If you are late and miss warm-ups you have to do 50 burpees before joining class. (What’s a burpee?)

Make sure you have proper training clothes for no-gi per the dress code. You need to supply your own MMA gear. This is for everyoneʼs safety and hygiene.

Let the instructor know if you have to leave before class is over.

Safety / Submissions

Keep your training partnersʼ health and safety in mind at all times.

If you are resting, always sit with your back against the wall or on a bench.

No neck cranks, leglocks, heelhooks, kneebars, toeholds or biceps/calf slicers until you get OK from an instructor. Ask your sparring partner if they are OK with these techniques before going for them.

Catch and release policy: If you get a submission and your partner doesnʼt tap, just let go.

Remember that neck cranks, slicers and many leglocks are illegal in gi classes.

Health / Hygiene

Do not train with any open cuts, sores, rashes, ringworm or staph infections. Do not train if you have a contagious cold or flu.

Wash your training clothes and air your MMA gear out to dry between each class.

Tuesday and Thursday
6:30 PM – No-gi BJJ + Teens
8:00 PM – MMA

Friday
5:30 PM – Teens No-gi

Class Descriptions

No-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – The ultra effective techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu taught without the gi. Ideal for submission grappling, MMA and self defense. See the No-gi Dress Code for what gear to bring.

Mixed Martial Arts – Learn to combine striking, takedowns and grappling as instructors in Muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teach the best techniques from each art and how to combine them for the cage.

Training gear for MMA:

• Proper no-gi outfit (see No-gi Dress Code)
• Mouth guard
• MMA training gloves
• 16 ox. boxing gloves
• Handwraps
• Groin protection
• Jump rope
• Head gear
• Shin guards

Teens No-gi -  Teen classes give boys and girls between the ages 13-17 to train together on the same nights and help them transition into the adult classes.

Contact us about joining these new classes.

This class is a great transition from kids’ classes during the week to the adult no-gi class held every Friday night. Students are encouraged to bring friends, and parents are welcome to come and participate in this class with their kids.

The structure of the class is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of jiu-jitsu while providing more advanced students with an opportunity to train for competition. The emphasis is on safety, fun, good sportsmanship and self-discipline.

Time: Friday 5:30 to 6:30pm (immediately preceding the adult no-gi class)

Laid off? Purge your stress for free at gym

By Dalia Colón, Times Staff Writer

Getting laid off can make you want to choke somebody.

At Gracie Barra Clearwater, that’s okay.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy recently began what it calls the Tough Times Training Program. Anyone who’s been laid off in the past six months is eligible for free classes three times a week. Just provide proof that you’re out of work — a bank statement or letter from your boss — and you’ll get free training for up to six months or until you find a new job, whichever comes first.

Owner and instructor Eduardo de Lima said he’s always given a break to students who couldn’t pay. The Tough Times program just formalizes the offer.

“I always said to my students, ‘If you lose your job, just come in anyway.’ It’s more important for them to work out, because it releases the stress of life,” said De Lima, 40, who’s been teaching jiu-jitsu for 16 years. “When (people) get stressed from money problems, they do dumb things,” he said, citing the Los Angeles man who recently shot his family and then himself after losing his job.

De Lima normally charges $110 a month for unlimited classes. Students in the Tough Times program can participate in Gracie Barra’s Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday classes, taught by De Lima and Matt Kirtley.

Chris Hartwig is one of the few to take up De Lima on his offer. Hartwig worked in the mortgage lending industry for more than three years and had been training with De Lima for almost two years. When he got laid off two months ago, Hartwig was prepared to quit martial arts, but De Lima told him not to worry about paying until he’s back on his feet.

“It was the only hobby that I had, and I was able to keep it, fortunately,” said Hartwig, 27, of Tampa, who no longer eats out and has cancelled a few vacations he’d planned. Jiu-jitsu brings stress relief and friendships that have been therapeutic during the job search process, Hartwig said. “You don’t have to go to a shrink when you have a bunch of guys in there that understand your situation.”

Tough Times Training Program

Bring in proof that you’ve lost your job in the past six months and get free hourlong jiu-jitsu lessons at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and noon Saturdays. Gracie Barra Clearwater, 1670 N Hercules Ave., Clearwater, (727) 204-9731

Enrollment in the program allows you to train at the 6:30PM classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and the 12 noon class on Saturday at no cost.

To qualify, you must show that you lost your job within the last 6 months. You can stay enrolled in the free program for 6 months from the date you sign up or until you secure another job (whichever comes first).

If you are interested in joining, please fill out the form below or call us at 727-204-9731.

We’re hoping the economy recovers quickly, but you don’t have to wait till then to train!

Credit and thanks goes to Stephen Koepfer of the American Sambo Association and New York Combat Sambo for the Tough Times Training concept.

Eduardo de Lima

Dear Parents,

While my “job” is to teach martial arts, my desire is to help children (and adults) improve their lives and reach greater levels of health and happiness. This is why I am concerned about today’s youth. As a parent, you may share many of these same worries.

Today I see too many children in schools that try to cram their heads full of facts and figures so they can pass tests but never teaching them how to use what they are learning. The importance of physical education is undervalued and PE classes are being removed from schools.

When the kid gets home, they are planted in front of TVs, computers and videos games, staring at flashing screens for hours instead of spending time doing healthy activities like playing outside with friends, spending time with the family, playing imaginatively, reading, doing homework or doing chores. The average kid watches 3 hours of TV per day and sees tens of thousands of advertisements each year (mostly for junk food).[1. Your Child | Television | University of Michigan Health System]

America is facing an obesity epidemic unimagined in times before mass production and marketing of junk food. The percentage of overweight and obese children has more than doubled in the last 30 years,[2. Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts, National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions] contributing to a rise in type 2 diabetes.[3. Type 2 diabetes, MayoClinic.com, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research]

These factors—too much TV, lack of exercise and poor diet—have been proven to increase the risk of serious health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke and cancer as a child matures. There is also growing evidence of their role in depression, social anxiety, trouble sleeping, attention deficit disorders and developmental, behavioral and learning problems.[3. Your Child | Obesity | University of Michigan Health System]

I will tell you what I tell my all parents. Ultimately, I don’t care whether or not your child does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. What I want is for them to find a passion that excites them and makes them happier and healthier. It could be anything, from playing piano to swimming to skateboarding or spelling bees.

But I have to say that in my two decades of practicing and teaching the art, I have come to see Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as an almost unmatched means of self-improvement. It offers all of the benefits of traditional sports, but as a martial art is also has a culture that encourages emotional and mental development.

On a physical level, the benefits of regular exercise include increased muscle and bone strength, increased lean muscle mass and decreased body fat and helps maintain weight.[4. Physical Activities in Children and Adolescents, Bright Futures at Georgetown]

Researchers are finding strong positive relationships between physical activity and improved academic performance. Regular exercise aids in brain development and improves concentration, motor skills and coordination and builds self-esteem. Studies have even found cases where devoting more time to physical activities and less to academic studies has lead to better scores in math and reading than study alone.[5. Does Physical Activity Influence Academic Performance?, American Heart Association]

Sports and martial arts have also been shown to improve critical thinking and problem solving, promote social interaction, cooperation and friendship and build self-discipline, trust, leadership and respect for others.[6. Sports and kids: Pathway to healthy development or to unhealthy competition?, NYU Child Study Center]

Sincerely,
Eduardo de Lima
Head Instructor
Third Degree Black Belt
Gracie Barra Clearwater

0. Meet the Instructor and Sign a Waiver

Before class starts, you’ll want to meet with the instructor. He can tell you about the school and answer any questions. If you want to join the class, you’ll need to fill out a waiver and you be lent a gi and shown how to tie a belt.

1. Line Up and Bow In

The instructor will call everyone on to the mats to line up by belt rank and experience level. He’ll make any announcements then everyone bows to start class and warm-ups.

2. Warm-Ups and Conditioning

To prevent injury and build endurance, the class will do warm-ups that usually consist of running, push ups, sit ups, body weight exercises and BJJ-specific movements like breakfalls and shrimping. You’ll have a minute to get a drink then get back on the mats before the next part of class.

3. Instruction, Demonstration and Drilling of Techniques

Each night you’ll learn 3-4 related techniques from standing and on the ground (e.g. defending a standing headlock and three ways to escape a headlock on the ground that work in combination). Students will line up around the instructor as he demonstrates and explains a technique and answers questions. You’ll pair up with a training partner and drill the technique. The instructor will go around and fix any mistakes and tell you when to switch and let the other person drill. After drilling, you’ll have a chance to get another sip of water.

4. Live Positional Sparring

The instructor will arrange the students for a group drill. People will be told to hold certain positions on each other and be given goals. For example, you may be told to lay down and have someone pin you. Your goal is to escape using the techniques you learned that night; their goal is to stop you while trying to improve their position and get armlocks and chokes. If either of you succeed, you go back to the starting position and try again. The instructor will be running a timer and telling people when to switch and who to partner with so everyone has a chance to do both sides of the drill. (In advanced classes this positional sparring is followed by free sparring.)

5. Line up and Bow Out

When live drilling ends, the class lines up one more time and the instructor will make any more announcements and award promotions, then you bow out and shake hands with your training partners.

6. Sign Up for Membership

If you enjoyed class and want to join Gracie Barra Clearwater, now is the time to talk to instructor again and get the paperwork filled out to enroll in classes.

Still have concerns?

Contact us with any questions you have about Gracie Barra Clearwater or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.