJJ then later in the training when folks start leaving we tend to focus in on BJJ that is more geared to competition. I just don't see how you could get the needed instruction via video.

Exclusively? No you can't train exclusively through videos .... that's the point. Videos are great supplemental training tools to pick up some techniques, but you NEED to train with an instructor to ensure the techniques are being implemented correctly.... and against other practitioners to ensure that you can apply the moves correctly

 

[BJJMMA]

Exclusively? No you can't train exclusively through videos .... that's the point. Videos are great supplemental training tools to pick up some techniques, but you NEED to train with an instructor to ensure the techniques are being implemented correctly.... and against other practitioners to ensure that you can apply the moves correctly

So is that where the testing center comes in? I'm just wondering. Typically I roll with 2-3 different guys through training but then at 8 switch and will roll with 10-15 different guys and the occasional girl depending on who is there. I this is a huge benefit to my jiu jitsu as everyone has something they are better at than others. This seems like it's me and someone else rolling in my garage and then we show up and "belt test" against an instructor. It doesn't seem overly practical to me or particularly good for the sport. I may be misunderstanding it and no doubt it is an improvement over the previous Gracie University online version.

 

[member 603]

So is that where the testing center comes in? I'm just wondering. Typically I roll with 2-3 different guys through training but then at 8 switch and will roll with 10-15 different guys and the occasional girl depending on who is there. I this is a huge benefit to my jiu jitsu as everyone has something they are better at than others. This seems like it's me and someone else rolling in my garage and then we show up and "belt test" against an instructor. It doesn't seem overly practical to me or particularly good for the sport. I may be misunderstanding it and no doubt it is an improvement over the previous Gracie University online version.

Oh I'm not sure how this system works.... I was just responding to can you learn techniques through a video.... you can, whether it's sport or self defense related.... but what Rickson said that I agreed with, is the whole "earn a blue belt but never actually spar or train in a gym" thing has to stop.... and even if you go to a gym like the Valente Bro's in Miami, where they don't do sparring regularly, you can't earn a blue belt unless you train/spar against other BJJ practitioners..... these things I agree with

 

[Darqnezz]

First of all, it's a martial art, not a sport. Plus MOST of the early guys in the US learned from watching videos and maybe getting a private class or seminar every now & then. It can be done. It's not ideal, & they constantly state that the videos are intended for those that don't have easy access to a legit school. The whole earn a blue belt thing is subjective. I've seen schools promote people with almost zero technical ability to blue belt after 6-8 months of good attendance. Every instructor has his own qualifications. I personally don't care what color belt anyone has on. The mats determine your true rank. The Combatives series are not taught for BJJ vs. BJJ scenarios. It's self defense against an average meathead. I view it like a CPR certification. It doesn't make you a doctor, but it could save your life. Trust me, unless you're a brown or black belt, the series will improve your Jiujitsu. Also EVERY police officer in America should have this series.

 

[member 603]

First of all, it's a martial art, not a sport. Plus MOST of the early guys in the US learned from watching videos and maybe getting a private class or seminar every now & then. It can be done. It's not ideal, & they constantly state that the videos are intended for those that don't have easy access to a legit school. The whole earn a blue belt thing is subjective. I've seen schools promote people with almost zero technical ability to blue belt after 6-8 months of good attendance. Every instructor has his own qualifications. I personally don't care what color belt anyone has on. The mats determine your true rank. The Combatives series are not taught for BJJ vs. BJJ scenarios. It's self defense against an average meathead. I view it like a CPR certification. It doesn't make you a doctor, but it could save your life. Trust me, unless you're a brown or black belt, the series will improve your Jiujitsu. Also EVERY police officer in America should have this series.

+1,000,000,000