It's a Sad Day - Gracie University

**Mo_Fo** · Posted On: 5/24/2011 4:55pm

Originally Posted by gonzomalan

I'm not going to say this doesn't work, but I think this is a very long way of going about learning a technique. The whole idea of practicing a move with little resistance so that you can feel how it's supposed to work, perfecting that, then increasing the resistance while maintaining good technique seems like it makes more sense to me.
For example, if I wanted to learn to play a song on guitar, I wouldn't just read the chord changes and music notations, then try to play the full song at full speed. I would work on the song section by section, getting the fingerings, strumming, and rhythm correct, then work my way up to play that section at regular speed, then work on the other sections.

My thought would be a healthy combination of the two. I also like to break a whole move down into sections that are easier to learn. However, once I start feeling comfortable with each section and I piece it all together I'm not going to try it on the most experienced guy in my school that often. I'm going to play with it some while rolling. I'm going to be able to try the move out with more frequency on a less experrienced guy than me more often than the more experinced guy. This is because I will control the roll more with a lesser experienced guy than me, allowing me to get into the postition to try my "new move" far more often. Does that make sense?

**slideyfoot** · Posted On: 9/05/2011 7:40pm

I think the below video is worth adding to the thread, as in it, Rener talks about the blue belt stripe 1 test, which includes sparring. He starts with the very unconvincing 'haters gonna hate' non-argument at around 3:45, but more interestingly, describes the sparring segment of the latest test at around 7:00.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 9/05/2011 9:10pm

I started GU before beginning BJJ proper. Gracie Combatitves teaches a fragment of GJJ, but it doesn't teach the skill most people refer to when they say they know Jiu-Jitsu: the ability to grapple with another grappler. The minute a GU student startes going to open mats he starts learning how much has been excluded from his training. I learned more Jiu-Jitsu paying attention to how other people countered my GU techniques than I learned from GU. Just sayin'

GU taught me a few words, but left me with no idea how to compose sentences, much less win an argument.

**searcher66071** · Posted On: 9/05/2011 10:09pm

Originally Posted by Matt Phillips

I started GU before beginning BJJ.

GU taught me a few words, but left me with no idea how to compose sentences, much less win an argument.

Ditto for me. I only had the DVDs to start with and though they helped me get a start, there was so much that I needed. I have been in a BJJ school for almost a year now and it has totally transformed my ground game. I was able to hold myown against SOME of the newer guys, but was not even close to the level that the DVDs say you should be at. Blue Belt? Not even close. Maybe a 1 striper, maybe. If you have no other options, then go for it, but please don't think that GU or the DVDs will take you to the level of a Blue Belt.

At one of our seminars, we had a guy come that was a blue belt with 2 stripes, I think and when he rolled in open mat, he was getting handled by 1 and 2 stripe white belts. The only problem I had with the guy was that he had a huge ego attached to his blue belt. He thought he was gonna roll over some of the other guys, but he stood no chance. He had never done a live roll, just fight simulations and drilling the basic application of the techniques. I am hoping he had his eyes opened, but I am not sure it happened.

**Team Python** · Posted On: 9/05/2011 10:20pm

I went to the Gracie Academy for a seminar and I was surprised how many yuppies they had in the class. No cauliflower ears, no dirty gi's they all looked like they just bought their gi's and belts right before class. Nobody looked hard other than the instructors. I mean you can tell when someone trains hard they just have that look. I even took one of my white belts and I bet he could have smoked all their blue belts with no problem.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 9/05/2011 10:37pm

Originally Posted by searcher66071

At one of our seminars, we had a guy come that was a blue belt with 2 stripes, I think and when he rolled in open mat, he was getting handled by 1 and 2 stripe white belts. The only problem I had with the guy was that he had a huge ego attached to his blue belt. He thought he was gonna roll over some of the other guys, but he stood no chance. He had never done a live roll, just fight simulations and drilling the basic application of the techniques. I am hoping he had his eyes opened, but I am not sure it happened.

I'm not ascared of blue belts any more. I see them for what they are: terrible purple belts

**slideyfoot** · Posted On: 9/06/2011 2:38am

Originally Posted by searcher66071

At one of our seminars, we had a guy come that was a blue belt with 2 stripes, I think and when he rolled in open mat, he was getting handled by 1 and 2 stripe white belts. The only problem I had with the guy was that he had a huge ego attached to his blue belt. He thought he was gonna roll over some of the other guys, but he stood no chance. He had never done a live roll, just fight simulations.

I thought that sparring was a major part of the blue belt first and second stripe tests at the Gracie Academy, or at least that's the impression I got from the aforementioned video. Did he definitely say he had never sparred before, as that would seem to contradict what Rener was saying (unless they've changed the requirements more recently, or they do things differently outside of Gracie University)?

Originally Posted by Matt Phillips

GU taught me a few words, but left me with no idea how to compose sentences, much less win an argument.

This is somewhat tangential, but that comment made me think you might enjoy this, if you haven't seen it already.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 9/06/2011 8:09am

LOL once again BJJ is two steps ahead of Matt Phillips.

**searcher66071** · Posted On: 9/06/2011 4:14pm

Originally Posted by slideyfoot

I thought that sparring was a major part of the blue belt first and second stripe tests at the Gracie Academy, or at least that's the impression I got from the aforementioned video. Did he definitely say he had never sparred before, as that would seem to contradict what Rener was saying (unless they've changed the requirements more recently, or they do things differently outside of Gracie University)?

It has to be a very recent thing that GU has added in, as he had never rolled live before. It is possible that his particular school does not roll. I have tried to find this guys school, but have had no success yet. I was really suprised that the guy showed up at the seminar and was then willing to roll with us. *Pure speculation here*Maybe he showed up as they were preparing to start rolling. Who knows.

**DKJr** · Posted On: 9/06/2011 8:20pm

Originally Posted by Team Python

I went to the Gracie Academy for a seminar and I was surprised how many yuppies they had in the class. No cauliflower ears, no dirty gi's they all looked like they just bought their gi's and belts right before class. Nobody looked hard other than the instructors. I mean you can tell when someone trains hard they just have that look. I even took one of my white belts and I bet he could have smoked all their blue belts with no problem.

Hearing that makes me want to puke.