Learn: Jiu-Jitsu Guides from Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fourways
Starting jiu-jitsu, or bringing your child to the mat, comes with a lot of questions. Our instructors are certified through the Gracie Instructor Certification Program (ICP), and these guides answer the questions we hear most often from adults and parents in Fourways and Lonehill. Read them at your own pace, then come and try a class.
Michael Palin, Owner and Head Instructor
Guides
- What is Gracie Combatives? The 36-technique beginner programme explained – What adult beginners learn in the 23 lessons, what a class is like, and where it leads.
- What age can my child start jiu-jitsu? A guide for Fourways parents (coming soon) – How Mat Munchkins (3–5), Little Champs (5–7) and Junior Grapplers (7–12) are split by age, and why.
- How jiu-jitsu helps kids handle bullying without fighting (coming soon) – How Gracie Bullyproof uses Verbal Jiu-Jitsu and the Rules of Engagement to help children stand up for themselves.
- Women's self-defence in Johannesburg: what actually works (coming soon) – Inside Women Empowered: 15 lessons covering the 20 most common attacks, in a women-only class.
- Starting jiu-jitsu after 40: is it too late? (coming soon) – What older beginners can expect from a structured, cooperative programme.
- Gi vs NoGi jiu-jitsu: what's the difference and which should I train? (coming soon) – Master Cycle runs both. Here's how they differ and how to choose.
- Your first jiu-jitsu class: what to expect, wear and bring (coming soon) – From your free introductory lesson to borrowing a gi, so you know what to expect on day one.
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Fourways and Lonehill: how to choose a school (coming soon) – What a Certified Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Center is, and what to ask when you visit any school.
Try a class for free
All our programmes start with a 10-day free trial. You don't need any experience for our beginner programmes, and the Master Cycle trial is open to students who meet its entry requirements. Your free trial runs for 10 calendar days from your first class, so you can come to as many classes as fit into that time. We'll lend you a trial gi for the 10 days.
We're at Pineslopes Boulevard, corner of Witkoppen and The Straight, Lonehill, Sandton, 2191, next to RocoMamas.