St Louis Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ( BJJ )

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Unlike the many other schools that provide Jiu-Jitsu classes, Gracie Barra’s instruction is split into detailed programs that are formed to meet the needs of students whose experience levels range from beginner to high-level athlete. Our environment is friendly, challenging, clean, and free of self-centered attitudes that you may find at other MMA and BJJ facilities.

Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most comprehensive martial arts systems available in the world. When you join our family, you will gain access to some of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes and coaches. Your membership locations include access to over one hundred locations in the U.S. and 300 worldwide! Located in O’Fallon, St. Peters, Washington, West County, and Chesterfield, we make it easy for students all over the Greater St Louis area to learn unparalleled techniques close to home. Our adult programs are as follows:

Fundamentals Program

What will it take for you to reach your potential? What are the personal qualities that a great fighter espouses?

Elite level martial artists follow a set of principles that help sustain their success. The Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes allow individuals to learn and retain these principles through an engaging and challenging process that pairs observation, practice, instruction, live training, appropriate feedback, and competition.

Optimize Your Learning

Students experience results that go beyond gains in physical improvement or self-defense skills. By remaining truthful to the lessons taught in practice and applying them off the mats, Gracie Barra students experience an overall improvement in their focus, energy and general character.

The Gracie Barra Fundamentals Program teaches these principles of effective fighting to individuals like you. Its structure condenses an immense diversity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into core fundamental moves combined intelligently and safely to optimize your learning.

Benefits of Fundamentals

• Learn the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• Learn the GB Self-Defense System

• Increase self-confidence, focus, energy and concentration

• Enjoy significant gains in your overall fitness level

• Make some new like minded friends

You will never forget your first class at Gracie Barra!

“Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is for anyone, including you!”

We suggest arriving fifteen minutes prior to your scheduled class to prepare and practice. When classes begin, you’ll notice our instructors have a specific plan for the class. The routines we use are similar so that students know what to expect throughout each part of practice, but they are also periodically changing to keep our classes challenging and engaging. You’ll learn over one hundred combinations during a four month period and you’ll be actively supported by your peers. Prepared to be tired and mentally exhilarated by the end of class!

Advanced program

What is after you master the fundamentals? What comes next on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey?

The Gracie Barra BJJ Program Structure covers three main stages of developing students: the Fundamentals program, the Advanced program, and the Black Belt Program. These three stages indicate a student’s maturity level and skill level, and you’re able to advance from one to another at your own pace.

Our Fundamentals Program focuses on the building blocks and standard principles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Advanced Program is developed from high-level techniques and drills that shape our students’ game flow through reflexes, speed and reaction time, and transitions between one technique to another.

Experience Deeper Involvement

After a few weeks in the Gracie Barra Advanced Program, students begin to experience a deeper understanding of the philosophy, as well as a stronger bond with their training partners. They also develop a more disciplined commitment to sticking with healthy habits to sustain excellent mental and physical health.

Advanced Program classes implement a defined curriculum that takes on an open-minded approach by incorporation techniques from different grappling styles like judo, sambo, wrestling, and Gracie Barra BJJ.

Advanced Program Benefits

• Learn the most effective Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu take-down techniques

• Develop transitions between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques

• Experience further improvements in overall fitness level

• Gain a better understanding of different aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• Step up to participate in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions

Gracie Barra Student

When the art becomes more important than your next belt, you’ve become a true Gracie Barra student.

If you’re new to BJJ or are transitioning from our Fundamentals Program, you’ll find that Gracie Barra Advanced Classes are the perfect opportunity to take your Jiu-Jitsu skills to the next level. At this stage, you’ll begin developing a strategy flow, and your instructor will be monitoring you to look at your specific needs. At the end of the session, you will participate in live training drills that are active and exciting. Every training partner will present you with a unique challenge that you’ll need to strategically think about to resolve.

Black Belt Program

Is it possible to master Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Is there a finale to the BJJ journey?

Gracie Barra’s Black Belt Program is the final stage in our adult program. While it represents a student’s arrival at the ultimate level of training in our Academy, it also presents a new beginning.

This program is created to further the developing of a student’s Jiu-Jitsu game flow by exposing them to cutting-edge techniques and variations. The Gracie Black Belt program offers a dynamic curriculum, followed by hour-long live training sessions to aid in building a challenging and safe environment for students to progress from their blue to black belts.

An Endless Journey

Our Black Belt Program helps students understand what they’ve been told since they were white belts; Jiu-Jitsu is an art, an endless journey of daily accomplishments that lead to new challenges. The same triangle chokes, fireman carries, arm bars, guard passes, sweeps. Single leg takedowns, and Kumaras achieve new meanings as your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game flow becomes more defined.

Student’s who are enrolled in our Black Belt Program are role models at our schools. The responsibility you have of sharing Gracie Barra techniques and philosophy with new students is taken seriously, and you play a key role in encouraging and maintaining a friendly, fun, engaging, and safe environment at our Academies.

Black Belt Benefits

• Learn cutting-edge BJJ techniques

• Achieve greater physical fitness

• Train with the best training partners in our school

• Work with your instructor to shape a jiu jitsu game developed specifically for you

• Start developing your teaching skills

Enhance Your Skills

“When the journey becomes more important than the destination, you have become a Gracie Barra Black Belt.”

When you participate in Gracie Barra Black Belt classes, it’s guaranteed that you will train a lot. Practices can last two hours, and although you can rest or leave early, our instructors will always encourage you to stay until the end. No Gi and MMA classes add another level of challenge that helps students improve balance and control that also improves their BJJ game flow.