Week 5 at Gracie Barra Centennial: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training for Every Age
Students drive to our mat every week from Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and all across the south Denver area. They range from three-year-olds in our Tiny Champions program to adults training Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the first time, and competitors who have been on the mat for years. Different ages, different goals, different experience levels. But this week, Week 5, every single program lands in the same place: the guard.
That is not an accident. It is what a real martial arts curriculum looks like when it is built with intention.
Here is what is happening on the mat at Gracie Barra Centennial this week across all six programs.
GB1: The Fundamentals Program
GB1 is where most adults begin their Brazilian jiu-jitsu journey. Whether you are coming from Highlands Ranch with zero experience or you trained somewhere else years ago and are starting fresh, this is your program. Week 5 puts you inside the closed guard and starts building the offense that makes jiu-jitsu work.
Class A opens with self-defense from the closed guard: blocking punches, controlling distance, managing the arms, and finishing with an armbar. The sport technique follows with two sweeps, the Pull Feet Sweep against a standing opponent and the Waiter Sweep. The GB1 Drill chains those together into a sequential drill with a Mount entry and Bridge Mount Escape. Specific training is from the guard, and the GB1 Talking Point this week is The GB Method.
Class B returns to closed guard self-defense with blocking punches, distance management, and finishing with an up kick and technical lift. Sport technique covers the Tripod Sweep and the Outside Hook Sweep when the opponent shuts down the Tripod. The drill sequences Tripod Sweep into Half Technical Lift into Closed Guard. Specific training stays in the guard, and the talking point again is The GB Method.
The message of the week in GB1 is straightforward: the closed guard is your home. You should be dangerous from it, both defensively and offensively. By the end of this week, you will have the tools to be exactly that.
All Levels: For the Experienced Practitioner
Our All Levels program serves students who have moved beyond the fundamentals and are ready to train with greater depth and intensity. Week 5 covers transitions to the guard and sacrifice throws on the feet, with guard bottom as the ground work.
Both Class A and Class B work the same positional territory this week. Class B frames the material through a self-defense context, but the position is the same. More experienced students bring their own context to the guard game, layering timing, sensitivity, and strategy onto the same concepts GB1 students are learning for the first time. The overlap across programs is intentional. At Gracie Barra Centennial, everyone is developing the same foundational positions. Just at different depths.
Juniors: Building Real Skills
Our Juniors program serves older kids and teens who are ready for structured martial arts training with real technical content. Week 5 works guard bottom from two angles across the two classes.
Class A opens with Guard Pull as the takedown drill, then moves into the Sit Up Sweep from guard bottom. Sparring stays in the guard. The class game this week is Capture the Flag.
Class B shifts to self-defense with one and two-hand wrist grab escapes, then moves into the Kimura from guard bottom. Sparring again from the guard.
One class builds sweeping offense. The other builds submission offense. Same position, two different weapons. That is how you develop a complete guard game in young athletes who will carry these skills for the rest of their lives.
Little Champions 2: Growing the Game
Little Champions 2 is for kids who have moved past the beginner stage and are ready for more technical content. Week 5 stays in guard bottom and steps up the complexity.
Class A runs Guard Tag as the training drill, then covers the Collar Choke from the Guard. Sparring is from the guard. Game of the week is Avalanche.
Class B opens with the Pendulum from the Guard as the drill, then teaches the Back Take from the Guard. Sparring from the guard.
LC2 students are starting to understand that the guard is not just a defensive position. You can choke from there. You can take the back from there. Week 5 starts building that awareness in a way that sticks.
Little Champions 1: The Right Foundation
Little Champions 1 takes the same guard focus and scales it to where these kids actually are developmentally. The techniques are real. The expectations are age-appropriate.
Class A runs Ice Cream Race as the team training drill, then teaches the Scissor Sweep Kicking the Knee from guard bottom. Sparring from the guard. Game is Avalanche.
Class B opens with Push Defense, Break Fall, and Open Guard Movement as the self-defense and takedown drill, then covers the Back Take from Half Guard. Sparring from the guard.
LC1 students are learning to fall safely, move in the guard, and start connecting positions together. For kids in Centennial and Highlands Ranch who are trying martial arts for the first time, this is where it begins.
Tiny Champions: Where It All Starts
Our Tiny Champions program is designed for children as young as three years old. The goal is not to turn toddlers into competitors. The goal is to build body awareness, listening skills, confidence, and a love for being on the mat. Week 5 gives them one job: get comfortable in the guard through movement and play.
Class A runs Locomotion drills with Shrimp Crossing, then teaches Kitten Guard as the technique. Game is Witch Tag.
Class B runs the same Locomotion category with Animal Races as the drill, then also covers Kitten Guard.
Kitten Guard teaches kids to frame, create space, and protect themselves on the ground. It is foundational body awareness that every technique they learn for the rest of their jiu-jitsu life will be built on top of. They think they are playing. That is exactly the point.
One Curriculum, Every Age
Look across all six programs this week and the same organizing principle runs through all of them: guard bottom.
GB1 is sweeping and submitting from closed guard. All Levels is transitioning to the guard and working it with depth. Juniors are developing the Sit Up Sweep and the Kimura. Little Champions 2 is taking backs and choking. Little Champions 1 is learning the Scissor Sweep and how to fall safely. Tiny Champions are getting comfortable in the guard through games and movement.
That is not a coincidence. That is what a real martial arts curriculum looks like. Gracie Barra built a system where every program at every age develops the same foundational positions in parallel. A child who starts in Tiny Champions and grows into the adult programs is not learning disconnected techniques along the way. They are deepening the same game, week after week, year after year.
If you have been thinking about trying Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Centennial, Highlands Ranch, or Lone Tree, Week 5 is as good a time as any to start. Every week has a purpose. Every class is designed to build something real.
Come see what that looks like.
Gracie Barra Centennial serves students from Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and the greater south Denver area. Visit gbcentennial.com to learn about our programs and schedule your first class.
