Fundamentals Program

What are the principal qualities of a great fighter? What does it take for an ordinary person to realize to his or her own potential?

Top performing fighters and individuals follow a common set of principles that sustain their success. The practice of Gracie Barra Bloomington Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu allows individuals to understand these principles through an exciting process that combines instruction, observation, practice, appropriate feedback, live training and competition.

Students experience results that go beyond gains in strength, flexibility, fitness or self-defense skills. By remaining truthful to the lessons learned in practice and applying them off the mats, Gracie Barra students experience an overall improvement on their focus, energy and general well being.

The Gracie Barra Fundamentals Program teaches these basic principles of effective fighting to individuals like you. Its structure condenses an immense diversity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into core fundamental moves combined intelligently and safely to optimize your learning.

Benefits of our Fundamentals Program

• Learn the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Increase self-confidence, focus, energy and concentration
• Enjoy significant gains in your overall fitness level
• Learn the GB Self-Defense System
• Become part of the GB Family
• Increase self-confidence
• Train at over 600 Gracie Barra locations worldwide

Advanced Program

What comes after mastering the fundamentals? What is next on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey?

The Gracie Barra Program Structure defines three main stages of development for students: the Fundamentals Program, the Advanced Program and the Black Belt Program. These stages indicate different maturity levels and students upgrade from one to the other in their own natural progression.

While the Fundamentals Program focuses on the building blocks and basic principles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Advanced Program is built on high-level techniques and drills that start shaping the students game flow through the development of reflexes, speed and reaction time as well as transitions between one technique and another.

After a few months in the GB Advanced Program students typically experience a deeper involvement in GB’s philosophy, a stronger bond with training partners as well as more discipline and commitment to healthy habits that keep them in good shape.

Advanced Program classes are based on a defined class structure and curriculum that take a broad and open-minded approach, incorporating techniques from different grappling styles like wrestling, judo, sambo, and, of course, Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Benefits of our Advanced Program

• Learn the most effective take down techniques adapted to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Develop transitions between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques
• Experience further improvements in overall fitness level
• Gain a better understanding of different aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Start shaping your Jiu-Jitsu game flow by working with the instructor on your favorite techniques
• Step up to participate in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions
• Train at over 500 Gracie Barra locations worldwide

Black Belt Program

Can someone master Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Is there an end to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey?

The Gracie Barra Black Belt Program is the last stage in GB’s adult program structure. While it does represent the student’s arrival at the ultimate level of training in our school, it also represents a new beginning.

The goal of this program is to further develop the student’s BJJ game flow by exposing him or her to cutting edge Jiu-Jitsu techniques and their variations. The program’s dynamic curriculum and classes, followed by hour-long live training sessions, build a challenging yet safe environment for students to progress from their blue to black belts.

It is in the Black Belt Program that most students truly grasp what they’ve been told since being white belts: Jiu-Jitsu is an endless journey of daily accomplishments that always leads to a new challenge. The same old arm-bars, triangle chokes, fireman carries, Kimuras, sweeps, guard passes and single leg takedowns gain new meaning as their BJJ game flow is defined.

Gracie Barra students enrolled in the Black Belt Program are role models at our schools. The responsibility of sharing GB techniques and training philosophy with newer students is taken seriously. They play a key role in maintaining a safe, friendly and progress-oriented environment at our school.

When the journey is more important then the destination, you have become a GB Black Belt

Benefits of our Black Belt Program

• Define your BJJ game flow
• Learn cutting-edge BJJ techniques
• Achieve greater physical fitness
• Train with the best training partners in our school
• Work with your instructor to shape a jiu jitsu game developed specifically for you
• Start developing your teaching skills
• Train at over 500 Gracie Barra locations worldwide

Private Training Program

Can a Jiu-Jitsu student learn more and learn faster? Is it beneficial to have one-on-one time with my instructor?

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is like any other sport or activity, your progress is a consequence of how hard and how smart you work. Group classes are the best proven way to teach Jiu-Jitsu, since the diversity of training partners creates more and different challenges allowing a student to improve more quickly. However, private classes are definitely an essential complement that no serious Jiu-Jitsu student should do without.

The individual attention and approach that a 30- or 60-minute session with one of our instructors provides can and does lead to significant improvement in a student’s Jiu-Jitsu game flow. It is highly recommended that all students take at least one private lesson per month to review techniques and address specific challenges in his or her BJJ game flow.

Your private classes will be specifically designed to fit your needs and goals. To get started contact the school’s staff and explain that you’d like to take private classes. We’ll set an appointment with an available instructor so he or she can evaluate and build a program for you. There are many options available but students typically prefer a package of 10 classes since it offers the highest value and benefits.

Benefits of Joining our Private Training Program

• Gain a better understanding of specific areas of your BJJ game flow
• Set goals and work towards them
• Get individual attention
• Gain access to a customized curriculum
• Enjoy sparring with your instructor
• Rise above your training plateaus
• Speed up your learning
• Make up for missed classes