Blog & News

There has been a lot of discussion about what kind of role police should play in society.

Women Empowered classes at the Gracie Academy emphasize eight fundamentals of self-defense. They are:

Even before starting jiu-jitsu, just about everyone has a general idea of how the belt system works. In the most basic terms, belts symbolize skill level and rank. White belts represent those who are new to jiu-jitsu. As they develop as fighters and demonstrate their increased skill level on the mat, they are awarded new belts.

With the explosive popularity of group fitness classes like Pilates, yoga and spinning, women in New York City have a wide variety of classes to choose from.  Pugilistic sports like Boxing and Kickboxing have crossed over into this fitness category, boasting the benefits of fitness training while learning self-defense. 

One of the more interesting ways to think about learning Jiu-Jitsu is to think of it as learning a language.

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.

Bullying is a major problem in the United States. It takes a massive toll on the physical and psychological wellbeing of kids from elementary school to high school and it can oftentimes lead to extremely violent and tragic events.

We typically think of martial arts training that is something incredibly beneficial for children – and rightfully so, but those benefits are not exclusive to children as adults often stand to gain for more from martial arts training than children actually.

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. 

Women who take self-defense classes typically aren’t training to be championship fighters. They take these classes because they want to be prepared to confront dangers in real-world scenarios.