TRAINING HANDBOOK
This site is a resource to assist you on your journey to complete the Women Empowered® Program.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
The weekly schedule is accessible through your member portal or the Ronin Athletics Website.
GRACIE JIU JITSU – RESPECT & CONSIDERATIONS
OFF THE MAT1) Arrive 10-15 minutes early to class.
2) Wear clean Gracie Jiu Jitsu branded uniform (Gi and No-Gi)
3) Whisper in the hallways. Sound travels easily & may interrupt the class.
4) Care for the facility like it’s your home, because it is.
5) Wash your hands before and after class.
6) Keep nails trimmed, hair tied back and remove all jewelry.
7) Always use footwear when using restroom facilities.
8) Children not participating in class must be supervised.
9) Never walk around shirtless outside the changing rooms.
10) Visit GracieUniversity.com to review yesterday’s lesson and prepare for tomorrow’s lesson.
ON THE MAT1) If you’re late, check-in with the instructor before entering the class.
2) Always respect, encourage and educate your training partners.
3) Watch with good posture, and communicate with respectful language.
4) Select training partners that make you feel safe and comfortable.
5) Never feel obligated to spar with anyone, listen to your body.
6) Tap early, Tap often and make youre partner’s safety a priority.
7) Report any inappropriate, unclean, or unsafe students to the instructor.
8) Report all injuries, abrasions, or skin infections to the instructor.
9) When nursing injuries, train less, watch more, but come to class.
10) Chase the knowledge, not the belt.
UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS
Women Empowered® Classes require Jiu Jitsu Gi Pants, Belt and T-shirt as part of its training tool.
Our Academy Policy Requires training to be done in White, Gracie University Branded, Jiu Jitsu Gis along with your Belt. There must be a T-Shirt or Rashguard worn with the Gi Pants.IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS- We ask that you not wear tops with exposed shoulders (in order to minimize mat burn, skin to skin contact and for hygeine considerations especially when practicing different choke techniques.- You've already committed to program we suggest you take the extra step to invest in a Gracie University Branded Rashguard as shown in the below photos. It's specially designed to optimize your training performance by mitigating mat burns and is the appropriate layer of protection in close quarters training. Ask our staff to purchase one or you can order it directly from the Gracie University Store (there are many colors to choose from on the site).
HOW TO PUT ON THE JIU JITSU GI PANTS AND BELT
STEP 1 - LEARN TO TIGHTEN YOUR JIU JITSU PANTS
You'll need to learn how to tighten your Jiu Jitsu pants. Here's an old (and still entertaining) tutorial of our co-founder, Rener Gracie walking you through the process.
STEP 2 - LEARN TO TIE YOUR JIU JITSU BELT
Here's a tutorial of our co-founder, Rener Gracie explaining the 3 variations: The Standard Variation, Hollywood Variation and Super-lock Variation. He's very charismatic and the video is quite entertaining - enjoy!
STEP 3 - LOG-ON TO YOUR GRACIE UNIVERSITY ONLINE CURRICULUM
Included in your membership is FREE access to Women Empowered® Online (normally a $189.00 program).You may Log-on by visiting GracieUniversity.com. Your USER ID is [your e-mail] and request a password reset to create a new password. Your Women Empowered® lessons will appear under the Dashboard section.
PLANNING AND TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS
YOUR LESSON FORECASTSEvery 2-months we will post a forecast of all the lessons in advance. This will allow you to proactively acquire the lessons you need to qualify to test for your Pink Belt. You can access this forecast on the google share drive link below.Important Note: A Pre-requisite minimum of one stripe on your White Belt is required before attending an RD class.
PINK BELT QUALIFICATION CARDYou will be provided your very own Your Women Empowered® Pink Belt Card which will be maintained in the attendance box beside the reception desk.It is an important tool to track the lessons you've attended. The 15 Lessons and Reflex Development classes are marked on your card as you attend them. By completing your card, it will provide both the coaches and yourself guidance on how far along you are in your Women Empowered® journey. It's important to note that 100% completion of the classes, only serves as a pre-requisite for the Women Empowered® Pink Belt examination. The coach and the student will communicate to determine if they are ready for the exam.
THE EMPOWERMENT MANUAL
While Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is widely acknowledged as one of the most effective martial arts, the Women Empowered® program stands out as a truly comprehensive self-defense system. It not only equips women with essential physical skills for protection but also empowers them with the mental and emotional tools required to establish and safeguard personal boundaries. For a detailed understanding of the program, including statistics, tools, and empowering concepts, you can explore The Empowerment Handbook through the link provided. This resource aims to instill confidence in your self-defense capabilities, enabling you to lead a life with increased assurance.
LESSON FRAMEWORK
The Women Empowered® program consists of 15 lessons. In these lessons, we will teach you how to escape the most common control holds including wrist grabs, chokeholds, and bear hugs. You will also master the critical physical and psychological techniques that will enable you to avoid panic and escape from a larger attacker who has pinned you to the ground. As the lessons progress, we will teach you how to defend against less likely but equally frightening attacks including an assailant armed with a knife or gun, as well as several deadly force options you can use when escape is not an option.
EACH LESSON HAS 5 COMPONENTS -#1 Technical Slices: To facilitate the learning process, we break down each core concept or technique into a series of simplified drills or “slices.” Once you’ve mastered all the slices individually, we show you how to apply all the details and variations in
combination with one another.#2 Silent Demo: After each slice, we demonstrate the technique silently. After watching it a few times, you can loop this video while drilling the technique, so you always have a visual reference to guide your practice.#3 Reflex Development Drill: In some lessons we have a Reflex Development Drill. During these drills we will teach you how to execute all the variations of the newly learned technique in combination with previously learned techniques. The Reflex Development Drills train you to remain calm and avoid panic by strengthening your ability to choose the most applicable technique for any particular threat scenario.#4 Mindset Minute: At the end of each lesson, we summarize the most important
details, concepts, and principles of the featured technique.#5 Fight Philosophy: In some lessons, we have Fight Philosophy discussions. These
discussions cover some critical self-defense principles and are, in some ways, more
important than the physical techniques. Many of these concepts will be tested in
the Pink Belt Qualification Test, so don’t skip ahead!
PROGRAM CYCLE
The 15 Women Empowered Lessons
The 20 techniques are grouped together into 15 Lessons + Reflex Development Class
White Belts Stripes 1-4 Progression Explained
There is a Black portion of your White Belt. Each time you complete a cycle of 15 sessions*. Your coach will place a white stripe on your belt. You will need 4 stripes on your White Belt to qualify to test for you Pink Belt Evaluation.Note: you do not need to take the numbered lessons in order. This is strictly based on attendance.White Belt Stripes 1-2 - Ideally at this stage the student should focus on building successful training habits. Establishing a weekly schedule for training and focus on memorizing techniques. Execution shouldn't be a priority, but having a mental catalog of the techniques is suggested.
Reflex Development Class
Students who achieved 1-stripe on their White Belt can attend the Reflex Development Class.White Belt Stripes 2-4 - after achieving your 2nd Stripe. You will be invited to attend Reflex Development Classes. These are required classes for you to begin developing an understanding of how techniques are chained together and most important developing the sensitivity queues in a fight that will dictate the technical countermeasures you will need to finish the fight.
Free Online Access & Satellite Training Privileges
Upon enrolling in the Women Empowered program at any Certified Training Center, you will receive a free subscription to Gracie University Online (See step 3 of New Members page). Through this interactive online platform, you will have access to detailed video instruction on every technique in the course, enabling you to study the lessons on any computer or mobile device 24 hours a day!Furthermore, all active students at a Certified Training Center qualify to train for free at any other Gracie Certified Training Center around the world for up to 30 consecutive days per year. Since the curriculum is the same at all Certified Training Centers, you will receive credit for every lesson on your Women Empowered attendance card when you return home!
MEMBER PORTAL
In addition to this program, you may have questions on Membership Billing, Services and Supplemental Education. Follow the steps below to access your Member Portal:
Step 1 go to https://roninathletics.com/loginStep 2 Register. Use your e-mail as your User ID.*Be sure to use the e-mail you provided us when you joined.Step 3 Create and save your password
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Testing for your Pink Belt will be based on the following Criteria. During the evaluation, you will start with 100 points and receive a 1-point deduction for each significant error in the following categories. A minimum 90 points is required to earn your Pink Belt.
[CRITERIA #1] -
ACCURACY: Precise and correct execution of all techniques.[CRITERIA #2] -
EFFICIENCY: Fluid, relaxed movements and efficient use of energy.[CRITERIA #3] -
REFLEXES: instinctive and speedy response to all indicators[CRITERIA #4] -
PRINCIPLES: Deep understanding of the core-concepts.
SCHEDULING YOUR EXAM
It's important to understand that determining your readiness to test for the Women Empowered Pink Belt is a collaboration between you and the coaches. As a guideline, once you're at the conclusion of your Pink Belt Qualification Card, speak to the coaches to determine readiness or if they feel you need to focus on certain techniques that may need some polishing.Once you are both confident, you may schedule an evaluation session with the coach. You will be charged an evaluation fee of $155.00 per evaluation.
ACHIEVING YOUR PINK BELT
WHAT IS THE PINK BELT?
In most martial arts systems, awarding belts is the traditional way to acknowledge progress and accomplishment. With the development of the Gracie Women Empowered program, the course featured so many unique strategies, objectives, techniques, and psychology tailored to a special set of circumstances, that the standard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt system did not apply. So, we decided to add an entirely new belt, and since pink was one of the only colors not used in the existing BJJ belt system, we introduced the Women Empowered Pink Belt! It not only symbolizes dedication to the techniques of the program, but also an understanding of the philosophy that is essential for survival in life-threatening scenarios. We hope that this reflexive understanding of both the philosophy and techniques will instill a confidence in women that reduces their risk of ever becoming a target in the first place. Since the program was created we have watched women dedicate countless hours to earning their pink belt, and with every pink belt earned, the value and prestige of this belt has become undeniable.