One of the local news channels here in town came in and did a segment on Gracie Barra Vancouver. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this? The reporter was predictably smarmy, and he forgot most everything that the instructors showed him before they rolled camera, but after all is said and done things turned out pretty well. There are some cool techniques shown, and I especially like that they chose to focus on a lot of the oft-neglected self-defense aspects of BJJ. Here are some clips for your viewing pleasure. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYWJEyYRifo"]YouTube - GRACIE BARRA ON BT #1 JULY 8[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ai2cSwSOnQ"]YouTube - GRACIE BARRA ON BT #2[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geTqcWj-FrE"]YouTube - GRACE BARRA ON BT #3 JULY 8[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4KZIHg2gc"]YouTube - GRACIE BARRA ON LT[/ame] Comments? Feedback? What does everyone think about the approach our head instructor chose to take? He was obviously trying to make everything seem as beginner-friendly as possible. Is that best, or should there have been some flashier techniques to get people interested? I'd be interested to hear how other clubs have dealt with the news media before, and what kind of response you got from the exposure (if any). EDIT: Apologies for the somewhat repetitive nature of some of the clips. I think the whole thing was broadcast live, so some parts were re-done in case viewers missed some of the first bits.
Over all I'd say it was done fairly well. People might not care exactly how you score points in a tournament and the reporter seemed to catch onto that. Flashy things sometimes scare people off and basic MA skills tend to impress people as much as they would be either way, but also make it easier to understand. Being able to get the exact same technique from a different position isn't something people generally consider. Usually it's something along the lines of 'if in position A, do technique A, if in Position B, do technique B. -Kraen
The club i train at has been in the local tv and newspapers quite a few times and they(media) usually want the flashy stuff on camera, personally i could take it or leave it, that being said perhaps i'm just over it having had my face in it a few times. The response we usally get after said articals is a high influx of new students wanting to be like the guy/girl/kids they saw on tv. Some leave after a few months, most stay.
That's what I thought too, but I guess they did that just to get the more sports-minded people interested as well. The emphasis on tournament scoring is usually very low, so I was a little surprised to see him emphasizing it so much. Still, it adds a bit to the diversity of the art.
Your instructor seems to be a really nice guy - and with 300 (!) students no less. Hope the TV coverage does positive things for the club. One question though - did the reporter pronounce it Gracie Ba-HAH? I thought it was Barra (pronounced as it's spelt)?
I've only seen the first video but I think it looked a good piece. Can only help the club attract new members.
A common misconception! The reporter was actually correct; it's pronounced "baha". As far as I know, the Portuguese often pronounce the letter "r" as an "h", hence Royce sounds like "Hoyce", and Royler like "Hoyler" when properly pronounced. You learn something new every day Also, yea our head instructor is a really, really nice guy, and a great teacher too. I feel lucky to be training with him.
Cool stuff! I thought the approach was good, no need to always emphasis the flashy stuff. I was actually having fun watching the practicing going on in the background while the reporter talked. Oh, and now you've got me wanting a pink gi!
Do you know if that gi is gender-neutral or is it specifically a lady's gi? A little expensive for me though; I think the Judo gis we use are like $40. On a related note though, I am actually going to get a white gi and get my BJJ coach to tie-dye it!
I think it's specifically a lady's gi, though I could be wrong. I've never seen any guys wearing a pink gi, so I couldn't really tell ya. I think a tie-dye gi might just be the coolest idea ever. There's a guy at our club who has a camo gi similar to this one:
I'm sorry, but that's the lamest thing I've seen in years. Kids in camo belts look like misguided wannabes, adults in camo gis look like misguided wannabes who are old enough to know better. Mitch
I heard it was red shorts. Fact is he keeps wearing it. Must be a helluva embarrassment to get yer **** kicked by a dude in a pink gi (and being Mr. Lebell, it's 99.9% certain he will beat you!). Agreed!
