Spring 2009 - Issue 5

The Silversword: Home > Features > Train in Jiu Jitsu at Gracie Barra University of Hawaii

Train in Jiu Jitsu at Gracie Barra University of Hawaii

By James Gerber

Chaminade Silversword

 

Thinking of learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Hawaii? Gracie Barra University of Hawaii teaches the fundamental principle of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and it’s a great place to start.

Broc Calvo, a sales and fitness consultant at Gracie Barra said, "Gracie Barra has a tradition that is not only rich but also fulfilling in many aspects.  We base our school on a very important aspect, which is pride.  We take pride in all our students and we make it a point to see each student succeed and progress as each day goes by.  We also have people from all walks of life.  We have students such as doctors and lawyers that live busy lives but still find time to come in for one hour and do something that they love or have learned to love.  At Gracie Barra we strongly believe that in order to learn your ego has to be left at the door.  At Gracie Barra we strongly believe in the word ‘family’.  Once you walk in the door and put on a Gracie Barra gi (Jiu Jitsu uniform) you not only become a student of Gracie Barra but also a family member for life."

Jiu Jitsu literally translates from the Japanese as soft hand. Jiu Jitsu is a grappling base martial art, where practitioners will attempt to overcome an opponent on the bases of positioning, leverage and submission hold.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the evolution of the art that spread around the world during the 20th century. Most notably, the Gracie family of Brazil further refined the art and eventually came to popularize their version worldwide. 

 "At Gracie Barra we have many programs," Calvo said.  "We have a great kids, juniors, fundamentals, advanced, and black belt program.  Each class is structured differently according to skill level.  At Gracie Barra we believe that after four months in our fundamental program each student should know the basic positions, escapes, and attacks needed to enter the advanced program and after a certain amount of time in the advanced program that student will soon be invited into the Black Belt program

Gracie Barra provides a women’s self dense class and conditioning class to help prepare themselves for any type of situation they are in.

According to Calvo, Gracie Barra has more than 250 students and the family just keeps on getting bigger. 
People train Jiu Jitsu for plenty of reasons. There is the self-defense aspect of it, but there is also a sporting aspect of it. Jiu Jitsu forms a root in the base of MMA (Mix Martial Arts). Another great reason why people train Jiu Jitsu is because of the benefits of their exercise program, their health of well being, and training in the Academy, which Gracie Barra University of Hawaii has to offer. 

Clint Dela Cruz, operation manager and instructor at Gracie Barra said, "Not only is it a great place to learn it's also a great place to connect and become part of a team and family.We have learned that a lot of our students especially in the kids program have gained self-confidence and also interact better with others.  Through self defense people gain self confidence."

Gracie Barra is located at 1750 South King Street and has great environment surrounding the Academy. Family and friends are welcomed to sign up if they like to participate in this great martial art sport.

"We have such great feedback!" Calvo said. "Most of the time new students bring in their close friends to try it out because they love it so much. A lot of our students find Gracie Barra as their second home.  Sometimes our new students stay back for hours to talk about jiu jitsu and there's not even a class going on."