Note: Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) Military & Law Enforcement was formally known as Gracie Combatives Military & Law Enforcement (GCMLE) and Gracie Resisting Attack Procedures for Law Enforcement (GRAPLE).
Overview
Instructor Certification Course
The GST course is a five day “train the trainer” course during which all participants learn the techniques and teaching methodologies necessary to return home and effectively transfer the knowledge to other members of their organizations. Although no experience is necessary to participate in the 30-hour course, participants must understand that participation does not guarantee certification. By the end of the training week, only the participants who demonstrate their ability to execute and instruct all techniques at a level that meets the Gracie Academy standards will qualify for certification. At the end of the course, participants are given a Program Of instruction (POI), which outlines all the techniques and teaching methods, that can be used as a reference guide when sharing the information with the members of their organization.
Program of Instruction
Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) is the only defensive tactics program that is specifically designed to enable small framed officers to stay safe during surprise assaults from larger subjects. The proven techniques featured in the GST program are based on 85 years of research and experimentation and have adopted by hundreds of military and law enforcement agencies.
The program is broken down into five modules:
1. Surprise Attack Counters: The surprise attack by a suspect who has feigned compliance is one of the most common and most dangerous situations. While officers learn to recognize and defeat an imminent attack by employing a belt full of tools and weapons before the suspect can close within grappling range, use of these tools and weapons becomes very difficult and risky at close-range. The GST course specializes in defeating the worst-case, close-range attacks.
2. Survival & Escape Strategies: The GST course trains officers to use reliable leverage-based techniques to neutralize the initial barrage of strikes and gain control of the situation – with minimal use of strength, speed, or athleticism making it the ideal solution when attacked by larger, stronger suspects.
3. Weapon Retention Techniques: The GST course teaches simple weapon retention techniques to defeat an attacker’s attempt to disarm the officer while standing and on the ground.
4. Arrest & Control Procedures: The GST course includes highly effective handcuffing techniques applicable to both solo and multi-officer situations.
5. Gracie Teaching Methodologies: The GST course introduces participants the time-tested Gracie teaching methodologies – perfected through 85 years of training a wide variety of students. Upon learning these skills, the Gracie Academy certifies course participants who will eagerly return to their agencies/organizations to share the invaluable survival skills with their colleagues.
Dynamic Reflex Development™
While we dedicate the first three days almost entirely to the mastery of the techniques, we reserve the last two days of the course to teach the proprietary Gracie system known as Dynamic Reflex Development. Developed after 80 years of research by members of the Gracie Family, the Dynamic Reflex Development teaching system provides Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students with a learning experience that is comparable to that of an infant learning how to speak. Although the Gracies use Dynamic Reflex Development to teach self-defense to students of all demographics, regardless of age, fitness level or intellectual abilities, we have received reports from GST graduates who claim to have successfully applied the same teaching principles to other areas such as firearms training.
GST Recertification
So that we may continuously update the program to best suit the needs of our clients, we encourage all of the GST graduates to notify us of any incidents in which any of the techniques are successfully, or unsuccessfully, applied. Since the course continuously undergoes so many modifications, we recommend that all GST certified instructors participate in a 2-day recertification course every six months after they graduate. Besides learning the updated techniques, participation in a two day recertification course will give instructors the opportunity to refine their previously learned techniques and teaching methodologies, which are both perishable skills. Recertification courses generally take place during the last two days of the five day GST instructor certification courses. Upon completing the recertification course instructors are issued a certificate of instructorship that authorizes them to teach for another six months.
After six months transpire and you do not get recertified, it does not mean that you cannot continue to train GST techniques to the personnel in your organization, of course you can. Our main concern is simply that after six months you will not be teaching the techniques as proficiently and effectively as they should be taught. Also, as it applies to law enforcement officers and the officers they train within their departments, the Gracie Academy’s “expert witness” services will not be available to any excessive force law suit proceedings. This service is only available to actively certified law enforcement officers.
In the past, some law enforcement officers and military personnel (or their higher-uppers) mistakenly choose not to ever take the GST course because they can’t budget time and/or money to recertify every six months in the future. It has been proven time and time again that you and your organization will be far better off taking the GST course once and never getting recertified in the future versus never taking the course in the first place.
MORE INFORMTION
For more information on GST, please click on the additional subcategories to be found on the upper left-hand side of this webpage.
CONTACT & REGISTRATION
For National Security reasons, additional information requires our personal attention. Please contact GST Program Director Spiro Demetriadi by sending an email to: spiro@gracieacademy.com or calling (888) 494-5345 ext. 82. Due to a high volume of inquiries, it may take a week or more to receive a reply.
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