UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES

Little Creek Monastery adheres to universal principles as taught by Great River Institute.

Great River Jiu Jitsu’s curriculum includes the study of universal principles. For example, each of the colored belts, leading up to the first degree black belt, focus on a respective principle. This is in addition to the techniques a student is learning for the belt they are studying. A white belt studying for yellow belt, for example, studies the principle of Balance. Once the first degree black belt is achieved, students studying for additional black belt degrees study additional principles.

The following Little Creek essays discuss universal principles.

• Harmony: The Birth of a Roadmap

• The Order

• Deeper Principles

• The Transformative Experience

• The Power of Universal Principles

• The Energetic Qualities of Jiu Jitsu

• The Principles of Ki

• Maintaining One Point

Jiu Jitsu

The black belt in Jiu Jitsu can take four to six years to achieve. It is sometimes compared to earning a college degree. Some martial art instructors are even called professors.

A black belt degree does not mean you are an instructor. At Great River Jiu Jitsu, instructor certification is a separate course of study and generally takes four years to complete, which includes an assistant instructor apprenticeship. Instructors at GRJJ are referred to as ‘sensei’ (teacher).

“Students are encouraged to cross-relate and apply principles in as many everyday life circumstances as possible. The practices associated with these principles have deeply and very personally affected my life. I have practiced them daily for decades.” - Mark Walter, sensei