Week 1

By Guinea Pig

AS SOON as you log onto gracieuniversity.com it’s clear that you are not dealing with a typical web based instructional. The site is well designed, and features an impressive library of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu techniques, supplemental print resources, and discussion forums. Simple registration gives you access to a good deal of this material, including the first three video lessons, and is strongly encouraged even if you do not plan on taking a course (you will be able to watch several of the videos reviewed in this series).

The heart of the Gracie University (GU) site is the video interface, which allows the student to watch lessons from multiple angles, view curriculum outlines, access film loops of techniques learned, and ask questions of GU staff. That this program is a cut above most other grappling instructionals on the market is well known; what we are going to attempt to ascertain here is the validity of the central claim made by GU: that a student training through this program will not only receive comparable training to that received in a “brick and mortar” Jiu-Jitsu school, but that the training received should actually be, in some respects, superior to what one would receive in person, even at Rener and Ryron’s own home academy in Torrance, CA (yes, they say that). It is quite a claim, and while we can not compare this training directly to the training available at the Torrance academy, we can put one of our staff through the entire blue belt qualification course (BbQC), and have a qualified instructor outside of the GU organization, grade the student. At the end of the program, we will also test the material against other students of comparable experience in a competition environment. While we realize the combatives curriculum is geared to self-defence, and not sport competition, we though our readers might want to know how someone trained in this program might fare in a grappling tournament.

The initial lesson introduces our hosts Rener and Ryron Gracie, gives a little Gracie family history, and informs us that our home is “now part of the Gracie organization”. The goals of the BbQC are clearly explained as providing the student with the skills to defeat a larger opponent in a street fight . Notice this is a very different goal from competing effectively in sport BJJ; whether this goal is sufficient for in Mixed-Martial Arts competition is less clear.

That said, the curriculum is described as focusing on the subset of techniques with the greatest application to a self-defense scenario. Apparently there are 36 of these techniques to learn. OK Rener, you have my attention; let’s get started.

Lesson 1: Trap and Roll Escape

Before we begin let me make it clear that I have no formal training in GJJ (or BJJ), although I have had some exposure to white belt level Judo, and basic wrestling. I have, from time to time ventured into BJJ classes at the various gyms and clubs I have trained striking at over the years, I have found them very confusing, and learned essentially nothing (one reason I volunteered to try eLearning).

Straight from the get go I am liking the very high attention to positioning and grip details on the Trap and Roll Escape lesson. I have had people try to explain this move to me before, and absolutely never got many of the fine points of it. I especially liked the silent film loop offered at the end of each sequence, allowing my slightly overthick skull to see the damn thing 10, 100 or 1000 times in a row if necessary.

I wanted to have a quality control mechanism in place on this experiment, so I enlisted the services of a BJJ brown belt friend of mine to act as training partner. Our deal is that he goes along with the partner drill exactly as an untrained person would, but occasionally makes comments about things that I may have gotten wrong that are either dangerous or stupid. Other than that he is just along for the ride.

The lesson covers several variations of mounted attack (choke, punching, headlock) and the corresponding set up and execution for the trap and roll. I was able to get the general idea from watching the videos, and work up to hitting the roll effectively at moderate levels of resistance. Because the material was so new, we made a decision to seperate the guard pass material and look at it in next weeks’s lesson. Overall I am fairly impressed with the quality and professionalism of the material, and looking forward to next week.

Next Week