
Invest to Heal
"a wedge is created between a community and its police - a wound that can take decades to heal from.." Robert Ruiz Police Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor Robert discusses in length the widespread use of cellphone cameras PR crisis for police departments the societal struggle we are witnessing what does it mean to "invest" purposefully in DT training READ MORE Questions to consider What is the potential cost of not going? What is the Return on Investment? GRACIE DURHAM

How do you clean your mats?
Want to know how we clean our mats at GRACIE DURHAM? Answer : Why? watch and find out GRACIE DURHAM

Gracie Survival Tactics examined by Medical and Legal Experts
" the officer and the police agency will have to contend with the public perception issue in a highly publicized force case..." read more David R. Demurjian A.P.C. attorney "my firm's review of Gracie Survival Tactics and its compliance with Federal use of force guidelines.." read more Ray N Hosack, attorney "the GST system places significant emphasis on mitigating injuries..." read more Dr. Glenn Hardesty Emergency Medicine Physician Arlington, TX "The vascular neck restrain

Lies and more Lies
can TRUTH set you FREE? Bullying is EMOTIONAL ABUSE and it's NOT JUST a kid's epidemic. check the list and ponder... AGGRAVATION : Do you know "enemies" that taunt people day after day, mocking, cursing, provoking others? INTIMIDATION : Threats don't have to be physical only, they can appear in the form of lawsuits or anything that is designed to scare you into compliance. Lies are usually not far to be found. DENIGRATION : Constant ridicule and fault finding. This is not th

Cost of Quality Instruction
(adapted from Rener Gracie recounting lessons with his grandfather, Helio Gracie) "When it comes to the financial side of jiu-jitsu, one lesson my grandfather taught me as a child was that our students don’t pay for jiu-jitsu; in every class we are giving it away for free. One cannot put a price tag on the self-defense skills, the increased confidence, and the lifestyle changes brought about through jiu-jitsu. When a student pays their tuition, they are not paying for jiu-jit


Inquiring Minds want to KNOW.
This week, a Jiu Jitsu practitioner of rank and experience reached out to GRACIE DURHAM with questions and concerns. First and foremost - we love questions, so THANK YOU! Rather than get into the details - would like to propose that from my limited perspective, There is a misunderstanding of the MISSION of the Gracie Academy and therefore all of their Certified Training Centers and a confusion about HOW they are executing their mission. Because I don't feel so smart to verbal

a Child is like a tree
like a tree - the child starts young takes root wherever possible and then... is fed... Parents might feed love Friends might teach loyalty Teachers may instill discipline Bullies may destroy confidence and so forth.. until such time that the TREE must bear FRUIT and the QUALITY is determined by what the roots were drinking for the previous growing years. 5 strategies plus a bonus tip were blogged about here Let's delve further. showing COMPASSION : it may be too late to te

How to Grow a Wise Child
If you are a parent then you are probably interested in this article. Kids are characters and I'm always looking for help to build my kid's CHARACTER. If you follow the below list, your chances of growing a "WISE" child are nearly guaranteed to improve. Before we start the list, FACT : there are no perfect parents. I am guilty as charged of missing "perfection". Let's start by saying we can lecture and teach our kids until we are blue in the face but if our words are accompan


#JusticeForHolden
"The camp director basically told me, 'I know it's gross, but boys will be boys and horseplay is typical at this age" Read the whole story ... The problem is that, there is a gross underestimation of the psychological damage that a child can sustain and subsequently affect their entire destiny. In the spirit of the Gracie Academy, GRACIE DURHAM would like to extend Holden a scholarship to train with us here in Durham. We would like the pleasure of working with him using the n

The TRUTH about PAIN.
Pain. Inevitable and UNIVERSAL Emotional pain can rear it's ugly head from bullying, grief, confusion of purpose, loss of dignity and the list goes on. Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, was depressed for an entire year in 1981, right after he launched the church in 1980. Michael Phelps, dreamcatcher, arrived at the top of the mountain. Realizing there was nothing there, in 2014 he found temporary distraction through alcohol. A subsequent DUI was enough to cause him t