More coherent thoughts to come over the weekend. For now, suffice to say that was one hell of a Gracie Barra Regional Conference. I think I was among those who "got it" years ago when it came to GB's growth strategy in general. But after hearing some of the things that Professors Rodrigo, Marcio, Marco, and Flavio had to say tonight, I realize how little I really knew about how comprehensive the strategy is.
There's not another jiu-jitsu organization in the world that could pull off what Gracie Barra has set out to do. When you think about the evolution from "organized like a team, fighting like a family" to "jiu-jitsu for everyone", it seems obvious that the next step (again, each step building on the other, not replacing it) is a concept of "jiu-jitsu lifestyle" that extends into a lot of interesting directions, some of which on first glance (and even second or third glance) may not even seem to have much to do with anything a "jiu-jitsu school" would ever even think about doing. But I'm convinced there's something to see.
Looking forward to the seminar tomorrow. It will be a nice return to the body as far as jiu-jitsu is concerned because right now, my jiu-jitsu brain could use some rest.
