New Guard

Until last fall, our Jiu-Jitsu group had a very limited view of the world. Only our instructor, Shawn Phillips, had ever had first-hand contact with the Gracies.

Then, three of us went with Shawn to train with Rener Gracie down in Seattle for a couple of days.

That winter, I trained at the main Gracie Academy in California for awhile. During that time Shawn and Cosme came down for a few days of instructor training.

Now, it's almost summer. Shawn and Scott recently went to see Ryron Gracie for one day down in Washington state.

Just days ago, about 20 of us attended a seminar with Rener Gracie right on our doorstep over in Richmond, BC.

Parallel with this, as a group we've largely left our progress totally in the hands of our instructor. He does a wonderful job, but soon this will not be enough.

Two years ago, I already moved to take more responsibility for my own training. Of course, I continued to train with Shawn. I made a point of never missing any classes if at all possible. I also trained twice each week solo, or with some willing partner.

My goal was to eventually take the extremely demanding Gracie University rank exam. I also wanted to be ready as soon as possible. I also had numerous private lessons with Shawn. I shaved months off of my preparation time.

After a year and a half, I'd been through all of the material. I was way ahead of shedule. It became time to get ready for the exam itself. I liken this to cramming for the world's biggest algebra exam. The course was done, but it was time to study for the test. I was fortunate that Madeline was at about the same place in her training, and also wanted to prepare. We worked together for several months, and then successfully completed our exams.

Now, there are about half a dozen Blue Belts who want to take this same exam. They have all either been through the material, or are about to. Attending class won't be anywhere near sufficient. It is their own cram time. It will take months.

They've touched the wider Jiu-Jitsu world, and want to move forward. They are no longer undergraduates. They are martial artists in their own right, responsible for much of their own training and progress. The rewards can be significant.

Primarily, they will become much stronger Jiu-Jitsu players.

It's an exciting time for the group.

It will be an exciting time for those individuals.