"Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was developed by my father to give the weak a chance against the strong, and to give the timid and the shy the confidence to meet challenges. Nowadays, however, with the rise in popularity of the sportive aspect of Jiu-Jitsu, many of the essential concepts and techniques that serve this objective are being lost. These days, a practitioner may advance through the belt ranks by training only in the sportive aspect of the art and winning competitions, and become a black belt and an instructor with tremendous knowledge of the sport and little to no knowledge of the core art. In such cases, these black belt instructors are limited in their ability to serve those who are not interested in competitions, but who would still like to learn to defend themselves and feel more confident when engaging in unfamiliar situations. These individuals make up a substantial population: accordingly, this gap in knowledge represents a missed opportunity for these instructors and their businesses, the individuals they might serve, and society at large.  

 

"Over the course of my life, I have continued to develop the Jiu-Jitsu I learned from my father by focusing on aspects that I now refer to as "Invisible." These include the elements of Strategy, Base, Weight Distribution, Connection, Timing, Distance, and Leverage. These elements are hard to see with the naked eye, but obvious when properly applied. In my view, these are the elements which play a deterministic role in the art's effectiveness when it is employed by a smaller, weaker person. In other words: it is my view that these elements are essential to the art's original expression and mission. 

 

"Having now worked with many students and instructors of every belt rank for many years, I have come to believe that this "Invisible Jiu-Jitsu" is poorly understood within the broader Jiu-Jitsu community, even at the senior belt levels, and within a few generations may be lost entirely. With Rickson Gracie United, it is my intention to present this knowledge and a framework for its dissemination to students of every level, so that it may continue to benefit practitioners and their students for generations to come."

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