First and foremost, THANK YOU! to all the wonderful friends, family and future students for showing interest in GRACIE DURHAM. Your support is very much appreciated. Questions are coming in and since some of them overlap, here's some answers and we will update this page with future questions as well. Thank you again. Q : Where are the classes going to be in Durham? A : We are actually working with a commercial real estate agent in Durham, Mark Micol of Pickett-Sprouse Real

Common sense says Listen to your Body and Listen to your Doctor. If your body is telling you something is wrong, don't wait to see your doctor. Why do injuries happen? The main cause of injuries is because two people care too much about the engagement. A good question to ask is : Are the training partners more concerned with safety or with catching the submission? Neck / Cervical Injuries The most common ones are neck crank, can opener type attacks. There is no real benefit

Common sense says Listen to your Body and Listen to your Doctor. If your body is telling you something is wrong, don't wait to see your doctor. Why do injuries happen? The main cause of injuries is because two people care too much about the engagement. A good question to ask is : Are the training partners more concerned with safety or with catching the submission? Lower Back Injuries Three possible scenarios are bending, flexion and twisting of the spine beyond it's capabili

"When sparring, I hear my grandfather's voice reminding me, to continually increase my comfort in worst case scenarios, so that one day, worst case scenarios will cease to exist...." "If I catch my opponent, it is only because I have failed more than he has. If he catches me, it is because he has failed more diligently than I." "My goal is NOT to attack faster than my opponent, but rather to exhaust slower than him." "I will flow like water and take the path of least resistan

Do you know ONE technique that really exemplifies what Gracie Jiu Jitsu is all about? Do you know what you would do if you opted to use some "dirty fighting" techniques (groin shots etc..) and they failed to incapacitate your attacker? Do you have confidence in your ability to push off someone who ended up on top of you and was bigger and stronger than you? Do you know about how many techniques you need to know to feel confident about defending yourself in a typical "street"

Maximum Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be intricate and tricky to learn. The instructor has just shown a technique or move and it's now time to drill the move with your partner. These four strategies will help you maximize your learning of the technique just shown. Strategy #1 - Give Feedback When your partner is doing the move on you, give feedback. If the instructor is not watching, their number one source of information of whether the move is working is you! Your pa

Having trouble tying your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belt? It can be a daunting task, but never fear, all you need to know is covered by Rener Gracie in the video above. He's super entertaining, it's worth watching, even if you already know how to tie your belt. Enjoy! If you don't have time to watch the video or are still not confident about tying your belt, don't hesitate to ask us at GRACIE DURHAM or any other Certified Training Center for help on your next lesson.