Here are three Rear Choke Defenses that can thwart a potentially deadly choke from behind.

There is so much more to learn – and the best place to start is one our upcoming FREE women’s self-defense seminars at Gracie University HQ and at our Certified Training Centers worldwide. Go to https://www.GracieGirls.com to find one near you and to reserve your spot!

The seminar at our Torrance, CA location is on Sunday July 16 at 3pm-5:30pm. Make sure to RSVP before we reach capacity – We hope to see you there!

Make sure to share with someone you love
#selfdefense #womensselfdefense

This is what it looks like when you give someone the authority and the obligation to enforce the law without giving them the training to do it safely and effectively. I don’t know the backstory, but if anyone has contact with these British officers, let them know I want to sponsor them to attend GST. 🙏🏼

https://www.GracieUniversity.com/GST

We launched the Sleeper Hold on Kickstarter 29 days ago, and in that time over 15,000 Backers pledged over $900,000 which means we’ll be shipping over 30,000 Sleeper Hold Travel Pillows as soon as we finish production!

I wanted to get some feedback from real users so I loaned out my prototypes to friends and backers who had trips planned. Safe to say, they enjoyed the best airplane sleep of their lives and they never want to travel without the Sleeper Hold again!

Today is the last full day to pre-order your Sleeper Hold on Kickstarter for up to 50% off https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sleeperhold/travelpillow/ by 6am on Friday, June 2, it’s over.

On Monday, Jordan Neely was strangled to death on a New York subway. He was acting erratically, which caused some concern for passengers, but had not physically harmed anyone, when a 24-year old man put him in a rear naked choke. It’s reported that they fell to the ground and the choke was used to subdue Neely for approximately 15 minutes and with authorities arrived, he was pronounced dead.

Nate Diaz Choked a man unconscious in New Orleans. Here how’s he did it and 3 escapes everyone needs to know!

We love to travel but we HATE “bobblehead,” so we invented the solution, and now we’re ready to share it with the world!

The Sleeper Hold goes live on Kickstarter today! Don’t miss your chance to save up to 60% on the King of Travel Pillows!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sleeperhold/travelpillow

Josh Ruben is a sleep scientist that works with NASA as well as professional athletes and entrepreneurs to optimize sleep. We hooked him up with The Sleeper Hold and here’s what he had to say!

Someone tell Gervonta Davis that the only way to put Ryan Garcia to sleep is with the Sleeper Hold!

Going live on Kickstarter May 3rd! Join the VIP launch list at http://www.SleeperHold.com and save up to 60% on launch day!

Last month, this mother of three was bear hugged from behind and slammed on her head by a suspected robber who followed her for 24 miles before carrying out the attack. Here are 3 bear hug defenses everyone should learn. 🙏🏼

Understandably, many people in the  jiu-jitsu community became very concerned and jumped to quick conclusions about the Greener case based on the limited amount of information available.

Having been involved in this case for nearly 2 years, I’m releasing this 22-minute video to:

1) Clarify that I don’t believe Francisco Iturralde’s action’s on November 29, 2018, were malicious or intentionally harmful.
2) Shed light on some of the specifics of this case that guided my decision to get involved, along with the essential (previously unpublished) evidence that was considered at trial when determining whether there was “unreasonable risk” present, and whether or not the injury could have been avoided.
3) Share what I learned throughout the process with the hope of informing BJJ instructors, school owners, and everyone who practices it to ensure that we can continue doing what we love without this ever happening again.

For those who are unfamiliar, this case was regarding a sparring session between a BJJ white belt, Jack Greener, and a BJJ black belt instructor, Francisco Iturralde, that lead to a neck injury causing the student to lose control of all four limbs. Thankfully, his condition has improved since, however, he remains a quadriplegic with severe and permanent injuries including limited function of all four limbs, loss of sensation from the nipples down, bowel and bladder incontinence, and much more.

I was called to offer my expert opinion on this matter. At first, I was hesitant to become involved in the case based on the effect it might have on the jiu-jitsu community, but upon reviewing the footage, and better understanding the specifics, I came to a position where I actually felt obligated to take a stance on the standard of care we owe to our students, and that I believe is necessary for our industry to thrive. Like all the expert witnesses on this case (including my second cousin who was the expert for the defense), I was compensated for my time.

I also understand that accidents are bound to happen in our sport, and that students who enroll must understand and accept a reasonable level of risk when practicing jiu-jitsu. As professional instructors, our top priority must remain the safety of our students, and there are simple steps that can be taken to minimize unreasonable risks to each of them.

Some key points that I wanted to touch on:

The Technique: On the surface it appears that the technique was done “correctly” and that this was just a freak accident. Upon closer inspection, the facts indicate otherwise, and this is thoroughly explained in this video. 

Spike: I now understand that the terms “spike” without context can be confusing and misleading (especially when communicating with BJJ practitioners who have a technical definition in mind when they hear that word) and that was not my intent. In the video I explain how although what Mr. Iturralde did was not technically a spike, the reason why spiking is illegal in BJJ competition is precisely to avoid the type of injury that Jack sustained. This becomes especially clear when you observe the position of their bodies in Frame 70 of the video.

Precedent: There appears to be some fear this case may set a precedent that if anyone gets hurt doing jiu-jitsu, that the school and/or instructor will automatically get sued and be held liable. I’m not qualified to give legal advice, but my opinion is that this will not be the case. This was a very unique and preventable situation involving: a black belt instructor sparring with a white belt; who performed a technique he never taught to the student, and did the technique in a manner that is inconsistent with how it’s conventionally taught, rather than opting for a safer technique (of which there are many). In was the convergence of these very unique and extenuating circumstances that led the jury to reach the verdict it did.

Waivers: There is some concern out there that waivers aren’t valid. In this particular case, the waiver wasn’t admitted as evidence due to some technical errors in the waiver itself, but nothing has led me to believe that they are not valid as a whole. Again, I’m not giving legal advice, but this is all the more reason why school owners will want to make sure they have their waivers reviewed by an attorney.

Continued in the comments…

Imagine a travel pillow so good that you don’t wake up with red eyes after a redeye flight! ✈️

The Sleeper Hold Travel Pillow is coming. Join the launch list at https://www.SleeperHold.com

😭 Stacey left me hanging 😭
Every time I travel with The Sleeper Hold Travel Pillow flight attendants trip out. They’ve seen every travel pillow you can imagine, but they’ve never seen anything like this!

The official Kickstarter launch is happening on Wednesday, May 5th. Go to https://www.SleeperHold.com to join the email launch list so you don’t miss your chance to save up to 52% on launch day 🚀

If you wanna join our ambassador team and help us spread the word in exchange for a free Sleeper Hold, go to https://www.SleeperHold.com and scroll all the way down to the bottom. 🙏🏼

#funny #travelblogger #sleep

Everyone, meet Patty. She was sitting behind me on a recent flight and when she saw me lock in The Sleeper Hold she went crazy (in the best way). I knew I would launch the travel pillow soon but here raw excitement gave me the kick I needed to do it now!

Here are three things you need to know:

1) The Sleeper Hold works REALLY good. If you’re a traveler, this thing will change your life forever. We’ve tested it for 5 years and get nothing but compliments from other passengers AND flight attendants.

2) The ONLY way to get your hands on one is to join the e-mail list at https://www.SleeperHold.com so we can notify you when we launch on Kickstarter in a few weeks. If we do not reach our crowdfunding goal this thing will NEVER be manufactured.

3) If you have over 10k followers and are down to help us spread the word by posting a funny short video that we provide, you can get yours for free. If you have under 10k followers, you can apply as well and if the video you post gets over 10k views, we’ll hook you up as well. Go to https://www.SleeperHold.com to enroll in the influencer program and download the Sleeper Hold video.

🙏🏼

💥 Free Seminar Next Weekend 💥
Fear of INJURY & EMBARRASSMENT are the top two reasons people don’t do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you’ve had these concerns, then you must not miss our free 2.5-hour Gracie Jiu-Jitsu 101 Seminar on Sunday March, 19 in Torrance CA and at 90 different Certified Training Centers around the world! If you’ve always thought about learning self-defense but were nervous about taking the first step, this is for you!

Find a certified location and save your spot at https://www.GJJ101.com.