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Course: Women Empowered® - Pink Belt Qualification Course

Lead Instructors:  Eve Torres Gracie ,  Rener Gracie
 Access:  Public   Status:  Active   Course:  $249.00

Women Empowered is widely regarded as the most comprehensive women's self-defense program ever produced. Based on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu techniques that have been tested and perfected for nearly a century, this 20-lesson course covers the most common and dangerous threats against women. It covers both the psychological and physical aspects of self-defense, including, but not limited to, how to defend against someone trying to subdue you, pin you to the ground, control you with hair grabs, or use a weapon to carry out an assault. The "linear curriculum" presents the techniques in the exact format that you would experience if you were personally trained by Rener and Eve at Gracie University Headquarters. Although no experience is necessary to get started, by the time you complete the program your self-defense reflexes will be rock solid, and it can all be done from the comfort of your own home!

Test Your Skills & Earn Your Pink Belt
After you put in the time and master the techniques, you will have the opportunity to take the Women Empowered test! Using a revolutionary Video Evaluation Process, you will digitally record yourself performing the test, and then upload it to GracieUniversity.com. Your test will be reviewed by a certified instructor, and if your performance meets Gracie University standards, you will earn your Pink Belt! Please note there is an evaluation fee each time you take a test, and when you pass a test, you will receive your official Women Empowered Pink Belt and promotion certificate at no additional cost.

Become a Certified Instructor & Empower the Community
In the past, in order for someone to be considered for instructor certification in the Women Empowered program, they had to own or operate a professional martial arts school. We have since realized that in order for this program to reach women everywhere, we had to eliminate this entry barrier. Women Empowered was redesigned from the ground up with this objective in mind, such that any person who successfully completes the curriculum and achieves a score of 95 or higher on the Pink Belt Test will be invited to participate in the Women Empowered Instructor Certification Program (WE ICP). Those who graduate from the WE ICP will be certified and authorized to teach Women Empowered anywhere in the world, for profit or not! Our goal is to have certified instructors in every city around the world so that Women Empowered is being offered in every fitness studio, college campus, church, military base and beyond. There are women all over the world haven't yet found jiu-jitsu, and with your help, jiu-jitsu will find them! To find out more about the WE ICP, click here.

BONUS Course: FITjitsu – Get Fit, Fierce & Fight Ready from Home!
This collection also includes the FITjitsu bonus course! FITjitsu is a jiu-jitsu-based exercise program that will unleash your inner badassery while taking your fitness to the next level! Led by Eve and Victoria Gracie, this 42-minute full-body workout will have you sweating and burning, all while learning the core self-defense movements of the Women Empowered program.

The Women Empowered Collection Includes:

  • 20 Lessons consisting of 63 Women Empowered techniques
  • Pink Belt Qualification Test video & guidelines
  • FITjitsu Fitness Program
  • The 90-page Empowerment Handbook (downloadable)
  • Progress Tracking Card (downloadable)
  • 80-day training schedule (downloadable)
  • Access to fellow students & GU instructors via dedicated online forum

 
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Course Lessons (24)

Free!

Introduction

In this 19-minute introduction, Eve & Rener provide an overview of the Women Empowered program, discuss how to successfully navigate through the lessons, and provide essential training tips to make the most out of your experience on the path to pink belt!

Free (Registration Required)

Lesson 1: Combat Base

Sometimes the difference between life and death relies on a person's ability to avoid being abducted or moved into isolation. In this lesson, we teach you the critical concept of "base" as well as how to avoid being pushed or pulled against your will.

Free (Registration Required)

Lesson 2: Standard Wrist Releases

A perpetrator will often grab a woman by the wrists to detain, neutralize, isolate, or demean her. In this lesson, we teach you how to use leverage or "alavanca" to break the attacker's grip, regardless of their size or strength. We will discuss three different grip configurations, starting with Standard Grip (1-on-1).

Lesson 3: Inverted Wrist Releases

While the Standard Wrist Release is quick and effective, if he changes his grip, the escape technique will no longer work. In this lesson, we’ll teach you four Inverted Wrist Releases that can be relied upon anytime the Standard Variations fail, starting with the 1-on-1 variation.

Lesson 4: Trap and Roll Escape

Being trapped beneath someone is a nightmarish experience potentially leading to panic, suffocation, exhaustion, and eventual submission. In this lesson, we teach you a highly effective technique called the Trap and Roll Escape, broken down into five different variations based on how the attacker is controlling you.

Lesson 5: Front Choke Defenses

Assailants often attempt to strangle their victims during an assault. In this lesson, we teach you how to apply leverage to escape the three most commonly used Front Chokes. These techniques epitomize Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Lesson 6: Super Slap

Striking a larger, stronger assailant in the face with punches has limited effectiveness and may cause you to break your hand. In this lesson, we teach you how to use a Super Slap to disrupt the attack and facilitate your escape. First we will teach you how to maximize power with a solo preparation drill, and then we&r...

Lesson 7: Punch Block Series

Our natural behavior to protect against strikes when trapped beneath someone is to block our face or try to escape. Unfortunately, these intuitive responses will often put us at the perfect distance for the attacker’s punches to be even more effective. In this lesson, we learn how to use the critical principle of...

Free (Registration Required)

Lesson 8: Guard Get-up

The Guard Get-up is one of the most important physical techniques in the course. The ultimate goal for most sexual predators is to get inside their targets’ legs. Should you find yourself in this worst-case scenario, the Guard Get-up will enable you to remain calm, so you can identify the escape opportunity as so...

Lesson 9: Guard Get-up Extras

The greatest challenge when trapped beneath an attacker is to avoid panic and exhaustion. In Lesson 8, we introduced you to the basic Guard Get-up principles. In this lesson, we teach you additional variations of this critically important technique to ensure your survival against an attacker trying to punch, pin, or ch...

Lesson 10: Stop-Block-Frame

Predators often test their targets’ spatial boundaries to see how close they can get before initiating the assault. In this lesson, we teach you how to use verbal assertiveness to establish and enforce your personal space and what to do if the attacker crosses the boundary and physically assaults you. We will beg...

Lesson 11: Punch Defense

The natural tendency when being overwhelmed with strikes is to back away from the assailant while protecting your face and head. Once again, the intuitive response in this situation could be the most dangerous response. In this lesson, we further explore the distance management principles and learn how to minimize dama...

Lesson 12: Guard Chokes

If you are trapped in a confined space with a sexual predator, escape may not be an option. In this lesson, we teach you multiple chokes from the guard position, allowing you to render the attacker unconscious from the bottom of the fight! We will begin with one of the most famous jiu-jitsu techniques of all time, the ...

Lesson 13: Hair Grab Defenses

Whether you’re being attacked by a man or another woman, getting your hair grabbed can greatly reduce your mobility and leverage in a fight. In this lesson, we teach you how to defend against the most common hair grabs, whether standing or on the ground, starting with a Standing Armlock that turns their grab into...

Lesson 14: Elbow Escape

If none of the Trap and Roll Escapes work, you can use this “emergency escape” to put the attacker in your guard. From there, you can use your guard techniques to conserve energy, and then escape or submit him when the opportunity arises. We’ll begin with the Standard Variation, and then we’ll d...

Lesson 15: Shrimp Escape

If the opponent is in your guard, the goal is to subdue him or get back to your feet. If he gets past your legs and approaches the side mount, all efforts should be dedicated to getting him back inside your guard. In this lesson, we will discuss three reliable methods for reestablishing the guard when the attacker gets...

Lesson 16: Arm Chokes

If we can wrap our sneaky arms around his neck, we have several reliable chokes that can help us end the fight. In this lesson we will learn the Guillotine Choke for when the attacker lowers his head to tackle you, and the Rear Naked Choke for anytime we find ourselves behind an assailant.

Lesson 17: Rear Attack Defenses

A surprise attack from behind is one of the most challenging attacks to overcome. In this lesson, we teach you how to defend when someone attempts to choke you or bear hug you from behind.

Lesson 18: Weapon Defenses

Some sexual predators will use weapons to intimidate and control their victims. In this lesson, we address the psychological aspects of dealing with an assailant armed with a gun or knife, and then we teach you the most reliable techniques to use if your life is on the line and you MUST act.

Lesson 19: Drag Defenses

If an assailant is able to knock you to the ground and is trying to move you, it can be difficult to get back to your feet and break away. In this lesson, we will explore three reliable techniques you can use to avoid being dragged, starting with the Wrist Drag defense.

Lesson 20: Advanced Guard Get-ups

If you don’t have the time or space to execute the previously learned Guard Get-ups, the Advanced Guard Get-ups are exactly what you’ll need. Although these variations take a bit longer to master, once you own them, your escape efficiency will skyrocket to another level. We’ll begin with the Direct Ge...

Free (Registration Required)

Pink Belt Test - Introduction

Eve and Rener Gracie talk about the Women Empowered Pink Belt Test.

Free (Registration Required)

Pink Belt Test - Demonstration

Eve Gracie demonstrates the complete testing process.

Free (Registration Required)

Pink Belt Test - Beyond the Pink Belt

Eve and Rener Gracie discuss what's next after completing the Women Empowered program.

Course Specs

Course Chapters

There are no individual chapters available for this course.

Course Goals

  1. Understand the Course Topic
  2. Refine your ability to execute the techniques presented in the Course
  3. Become familiar with the drills that can be used to develop your skills
  4. Achieve significant proficiency in the material

Testing & Certification

Related Tests:

Lead Instructors

Eve Torres Gracie
Women Empowered Chief Instructor

Eve Torres Gracie is the head instructor of the Women Empowered self-defense program at Gracie University Headquarters. Many know her from her successful career in WWE where she was 3-time champion and performed weekly on Raw and SmackDown. After transitioning into film and television, Eve worked on some amazing projects, including Skiptrace with Jackie Chan, and CW’s Supergirl. Realizing that her truest passion is sharing jiu-jitsu, she committed herself fully to refining and developing the Women Empowered program. Through her efforts, the program is now empowering women all over the world. When Eve isn't teaching or training, she is spending fun time with her husband Rener, her sons Raeven & Renson, and her Australian Sheppard, Tioki.

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Rener Gracie
Gracie University Chief Instructor

Ryron and Rener Gracie are the eldest grandsons of Grand Master Helio Gracie, the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Their father is Rorion Gracie, one of the world’s foremost experts in self-defense. In 1993, Rorion created the Ultimate Fighting Championship to showcase the supremacy of the family’s self-defense system in a realistic “no holds barred” confrontation against all comers. Rorion’s younger brother, Royce, won 3 of the first 4 UFC tournaments proving that the leverage-based techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu provided the most reliable way to defeat a larger, more athletic opponent. Ryron and Rener were born into this family tradition of testing the art against all challengers.

Rorion introduced his sons to the art as soon as they could walk. As children, they watched him teach private classes in their garage in Southern California. But, it wasn’t until they observed their father and uncles – Royce, Rickson, and Royler – easily winning challenge matches that they began to comprehend fully the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Even more important, Ryron and Rener recognized the profound impact the family’s art had on all who studied it. The life changing transformations of Gracie University students motivated the brothers to teach the art. While constantly perfecting their physical techniques, they worked equally hard to master the powerfully effective instruction methods developed by their forbearers. In 2003, Grand Master Helio Gracie awarded Ryron and Rener black belts in recognition of their mastery of his unique techniques and teaching methodologies.

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