Gracie Bullyproof - Review (Part 2)

Sorry it took this long to get to the second part of this review. Holidays got in the way.

For the second part, I want to talk specifically about the Gracie Games. When kids start the Bullyproof series, they start with the Gracie Games, which are 10 activities that incorporate one or more BJJ techniques. They're basically designed so that the kids can play with their parents and learn a technique without actually knowing they're learning something.

And it's pretty slick.

Sure, it's a little gimmicky - most of the activities are named after animals - "crazy horse" for back control, "crocodile control" for side control, etc. Some of them work better than others, but I suppose it adds to the "game" aspect versus learning a technique.

But I can tell you unequivocally that after just 6 lessons, my son had a FAR better grasp of techniques like back control and mount control than he did with straight-up kids lessons. And he continues to improve with every lesson.

The part the I really like is that the entire 10-game series is progressive. Each lesson has 3 levels. Level 1 is the basic technique. Using the first lesson, "Spider Kid" as an example, level 1 is basic mount control and establishing a base side-to-side with your arms. Level 2 involves "swimming" your arms to reestablish a holddown when someone pushes up against your chest. Level 3 is the combination of the two.

Here's the published level 1 video of "Crazy Horse."



The real trick is that - as most of us know anyway - all of these techniques flow together. So you do Spider Kid. Great. The next lesson is "Shark Bite," which involves the "upa-and-roll" escape from being mounted. So the level 3 drill uses this escape from being mounted to transition into mounting your opponent, and immediately establishing a base (i.e. Spider Kid).

Going further, Crocodile Control level 3 starts with "Tackle The Giant," which is a basic double-leg takedown. You go from there to pass the legs into side control (Crocodile Control), then make your move to mount, but your opponent pushes you off and mounts you. You upa-and-roll (Shark Bite) into mount and keep your base (Spider Kid) or stay on top while your opponent moves (Bulldozer) and then take his back when he gives it (Crazy Horse). It's pretty awesome, and it provides a review of all the techniques leading up to it.

For those of us who have already been just rolling around with our kids "playing" jiu jitsu, this format is a little more regimented, but it provides a fantastic curriculum from which to work. My son has really got some slick scrambles, and looks to grab the straight armbar from mount (Spider Kid) when I press up, and from back control (Crazy Horse), because it's one of the techniques he's already got down.

But the kids don't need ANY experience whatsoever to play these games, and neither do the adults. This is just fun stuff.

The third part of this review will discuss the "Junior Combatives" section of the series.