Gracie Jiu-Jitsu St. George

09/21/2026

🔔 UPDATE 🔔

We have moved the Javier Vazquez Seminar from October 2 to Friday, November 6, 2026.

Javi was scheduled to teach another seminar in Phoenix the following morning, which would have required a difficult overnight trip immediately after finishing with us. Moving our seminar allows for a much better schedule and gives everyone a few additional weeks to register, prepare, and help us welcome Javi to St. George.

The seminar remains open for booking, and we are excited to have three full hours to study Javi’s remarkably precise and unconventional approach to Jiu-Jitsu.

Friday, November 6th, 2026
5:30 to 8:30 PM
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu St. George

Ages 12+
Open to all affiliations

Visit GracieStGeorge.com or 🔗 in bio to register.

09/17/2026

The best of times with the crew!

09/17/2026

Some instructors can show you a technique. Javier Vazquez can show you the structure beneath it.

Javi is a fifth-degree Jiu-Jitsu black belt in the Carlson Gracie lineage, a former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion, and a veteran of the UFC and WEC. His understanding comes from decades of training, teaching, and applying Jiu-Jitsu against skilled, resisting opponents.

His methodology is distinctly his own. It is unconventional, remarkably precise, and difficult to compare with anyone else’s approach. When Javi moves, he seems to float around even seasoned practitioners. Nothing appears hurried or forced. He simply arrives where he wants to be before the other person fully understands what has happened.

There is something almost Jedi-like in the way he sees position, pressure, timing, and leverage. He notices the small, nearly invisible detail that changes everything, then explains it in a way that immediately makes sense.

His teaching is not a collection of disconnected techniques. He shows you how the pieces fit together and how one decision leads naturally to the next. You leave with more than new movements. You leave seeing Jiu-Jitsu more clearly.

For those who already know Javi, this opportunity needs little explanation. For those who do not, this is a rare chance to experience an approach to Jiu-Jitsu that belongs entirely to him.

Friday, October 2, 2026
5:30–8:30 PM
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu St. George

$50 Active CTC Students
$75 General Admission
Ages 12+
Open to all affiliations

To register, please visit the link in our bio or head to GracieStGeorge.com

09/15/2026

https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/life/a-twist-on-self-defense-st-george-jiu-jitsu-school-trains-everyone-from-tots-to/article_0343081a-9783-4c03-93cd-ad39989f5020.html

Long before Brazilian jiu-jitsu had a permanent home in Southern Utah, the mats had to travel there first, packed into a Ford Explorer and unloaded for small groups of students

09/05/2026

LABOR DAY WEEKEND CLOSURE

The academy will be closed today, Saturday, September 5, and Monday, September 7, in observance of Labor Day weekend.

Regular classes will resume on Tuesday, September 8.

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend!

08/28/2026

DIFFERENT BY DESIGN

There seems to be a misunderstanding that our goal, as a Gracie University Certified Training Center, is to eventually look and feel like modern BJJ.

It is not.

We are not trying to catch up to that model. We have deliberately chosen a different road.

Over 34 years, I have watched Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu become increasingly centered around competition. There is nothing wrong with choosing that path, but it is not our mission. We teach the entire art as a system of self-defense, including distance management, striking awareness, clinching, takedowns, ground control, submissions, weapon defenses, and knowing how to escape safely and get home.

Some people have suggested that traditional Gracie Jiu-Jitsu resembles pre-World War II Judo or classical jūjutsu more than modern BJJ. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I can speak for our school: I do not consider that an insult.

Call it Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Call it Judo. Call it jūjutsu. In many ways, the values and purpose behind those older arts feel closer to what we are preserving.

Our students do not spar on their first day. That is also by design. First comes understanding. Then control. Then resistance. Then pressure. We give people time to develop the knowledge and confidence necessary to train safely and remain healthy enough to practice for years.

I began training at 19 in an environment that was intense, dangerous, and often demoralizing. I survived it, and it shaped me. But survival should not be the price of admission.

At 53, after 34 years of training, I teach the way I believe I would need to be taught if I were beginning today. Toughness is not measured by how many beginners a room can break. A strong school develops capable people while giving them a safe path to remain long enough to become truly skilled.

If your primary goal is competition, trophies, and medals, we may not be the right fit.

If you are looking for genuine self-defense, confidence, character, respect, longevity, and an art you can practice for life, you may have found your place.

Our difference is not an accident. It is not a failure to keep up.

It is the design.

And we are proud of it.

08/28/2026

👀

He asked for a purple belt. So we sent him one. At Gracie Univers...

08/28/2026

⚠️ CLASS CANCELLATION & FRIDAY SCHEDULE ⚠️

Due to the ongoing power outage and uncertain repair timeline, Black Belt Club and Master Cycle are canceled tonight.

Tomorrow’s schedule:

• 4:30 PM: Black Belt Club makeup class
• 5:30 PM: Reflex Development, Guard Focus
• 7:30 PM: Master Cycle Fundamentals, Back Mount Focus

Thank you for understanding. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the mat tomorrow!

08/11/2026

Give your child the opportunity to build confidence, learn self-defense, stay active, and have fun at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu St. George.

BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL
10 DAYS FREE
PLUS A FREE UNIFORM

Come experience Jiu-Jitsu and see why so many families make Gracie part of their weekly routine.

Claim your free trial today!

06/03/2026

Happy Birthday, Melissa.

Some people spend their lives trying to become the person they were meant to be. You seem to have arrived there long ago.

You give more of yourself than anyone I have ever known, and somehow you do it without complaint. No matter what life places in your path, you find a way to be grateful for it. Through every challenge, every setback, and every hardship, I have watched you grow stronger, wiser, and more grounded in your faith.

The thing that amazes me most is how many people carry a piece of your heart with them. Students, friends, neighbors, and even people connected to them find their way to you when they need guidance, encouragement, or simply someone who will listen. Everywhere you go, you have friends. Not because you try to, but because people are naturally drawn to the kindness, warmth, and sincerity you bring into the world.

The longer I know you, the more I find myself wanting to be a little more like you.

I hope today is filled with love from the countless lives you’ve touched. You deserve every good thing this world has to offer.

We all love you, Melissa.

Happy Birthday from the bottom of my heart.

I love you.