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Most educational programs are made up of different levels or grades. You begin at a low level, demonstrate your knowledge of certain material, and then move up (or graduate) to the next level. Jiu-jitsu is no different.

Most people who go to their first jiu-jitsu class are nervous. It’s difficult to walk into any situation wearing your inexperience on your sleeve, especially when this inexperience concerns your ability to defend yourself physically.

There is no doubt that the growing popularity of jiu-jitsu, especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Apart from it becoming more common among mixed martial arts fighters, it’s also gaining a following among normal people who merely want to learn how to defend themselves.

On part 1 of this article we examined the two approaches to training Jiu Jitsu in NYC – the Sport focused and Street Self-defense focused approach.  It’s not a question of which approach is better, but more so a question of which suits the individual’s needs.

For people who are just starting to learn jiu-jitsu, it is important to recognize that not all gyms are the same. Though all jiu-jitsu classes will teach the principles of the fighting style, there are significant differences in how some gyms choose to convert these principles into practice. The distinction is especially important if your objective is to learn self-defense.

We’ve taken a very informative 50-minute video where Rener Gracie and Alex Ueda explains the most common injuries when training in Jiu Jitsu and broke it down into two parts.

Sparring, also known as rolling, is what makes Jiu-Jitsu the most dynamic and effective martial art around the globe. Furthermore, it offers the opportunity for limitless growth. In other words, Jiu-Jitsu promotes constant sparring, which enhances one’s skills. Unfortunately, most people quit before they hit the 6-month mark in the academy because of sparring. 

Rener and Ryron Gracie have been head instructors at Gracie University since the age of 18 and 20, respectively.  Having managed all aspects of Jiu-Jitsu training and program development.  They have personally observed the rates at which people are quitting their Jiu-Jitsu journey especially, those above 40 years old tend to have a higher rate of quitting while those just approaching 40 are considering quitting soon.

The internet is a great resource for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Submission Grappling in general. It connects players who are practicing and rolling from Denmark to Japan, from Rio to right here in Manhattan.

Coach Christian and Junny Ocasio recently competed at a bjj and grappling tournament in upstate New York and took home a bunch of medals to our gym in NYC. Junny’s been working super hard, and as we all know, Christian’s been competing a lot this season. Congrats to them both!