Principle 12: Reconnaissance

Lead Instructors:  Rener GracieRyron Gracie
 Access:  Public   Status:  Active   Lesson:  Part of Course

Gathering information about your opponent’s behavior for use against them.

Half of what you need to defeat your opponent, you’ll learn before the fight; the other half you will learn during the fight. In every exchange, the Reconnaissance Principle calls for you to observe and exploit your opponent’s habitual and instinctive responses. Learn to use feints to elicit responses. Every exchange, regardless of outcome, is an opportunity to learn something about your opponent that you can later use against them.

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Lesson Specs

Lesson Goals

  1. Understand the Course Topic
  2. Refine your ability to execute the techniques presented in the Course
  3. Become familiar with the drills that can be used to develop your skills
  4. Achieve significant proficiency in the material

Instructions

  1. Watch the Lesson.
  2. Take notes on essential details.
  3. Bookmark key points in the videos for future reference.
  4. Ask questions in the Forum if you need help.
  5. Review the lesson multiple times to build confidence.

Lesson Slices

  1. The Reconnaissance Principle
  2. Research Objectives
  3. Reconnaissance Sparring

Lead Instructors

Rener Gracie

Gracie University Chief Instructor

Ryron and Rener Gracie are the eldest grandsons of Grand Master Helio Gracie, the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Their father is Rorion Gracie, one of the world’s foremost experts in self-defense. In 1993, Rorion created the Ultimate Fighting Championship to showcase the supremacy of the family’s self-defense system in a realistic “no holds barred” confrontation against all comers. Rorion’s younger brother, Royce, won 3 of the first 4 UFC tournaments proving that the leverage-based techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu provided the most reliable way to defeat a larger, more athletic opponent. Ryron and Rener were born into this family tradition of testing the art against all challengers.

Rorion introduced his sons to the art as soon as they could walk. As children, they watched him teach private classes in their garage in Southern California. But, it wasn’t until they observed their father and uncles – Royce, Rickson, and Royler – easily winning challenge matches that they began to comprehend fully the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Even more important, Ryron and Rener recognized the profound impact the family’s art had on all who studied it. The life changing transformations of Gracie University students motivated the brothers to teach the art. While constantly perfecting their physical techniques, they worked equally hard to master the powerfully effective instruction methods developed by their forbearers. In 2003, Grand Master Helio Gracie awarded Ryron and Rener black belts in recognition of their mastery of his unique techniques and teaching methodologies.

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Ryron Gracie

Gracie University Chief Instructor

Ryron and Rener Gracie are the eldest grandsons of Grand Master Helio Gracie, the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Their father is Rorion Gracie, one of the world’s foremost experts in self-defense. In 1993, Rorion created the Ultimate Fighting Championship to showcase the supremacy of the family’s self-defense system in a realistic “no holds barred” confrontation against all comers. Rorion’s younger brother, Royce, won 3 of the first 4 UFC tournaments proving that the leverage-based techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu provided the most reliable way to defeat a larger, more athletic opponent. Ryron and Rener were born into this family tradition of testing the art against all challengers.

Rorion introduced his sons to the art as soon as they could walk. As children, they watched him teach private classes in their garage in Southern California. But, it wasn’t until they observed their father and uncles – Royce, Rickson, and Royler – easily winning challenge matches that they began to comprehend fully the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Even more important, Ryron and Rener recognized the profound impact the family’s art had on all who studied it. The life changing transformations of Gracie University students motivated the brothers to teach the art. While constantly perfecting their physical techniques, they worked equally hard to master the powerfully effective instruction methods developed by their forbearers. In 2003, Grand Master Helio Gracie awarded Ryron and Rener black belts in recognition of their mastery of his unique techniques and teaching methodologies.

More...


Other Lessons in This Course

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Part 2 Intro Class

When you learn techniques, you understand jiu-jitsu; when you learn principles, you become jiu-jitsu. In the Part 2, you will learn eight more principles on the path to 32: River, Frame, Kuzushi, Reconnaissance, Prevention, Tension, Fork and Posture.

Principle 9: River

Bypassing resistance by flowing around it. When your path is obstructed, efficiently flow around the obstacle by following the path of least resistance. Your objective may change as the situation changes during positional advancements, escapes, submissions, and energy recovery opportunities. The key is to flow like...

Principle 10: Frame

Substituting muscular strength with skeletal structure from every position in the fight. When the goal is to preserve or create space between you and your opponent, use skeletal structure instead of muscular strength and endurance.

Principle 11: Kuzushi

Breaking your opponent’s balance in your favor. For takedowns and sweeps, breaking your opponent’s balance is the most essential component for success. For other techniques – including many submissions or escapes – breaking the opponent’s balance is a valuable enhancement, particularly ...

Principle 12: Reconnaissance

Gathering information about your opponent’s behavior for use against them. Half of what you need to defeat your opponent, you’ll learn before the fight; the other half you will learn during the fight.

Principle 13: Prevention

Putting your opponent’s objectives before your own to prevent their progress. The Prevention Principle is a core tenet of self-defense because it disrupts your opponent’s ability to achieve their objective. It applies to offensive, and defensive positions. The goal is to provoke an overreaction that crea...

Principle 14: Tension

Capitalizing on the offensive and defensive opportunities enabled by tension. The tension between two connection points creates vulnerabilities and opportunities. From breaking your opponent’s grip to breaking your opponent’s balance, your understanding of this principle will determine whether tension is...

Principle 15: Fork

Creating positional dilemmas that force your opponent to choose how they lose. A forked position creates two or more “prongs” of opportunity. The Fork Principle forces your opponent to choose between a submission, sweep, takedown, pass, reversal, positional advancement, or any combination thereof. The Ri...

Principle 16: Posture

Neutralizing a technique by disrupting the optimal posture from which it is applied. Whether standing or on the ground, on top or on bottom, on offense or on defense, there is always an optimal body position from which to initiate a particular technique. Like the Distance Principle (where we disrupt distance) and th...

Part 2 Outro Class

When you’re ready to turn your passion into your profession, we implore you to look into the Gracie University Instructor Certification Program (ICP). There are countless people in your community who would love to learn the art, particularly from a person who understands the art through the lens of the princip...