Vision & Mission

“The question is no longer who can teach it, but who can teach it properly.” -Franco Vacirca

The first objective is that our Jiu-Jitsu students know how to perform the basic techniques correctly before moving on. The first 23 lessons with almost 40 techniques give you the perfect foundation to progress. But as Grandmaster Hélio Gracie always said, “performing the techniques and teaching them are two different things”.

“Knowing how to perform a technique well does not qualify an individual to teach it.” -GM Pedro Hemetério

Gracie Concepts® teachers individually complete the ICP/INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM under the personal tutelage and supervision of Professor Franco Vacirca (Founder and Head of Gracie Concepts® – GJJ Network Europe).

Good athletes do not necessarily make good instructors. Rarely will you find someone who follows a specific curriculum that addresses all the possibilities of a potential street confrontation. And if you do, you will find that they often lack one of the most basic and important aspects of being a good teacher: the knowledge of how to execute an attack (or defense) in a realistic way. If the teacher cannot imitate a possible real-life situation, the student will never be truly prepared.

Another natural consequence of the popularity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is the increasing number of national and international tournaments. Often, when a competitor reaches the level of Black belt, he automatically considers himself an instructor. Unlike medicine or law, where you must pass an exam before you can practice, in the martial arts – and in Jiu-Jitsu – there is no organization to control the current stampede.

Anyone interested in learning Jiu-Jitsu properly should not confuse an individual’s performance in a tournament with that person’s ability to teach. Nowadays, all a student needs to become a Black belt is to do well in tournaments.

Another problem arises: Judo and Ju-Jutsu organizations around the world, including the International Judo Federation (IJF) promote BJJ and Newaza (International Ju-Jitsu Federation) competitions to attract practitioners to their organizations. Gracie Concepts® is primarlly dedicated and interested in preserving the true spirit of Jiu-Jitsu, which is self-defense.

To become a certified Gracie Concepts® instructor, one must complete the Instructor Certification Program (ICP), at the end of which one is evaluated on a variety of aspects, including technique, teaching methodology, character, hygiene, punctuality, honesty, manners, tolerance, courage, and more – as requested by the great GM Hélio Gracie, and past down to our great GM Pedro Hemetério.

“The Gracie Concepts® ICP course, which I created with the help of my teacher and mentor, the great GM Pedro Hemetério (RIP) to standardize the proper dissemination of information about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, may require several years of commitment and will prepare an individual (man or woman) to properly teach the techniques as I believe they should be taught.” -Franco Vacirca

BJJ schools are mostly breeding grounds to produce “tournament champions” with the goal of collecting medals, and then there is a boomerang effect, where only the toughest students will stay in training. With competitors opening schools and teaching without the proper didactic, BJJ becomes more and more watered down, with the sporting aspect taking precedence.

Often, the average person is intimidated by this “tough guys” atmosphere, and as the people who would benefit most from learning Jiu-Jitsu, they are neglected. Little by little, the most important elements of Jiu-Jitsu are overlooked in favor of the sporting aspect. The realism that was once the essence of Jiu-Jitsu is being overshadowed.

In Europe, BJJ is a mix of people – mostly after the introduction of MMA in our countries, from there. Most are coming from Ju-Jitsu/Ju-Jutsu, Judo, Sambo and various Grappling arts (including Brazilian Luta-Livre, etc.). Very few have a true Jiu-Jitsu background. Many have taken the opportunity to learn at seminars, and eventually reached the level of black belt, often changing teachers as often as necessary to reach the next higher Belt belt. That is nothing new in martial arts in general.

Finally, these BJJ instructors do not have a proper training, but maybe only a colored belt that certifies their “belt-in-time” as regulated by the International BJJ Federation for competitions.

For more information please contact us at:
vacircabrothersjiujitsu@gmail.com | WhatsApp +41794150808

Last update: 03.2025/FV