EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

GRACIE POLICE TRAINING

REFORM INITIATIVE

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL TO THE VIDEO PRESENTATION

GRACIE POLICE TRAINING REFORM INITIATIVE

WATCH FULL PRESENATION: CLICK HERE

WATCH THE CHIEF’S CUT: CLICK HERE

©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com

Background

• Gracie University, is a California based organization with satellite schools all over the world. Gracie
University is the creator of the Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) program. GST is defensive tactics program
based on jiu-jitsu techniques that have been adapted over 20+ years to meet the needs of law
enforcement professionals. The GST program has been adopted by countless federal, state, and local
agencies.
• Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (also known as Gracie Jiu-jitsu) is a martial art that has a nearly 100-year track record
of enabling smaller/weaker individual to defend against and prevail over larger adversaries in physical
altercations. This makes it ideal for law enforcement since smaller officers are often required to go
hands-on with much larger civilians.
• The additional unique benefit of jiu-jitsu for law enforcement is that it is almost entirely based on
effective body position and control holds (compared to other arts that are heavily geared towards
strikes), thereby giving an officer the ability to maintain control of a subject and physically deescalate
situations that might otherwise require an escalation of force.

The Problem

• The average police officer in America receives between 4-8 hours of state mandated hands-on
defensives tactics training annually, leaving them dangerously undertrained to handle even the most
basic hands-on encounters with the public.
• With so little training, the average officer will have great difficulty maintaining Pre-frontal Cortex
activation (PFC – the rational decision-making part of the brain) during a high-stress encounter, leaving
them susceptible to the “Amygdala Highjack” that occurs when an officer experiences loss of control in
a high-stress situation (The Amygdala controls the fear response, fight or flight, and survival
responses). When the Amygdala Highjack happens, officers tend to escalate their levels of force more
rapidly, leaving them and their departments exposed for excessive force liabilities, not to mention the
community relations challenges that are sparked each time a mishandled physical encounter is caught
on video and shared over the Internet.
• With regards to hands-on proficiency, there is a huge gap between the level of proficiency that the
general public expects from police officers and the actual capabilities of most officers in America. This
gap is referred to as the “Police Disappointment Gap” and is the core reason why tension between
civilians and law enforcement officers is at an all-time high.

©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com

The Roadblocks

• The most reliable way to avoid Amygdala Highjack (and maintain PFC activation) is to give officers the
training that will enable them to maintain control in a high-stress altercation. To accomplish this, we
estimate that each officer should be engaging in at least 1 hour of jiu-jitsu based training per week.
• Historically, most police departments have opted not to provide weekly defensive tactics training for
two reasons:
o Injury on Duty (IOD): Fear that an officer would get injured while training DT on duty, which
could lead to an increase in Workers’ Comp claims.
o Reduced Officer Presence (ROP): Concerns that an officer who is training isn’t patrolling, which
may increase crime rates and reduce response times.
• Unfortunately, most agencies have not been successful finding a way to provide sufficient jiu-jitsu
training in a way that minimizes or eliminates IOD and ROP concerns, and as a result, the vast majority
of officers remain disastrously undertrained for their duties.

The Incentives

• Most law enforcement agencies have found creative ways to encourage the personal growth of their
officers in a variety of categories (fitness, firearms, leadership, education, etc). The most successful
agencies utilize incentive programs that incorporate some or all of the following:

o Career Path Points: Officers who excel in a category deemed important by the agency earn
points that can later be redeemed at a promotion opportunity (e.g. An officer who earns a
Master’s Degree on their own time may be eligible for 20 Career Path points that can be
redeemed during any promotion exam).
o Financial Bonuses: Officers who excel in a category may be eligible for financial bonuses on
each paycheck (e.g. An officer who achieves certain fitness qualifications may receive a bonus
of $16-32 on each paycheck).
o Uniform Pins: Officers who reach exceptional levels in marksmanship may receive pins to be
worn on their uniform (e.g. An officer who achieves “expert marksmanship” level would receive
a pin indicating such qualifications).

• Since most of all of the personal growth mentioned above is conducted off-duty, agencies get the
benefit of better officers while avoiding the IOD and ROP concerns.

©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com

The Proposed Solution

• Gracie University proposes the following initiative which can be implemented at any agency to
provide officers a minimum of 1 hour of jiu-jitsu training per week:

o Off-duty Jiu-jitsu Training: Officers will be allowed to train while off-duty for 1 hour (or
more in certain cases), at a civilian owned/operated Certified Gracie Jiu-jitsu Training Center
that has partnered with their agency.
o Funded by the City: The off-duty jiu-jitsu membership will be funded by the city/agency for
the same reasons why the city/agency typically covers gym memberships for their officers:
officer wellness, medical insurance savings, department liability reduction, etc.
o Incentivized by the Agency: The agency would incentivize officer participation using some
or all of the strategies already in place (pins, pay, promotions, etc.) at agencies throughout
the country.

The Gracie University Quality Standard

• We understand that command staff will hesitate to send their officers to civilian operated jiu-jitsu
schools to provide their officers sufficient training, especially since the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ)
industry as a whole is completely unregulated and many schools would be unsafe for most officers.
• Fortunately, Gracie University has hundreds of Certified Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Centers (CTCs) all
over the country, with new schools opening every month, owned and operated by civilian
instructors whom we’ve personally certified. Since Gracie University is already the most trusted
organization in the law enforcement community when it comes to jiu-jitsu based defensive tactics,
command staff members can rest assured that our civilian operate schools adhere to the same
safety protocols and are held to the same quality standard we’ve implemented at law enforcement
agencies throughout the country.
• Among other unique benefits, is that Gracie University CTCs are the only BJJ schools that are
authorized to teach the Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) program to law enforcement officers. In
addition to live classes, officers will also receive complimentary access to the online GST video
curriculum so they can review the material 24/7.
©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com
Benefits and Funding

• Here are some main benefits an agency can expect from encouraging and incentivizing regular jiu-
jitsu practice by its officers:

o Physical/Mental Wellness: In addition to providing a fun and engaging full-body workout,

jiu-jitsu provides powerful stress relief and serves as a PTSD coping mechanism for
countless military and law enforcement professionals throughout the country.
o Insurance Savings: With physically and mentally healthier officers comes reduced medical
insurance costs.
o Reduced IOD: Since all the training is happening off-duty, officers can get the benefit of
regular training without IOD and Workers’ Comp risks for the agency.
o True Confidence/Competence: When you take away the gun and the badge, what’s left in
your officers? By developing their hands-on proficiency through jiu-jitsu, their competence
will soar, which will enhance their capacity to address altercations with the lowest level of
necessary force (or avoid physical force altogether), and this builds true confidence.
o Reduced Liability: Better trained officers are less of a liability when it comes to use of force
allegations against the agency.
o Improved Community Relations: All it takes is one use of force incident going viral in your
city to tarnish community relations. By increasing officer hands-on competence in non-
violent jiu-jitsu skills, you are proactively defending against this possibility while enhancing
each officers’ capacity to serve the community in the safest way possible.

• When it comes to funding this initiative, we suggest utilizing resources from multiple sources,
including, but not limited to, the following:

o Training Budget
o Officer Wellness Budget
o Risk Mitigation Budget
o Community Relations Budget

©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com

Implementation Costs & Action Steps

• We understand each agency operates within a specific budget, and we are eager to accommodate as
best we can. Each time we partner an agency with one of our Certified Gracie Jiu-jitsu Training Centers,
there are several factors taken into consideration to determine the cost. Three of the most important
considerations are the geographic location, department size and the desired training frequency for the
officers in the department.
• If we have a CTC in your community, we can proceed more quickly. If we do not have a CTC, but your
agency is committed to the program, we can facilitate the opening of one in approximately 12 months.
Click here to see the current list of CTCs in your area.

If you’d like to learn more about the Gracie Police Training Reform Initiative, please take the time to watch the
official video presentations.

WATCH FULL PRESENATION: CLICK HERE

WATCH THE CHIEF’S CUT: CLICK HERE

If you have any questions, or if you are prepared to discuss the next steps,
please contact Ty@GracieUniversity.com.

We look forward to working with you to customize a solution that will increase officer confidence
and competence, while reducing department liability and rebuilding trust within the community.

©2020 - Gracie University of Jiu-Jitsu | GracieUniversity.com