Locations
Currently, the Ultimate Warrior Program partners with existing programs to encourage youth to participate in constructive, after-school programs already offered in the community. The Ultimate Warrior Program ran as part of the City of Gainesville/Gainesville Police Department Summer Heat Wave Program 2010. The program is currently running again at Reichert House for the 2011-2012 school year, as well as at Lincoln Middle School for the 2011-2012 school year as part of the Title I, 21st Century Learning Centers programming.
Program Overview
The Ultimate Warrior program combines the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) with the practice of mindfulness to offer a synergistic approach for cultivating high levels of self confidence and self control. By learning and practicing BJJ, participants have a constructive outlet for aggression and excess energy, learn to successfully defend themselves, and gain increased self-confidence and physical fitness. We call learning BJJ “Beginner Warrior Training”.
Gradually, participants learn that the Ultimate Warrior is not the one who has mastered the martial arts, but the one who has mastered her or his own mind. Participants are offered simple, highly-effective tools for learning to be more self-aware, to be free from the control of conditioned thoughts and emotions, and to develop a high degree of self control and personal freedom. This part of the training we call “Ultimate Warrior Training”.
The Ultimate Warrior Grappling Team
An essential part of the Ultimate Warrior Program for Youth is training participants to travel as a team to nearby grappling tournaments. This helps young people learn to work as a team, exposes them to new locations, and allows them to learn to deal with both victory and defeat with the spirit of an Ultimate Warrior.
Ultimate Warrior Program Belt System
Participants in the Ultimate Warrior Program can earn “belts” that are worn around the wrist. These belts are verification of the participants’ mastery of BJJ and her/his mastery of her/his own mind. Below are the minimum requirements for each belt:
Yellow Belt
- Completion of 10 Ultimate Warrior Training Sessions
- Participation in one BJJ/grappling tournament
Blue Belt
- Completion of 20 Ultimate Warrior Training Sessions
- Winning at least one match at a BJJ/grappling tournament
- Completion of a six-month training log for daily seated mindfulness practice
Black Belt
- Completion of 40 Ultimate Warrior Training Sessions
- Winning the division at a BJJ/grappling tournament
- Earning a blue belt in BJJ from a school recognized by the True Freedom Foundation
- Completion of a 12-month training log for daily seated mindfulness practice
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