1
Hi Braulio,
What does a typical grading day look
like at your academy, or at Gracie
Barra HQ? A lot of guys I know at
different gyms do things like the ‘Iron
Man’ or running the gauntlet – do you
think these are ok? I wonder if it’s
really a good thing for the art.- Monty
Hi Monty,
There are lots of different approaches to
grading days. I believe the tradition of
belt whipping started as a sort of joke, so
maybe not the right mind-set, and that’s
why at Gracie Barra we don’t do that
anymore. I feel like they’re special days to
recognise people for their achievements,
not punish them. I also think it can be
quite hard to watch a load of guys getting
whipped for everyone else at a grading orpeople who are not on the mat! So yeah,
I feel like it started as a joke and it’s been
made into a tradition for some people,
but I don’t see it as part of the essence of
martial arts.We have guidelines set out by Gracie
Barra for promotions, but these are just
guidelines so it doesn’t mean someone
is guaranteed a belt just because they
feel they’ve served their time. I do enjoy
having an annual gathering, where I tend
to promote groups of people who were
going to be getting new belts within that
sort of time frame. These group days do
make for special occasions and everyone
really enjoys hanging out and reflecting on
a year of training. It’s not that I don’t give
out belts throughout the rest of the year,
but we try to group as many as possible to
be given out on our annual gathering.We also make sure that anyone who
receives a black belt has to do a speech,
where they can talk about their own
journey and what made them a black belt.
I think this acts as a great way for the next
black belts to express themselves and
also motivate the other students to keep
on the journey.Hi Braulio,
I love Darce chokes and
different head and arm chokes,
so I wanted to see if you had
any favourite set ups you like
to use?- Hasan
Hi Hasan,
This is a nice little set up to play
with, and it looks pretty awesome
if you pull it off!Rolling
Darce Choke
1/2. Your opponent is on their
back, playing guard, and starts to
sit up, attempting to control your
leg. 3/4/5. Straight away, secure
a sort of arm-in guillotine grip
around your opponent’s neck, as
you dive forward and over your
shoulder to clear their legs. 6/7/8.
Turn towards your left, adjusting
your hands slightly to lock-off a
sort of choking grip as pictured.
Keep moving your legs towards
your opponent as you squeeze to
get the tap. Ideally, you’d jump
back into half guard and control
their legs to prevent them from
escaping away from you.
2
(^34)
(^56)
7 8