Gracie Barra San Diego

Marco Joca , 2nd degree Black Belt

15 years of friendship made Rafael and Nelson my brothers (older ones!!!). I have learned so much from them over these past years. Not only, because of their amazing martial art skills, but also as good training partners, dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu professors, and most importantly, because they are great human beings with strong core values, beliefs, and charismic personalities. It’s not easy to find people with all these qualities and that is why the citizens of Encinitas and the San Diego areas are very lucky to have Professors Rafael and Nelson at Gracie Barra Encinitas helping people learn how to gain skills and knowledge in BJJ techniques, and above all to become a better overall person. ” **** “Keep up the great job of carrying the GB Family flag guys!!

Thanks for your friendship and support all those years Professor!!!

GB Encinitas Team.

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Duane Dwyer, US Marines & Del Rey Oaks PD, Sr. Officer

After attending the Gracie Barra Academy in Encinitas, CA for 2 and a half years now, i wanted to express my thanks and my thoughts on the benefits on this endeavor. I heard Master Nelson Monteiro and Prof. Rafael Ramos speak of Jiu-Jitsu as “a way of life” on several occasions. Being a Former Military (United States Marine Corps) and active Special Response Team Officer on a California Police Department, i am a skeptical person from experience. It took some time but i found the statement “a way of life” to be true and never actually realized when it took place.

Lessons learned on the mat space at the school go far beyond the obvious. For example, traits and characteristics such as deligence, patience, dedication,hard work, team work, humility, and honesty all come into focus in the evolution of training at this school. In addition, one can experience cultural diversity that is always beneficial by listening to and working with Professors who are both from Brasil (only Americans spell Brazil with a Z!!) and proud of their heritage as well as being proud to be part of the future of America. Master Monteiro and Prof. Ramos and their school are an outstanding reflection on the Gracie Barra Organization and an example of Leadership and Hard Work.

Their programs cover all from four years of age to no limits of age. They cover the competition mindset and training to the corporate fitness activity. From applicable technique for the Military and Law Enforcement world of confrontation to the peaceful mind of one who simply wants to build fitness and confidence. I can not imagine that a individual could engage in this program for a month a season or a lifetime without feeling that in enhanced their life in many ways.

Thank you Duane, those words mean a lot coming from a guy like you!!

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Happy Holidays from Gracie Barra Encinitas.

Gracie Barra Encinitas will be closed from 12/24/08 to 1/04/09  for the holidays.

During this time we will be working on facility improvements.

We look forward to seeing you in the New Year!!!

We will resume regular schedule on 1/5/2009.

Here are some pictures from our dinner we would like to share:

Thank you,

from your second “FAMILY” Gracie Barra Encinitas.

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The ‘Most Wanted”  GB product of the year has arrived.

The Gracie Barrra Official Competition Pink Gi.

See you on the mats,

Gracie Barra Encinitas Team.

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Hello Jiu Jitsu lovers!

One more year is about to be over and with 2008 a lot of good memories will stay with us for the rest of our lifes. The last B in BJJ of the year is bringing to you a lot of cool staff, starting from some really interesting brazilian traditions to make sure that you will start the new year the best way as possible.

Brazilian celebrations are a clear reflection of its history, culture and the origins of its people from Portugal, Africa and South America.

New Year’s Eve is marked by festive Festa de Iemanjá held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Crowds head to the beaches to offer flowers and gifts to Iemanjá, the Goddess of the Water in the Brazilian Umbanda religion. The Copacabana beach is flocked with millions of people who come to visualize the colorful candles floating on sea.

Véspera de Ano Novo or the New Year’s Eve is the most important day for the people of Brazil. The best New Year celebrations can be seen in on of the most specials cities of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. New Year celebrations are marked with numerous fireworks and crackers. Musical shows, concerts and other dance performances are the highlights of New Year celebrations in Brazil. The world famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro is overcrowded with people on the New Year’s Eve.

Brazilians have many traditions for New Year’s Eve. Each state and region have its own, but many are followed in the entire country. Everybody does these little things to ask for happiness, prosperity, health, love and protection for the next year.

Let me share some of them with you, and maybe you’ll try one or two. ‘Cause, attracting a little good luck wouldn’t hurt, would it?

- Go to the beach and jump over seven little waves, at midnight, making seven wishes while you jump;

- Wear white clothes, as a symbol of Light, Purity and Kindness;

- Wear new underwear. The color varies according to your goals - white for peace, pink for love, yellow for prosperity, green for harmony;

- Eat a pomegranate (symbol of prosperity and wealth) at midnight. Take 7 seeds out of it and keep them on your wallet until the next New Year’s Eve. This assures you’ll always have money on your wallet.

- On New Year’s Eve (as in Christmas Eve), it’s traditional to have a late dinner, around 11:00 PM. We call it “New Year’s Supper” - Ceia de Ano-Novo - and it’s common to eat lentils as a side dish, to assure prosperity and abundance for the New Year.

- Keeping the cork of the bottle of champagne (that’s usually open by midnight) brings good luck for the keeper.

So, which one of those are you going to try?

Also we would like to celebrate some really special accomplishments of the year 2008:

- Master Carlos Gracie Jr. was promoted to the Red and Black Belt

- The new location for the H Q in Irvine

- All the schools using the same Fundamentals Curriculum

- The Gracie Barra Competition Network

- The inauguration of the Gracie Barra Schools:

San Clemente; Garden Grove; Ventura; Texas and Huntington Beach

- The new GB Store Online

Also the major tournaments:

- GB 1st Place at the Asian Novice Championship

- GB 2nd Place at the Asian Open Championship

- GB 2nd Place at the Pan American Adult

- GB 2nd Place at the Pan American Female

- GB 1st Place at the Novice World Championship

- GB 3rd Place at the Adult World Championship

- GB 2nd Place at the Female World Championship

- GB 3rd Place at the Master & Senior World NO Gi Championship

- GB 1st Place ate the Female World NO Gi Championship

- Our competitors Gold Medalists at the World Championship 2008:

Rikio Ahara; Rod Roberts; Thomasz Kaczmarek; Yoshi Yamaguchi; Lucas Rocha; Tammy Griego; Kayron Gracie; Don Ortega; Samuel Braga; Roger Gracie; Bianca Barreto; Kyra Gracie; Ana Laura Cordeiro; Eliaz Ramirez; Michael Dykes; Dan Marker; Richard Timm; Scott Carr; Roberto Barros; Tracy Thompson; Pedro Rodrigues; Tom Reusing; Roberto Alencar; Marcelo Santos; Vinicius Magalhaes; Bianca Barreto.

All the reasons above are very important but the most important reason for us to cellebrate is to be a Gracie Barra Students. To be able to train our body, mind and spirit everyday when we go to the academy, to meet and make friends with so many diferent people and to build a strong family.

“A Dojo is a miniature cosmos where we make contact with ourselves - our fears, anxieties, and habits. It is an arena of confined conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a partner who helps us understand ourselves more fully.

It is a place where we can learn a great deal in a short time about we are and how we react in the world. The conflicts that take place inside the Dojo help us handle conflicts that take place outside.

The total concentration and discipline requires to study martial arts carries over to daily life. The activity in the Dojo calls on us to constantly attempt new things, so it is also a source of learning - in Zen terminology, a source of enlightenment”.

To watch a nice video about GB in 2008: CLICK HERE

Thank you,

Gracie Barra Encinitas Team.

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Hi guys,

i just want to let you know that we made a small change on our BB class.

The class was first designed for Blue Belts 2 stripes and up, but now anyone that is Blue Belt and up can join the BB class.

See you on the mats,

Gracie Barra Encinitas Team.

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Our new Gift Cards are in now. You can purchase a Gift Card to a friend or family member for a new membership or private lesson. That’s a great way to share the experience and introduce your loved ones to the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The GB Gift Cards are a great gift for any occasion.

For any questions please talk to either Matt, Prof. Rafael or Master Nelson for information on how to purchase your Gift Card today.

Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu Encinitas Team.

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Hey guys,

check this article that our dear student David Zappasodi( www.truhealthandwelless.com ) wrote using BJJ as a methafore for his health program. The great thing about this, is that I believe that we can use BJJ as a methafore for anything that happens in our life and what David did only proves it one more time.

Thank you David !!

A LESSON FROM BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU

The other day I was in my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class, and our instructor, Rafael Ramos, was talking about some of the characteristics of the “black belt” level. It takes about 8 - 10 years to achieve a black belt in our martial art, but our instructor told us that black belts aren’t doing very much that is different from white belts; they are using many of the exact same techniques.

The difference: black belts have performed those techniques thousands upon thousands of times.

Because of this, black belts rarely think about techniques, because they perform them automatically. They are familiar with the different circumstances where certain techniques can be applied, and they instantly know how to react or change the circumstances because they’ve done it so many times before.

So, if you’re wondering where I’m getting with all this, here’s my point…

The path to becoming truly healthy is exactly the same as the path to “black belt” in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You have to do “healthy” things over and over again, until they become part of your daily routine, and you don’t have to think about them anymore. You have to keep making the same mistakes until you realize that they are mistakes, and finally stop making them.

I see so many people who are “white belts” in health, but want to become “black belts” over night, without making any efforts or changing their lifestyles. It just doesn’t work that way… there needs to be self-effort, and there will always be perceived ups and downs, so you need to keep pushing even when you don’t see progress, because in the end… you still get out of it exactly what you put in.

See you on the mats,

Gracie Barra Encinitas Team.

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