You can now reach black belt level skill and beyond in record time, slashing years of frustration off your learning curve, thanks to an ingenious yet simple online training program, developed by a man nicknamed “The Jiu-Jitsu Supercomputer”
Henry Akins, 3rd Degree Black Belt under the legendary Rickson Gracie, has been nicknamed the “Jiu-Jitsu Supercomputer” for his uncanny knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu.
Now, thanks to recent advances in the sciences of learning and peak performance, Akins has channeled this uncanny knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu into an astonishingly powerful, yet simple online training program.
This online training program, which lasts one calendar year and focuses on the “advanced fundamentals”, simultaneously solves two of the biggest problems in mastering high-level Jiu-Jitsu: Quitting and Complexity.
The first problem is well-known for being ubiquitous in the Jiu-Jitsu community, and is the number one reason most people never make it to black belt level skill or beyond.
The fact is, most people quit Jiu-Jitsu before they develop any appreciable skill.
This trend is so common that Jiu-Jitsu Times reports:
“90% of people never make it to blue belt, and then 1% of blue belts advance to black belt.”
Rener Gracie – one of the owners of Gracie University and the second oldest son of Rorion Gracie, who founded the UFC and exposed the world to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, corroborates this finding and puts it this way:
“Over 90% of people who begin the Jiu-Jitsu never make it to blue belt.
And 99% of people who make it to blue, never make it to black.
How is it that the world’s most effective martial art, also has the highest dropout rate?
Well, Jiu-Jitsu is super complex, and very demoralizing. That’s how.”
But Henry Akins, a Rickson Gracie black belt with a passion for the scientific method, has dedicated the last 24 years of his life to mastering the art of not only practicing Jiu-Jitsu, but teaching Jiu-Jitsu to students so they can use it the art effectively in real life, as quickly as possible.
To this end, Akins’ new online training course is focused on presenting the advanced fundamentals of every position in Jiu-Jitsu, including standing, takedowns and techniques used for fighting taught to him by Rickson Gracie… the same techniques developed during training camps for Rickson’s legendary Vale Tudo fights in Japan.
All this in a method that is both simple and immediately effective, so students can use the techniques effectively against full resistance almost as soon as they learn them, and long before they would ever dream of quitting.
“Was able to use a ton of what I have learned from Henry and the online courses today to get third at NoGi worlds. People just really are not ready for it. I caught a seasoned competitor in scarf hold and his corner is just yelling “take the back” afterward he said it felt worse than any pressure he has ever felt.
When I was in a bad position in bottom side I was able to get up to turtle using Henry’s kick over away from the opponent. Then in turtle I trapped his arm and rolled him. This was the turning point that put me in a position to win that match.
I was able to use Henry’s kick over to mount and double over back attacks also.
I own my own gym and don’t have anyone who instructs me on a day to day basis. I have the videos on kind blown and the occasional trip to LA or seminar.
I have been on all the Costa Rica trips so far, and can say those weeks I see the biggest jumps in my game. I come prepared with questions and things I need to work on. If you can make it this year come!
Of course thank you to Henry Akins as my coach. With out Henry and his Jiu Jitsu, it’s very unlikely I would still be training, much less I would be placing in a major event.”
Based on the work of leading researchers, such as Professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University and Dr. Barbara Oakley of Oakland University, Akins’ year-long program practically forces students to become masters of the art, so long as they stick to the daily practice.
The secret to Akins’ program is two-fold.
First, the material itself is unmatched in its simplicity and effectiveness.
The reason why is easy to understand, once you recognize the quality of Akins’ Jiu-Jitsu lineage under Rickson Gracie, and his dedication to preserving the standards of that lineage.
Because every Jiu-Jitsu champion who has ever tested themselves against Akins’ Jiu-Jitsu mentor, Rickson Gracie, has said approximately the same thing:
“People try to compare Rickson with somebody but no one can compare Rickson in the jiu-jitsu because he’s maybe 20 years forward from everybody. I am the 2 time World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion and when I’m training with him I’m always tapping. He has a lot of skills and I think in jiu-jitsu nobody can beat him. I studied with him also in Brazil and have been coming to Los Angeles, off and on, for nearly eight years to take lessons. Rickson is more than just one man—he feels like 5 when you’re fighting him. You have to sacrifice, sometimes, to study with the best, and Rickson is the best. There is only one Rickson Gracie and he is on a different level from everyone else.”
Fabio Gurgel. Co-founder of the Alliance Jiu Jitsu Team. 5th Degree Black Belt of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 8x World Champion of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. ADCC World Champion. 4-Time Brazilian National Champion. 2-Time European Champion.
“Without question the best Jiu Jitsu fighter to ever live. The amount of dedication this man has shown for the art of Jiu Jitsu is astonishing. Knowing his greatness I was guaranteed an incredible experience at his academy. Training with Rickson is like trying to move a house. What he lacks in size he overwhelmingly compensates in technique and pressure. From the moment I engaged my guard, till the moment I was tapping, I felt as if there was nothing I could have done to better my situation. His basic techniques nullified my game almost immediately… So to all the non-believers, I can only try to persuade you to eliminate all doubt and open your mind to Rickson Gracie.”
David Camarillo. Creator of the Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu System.
“He is a martial arts myth and has nothing left to prove… Rickson will always do well. He will follow his same old style, do the same thing as always and the opponents will be submitted the same way. Adversaries will tap out even if they know his game. He is one of rare fighters I’ve seen in action who do not give up ground positions. Many regarded as aces in JJ fail in submitting their adversaries because they can’t hold on to the ground positions. I doubt that’s going to happen to Rickson… I bet on him against anyone.”
Fabricio Werdum. Ranked 3rd Best Heavyweight MMA Fighter in the World by Sherdog. 2-Time BJJ World Champion. 2-Time ADCC World Champion. Holds Black Belts in BJJ, Judo & Muay Thai.
“I’ve never seen a Jiu-Jitsu like that in my life! I have trained with the toughest guys formed by Carlson Gracie. They were all great and I for sure don’t want to diminish anybody, but I have to say that no one ever did to me what Rickson Gracie has done during training these last days.” ”I have no doubt that Rickson Gracie is the best ground fighter of all time. I bet on him against any athlete of today.”
Paulo Filho, MMA Champion and member of the famous Brazilian Top Team.
“Rickson Gracie and me had a match in the BYU wrestling room in 1992. He made me tap out twice and told me I was the toughest guy he’d gone against. Rickson was the best fighter I’d ever seen. He still may be.”
Mark Schultz. Wrestling Gold Medalist at the 1984 Olympics, 3-Time NCAA Champion, 2-Time World Champion, BJJ Black Belt & UFC Veteran.
“All the champions from Brazil, World champions and more, you can list the top ones up until today, all get smoked and dominated by his technique.”
Rodrigo Vaghi. World BJJ Champion & Fourth Degree Black Belt
“When I was growing up, I looked up to him as my idol. He was the Champion at that time, my time. It was amazing because Rickson gave me the opportunity to train with him, me and my brothers… Rickson used to teach us privates, teaching details… He was about minimal details. He explained that every inch is important, and that opened my mind to look for more details… Rickson helped make my Jiu Jitsu very tight, very detailed. I am very thankful to Rickson for helping me and my brothers be at the level we are today… a lot of thanks to Rickson for that.”
Rigan Machado – 8th Degree BJJ Master. Record of 365 Wins 2 Losses. Legend in the BJJ Community.
“Rickson is 10 times better than me. He’s the only one who can beat everybody.”
Royce Gracie. 3-Time Winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship before weight classes. 2-Time Winner K1 MMA. Winner Pride 2000 MMA. The only no holds barred fighter in history to consecutively beat 4 fighters in one night.
“Once, to show me how you didn’t need to use your hands to defend a neck choke, Rickson put one hand inside his belt and fought against Royce [Gracie] an Royler [Gracie] at the same time with only one arm! In 10 minutes of hard fighting they were unable to even come close to making him tap.”
Todd Hester. Publisher and editor-in-chief of Gladiator Magazine
“Who is the best fighter in the Gracie family, in your opinion? ” Each of us expresses our family’s style through our personalities. That is why you see some of us more aggressive than others. Rickson is the best though.”
Ralph Gracie. Three Time Undefeated Extreme Fighting Champion. USWF Super Shoot Fight IV Champion. Fighting Record of 71-0-0. 3rd Degree Black Belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
“Rickson is way beyond everyone. He can touch your head, your emotions and your mind…Without a doubt, Rickson Gracie is the best fighter ever.”
Carlos “Cao” Valente – Head of the Valente Academy with more than 40 BJJ schools worldwide. Black Belt Student of Rickson Gracie. Former Student of Rolls Gracie.
“There is one guy that is always thought of as above all others in the world of Jiu Jitsu, Rickson Gracie… He is a scary dude. He is a master, a true master of Jiu Jitsu. He’s got that samurai mindset, a lot of people talk that samurai mindset, that dude lives it! That is his mindset.
Joe Rogan – UFC Commentator, BJJ Black Belt, Actor.
“You gotta believe it because everyone says the same thing, even David Camarillo when he went down there, and David Camarillo is a world-class black belt, he said he couldn’t do anything with Rickson… He is the best Gracie hands down.”
Eddie Bravo – Creator of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu.
As Rickson Gracie’s fastest black belt and most respected teacher of the art, Henry Akins served as an instructor at Gracie’s gym from 2000 to 2010 and from 2004 to 2010 was the head instructor, before Akins resigned the role to open his own gym, Dynamix MMA, on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Akins keeps the tradition alive.
Because of Akins’ dedication to upholding the high performance standards people have come to expect from the Rickson Gracie lineage, since launching Hidden Jiu-Jitsu in 2014, Akins has amassed a collection of “mind blown” testimonials and blog posts from Jiu-Jitsu practitioners from all levels of skill, and every corner of the globe, that simply have to be read to be believed.
But besides the material itself being simple and effective, the second reason Akins’ program has been so successful is the scientific structure of the course itself.
Because of how the information is presented to students, and because of the simple drills Akins teaches, focused on isolated positional training instead of the more common free rolling, the method of training Henry emphasizes and shows in the course helps to ingrain the techniques and movements into the brain and nervous system so that complete mastery of the material can be achieved in minimal time.
The techniques can be used against full resistance effectively and immediately, with extremely low risk of injury, which Akins notes is one of the most common and devastating obstacles one can ever face in training Jiu-Jitsu.
Thus, by embedding powerful learning tools that “trick” the brain into mastering the skills quickly into the structure of the course… tools such as deep practice, alternating focused and diffuse modes of thinking, and handling the biggest obstacles to complete and rapid mastery recognized by the most respected scholars, including procrastination and illusions of competence, Akins is able to take students from clueless beginner to frighteningly effective from all positions in only one year’s time.
But to gain a deeper understanding of the secret behind the program’s success, and why hundreds of BJJ black belts from around the world are signing up for Henry’s programs and writing in testimonials like this:
Akins points to 3 specific tools
The 3 Keys To Masterful Performance in Record Time
By studying the work of authors like K. Anders Ericsson, who wrote the bestseller “Peak: Secrets of the New Science of Expertise”, and by using the same methods as researchers like Dr. Barabara Oakley, Professor of Engineering and Instructor of the Massive Open Online Course for Coursera – UC San Diego, “Learning How To Learn”, Akins has taken advantage of 3 of the most powerful tools for masterful performance in record time.
Tool #1: Deep Practice. These days, all of the learning experts agree on one thing: deep practice is the backbone of mastery of any skill. And what separates deep practice from less effective methods is simply focus.
By intensely focusing on one piece of the learning puzzle, you create deep connections in the brain and nervous system that stand the test of time, and lead to the highest possible level of proficiency, as the skill is perfected piece by piece.
This is how Akins is able to get his students to what is called “unconscious competence” so fast, where the skills are second nature, and don’t have to be thought about to be executed.
And it is one of the prime reasons Akins focuses on what he calls “positional training” instead of the more common practice of “rolling” or timed sparring.
Akins explains that in rolling, there are too many unpredictable possibilities. For the highest level of mastery in the shortest possible time, the student needs to create accurate feedback loops that help identify and eliminate mistakes. Thus, as a learning tool, rolling is too complex and unpredictable to build high-level skill fast.
When the goal is to build high-level fast, it is far more effective to train specific positions, and to have controlled drills and limited sparring that act like a microscope or laser to develop each piece of the game.
Tool #2: Chunking. If deep practice is the most effective method, chunking is the most effective dose.
By breaking a skill into its most basic subskills, or chunks, your brain and nervous system are able to bring the most intense benefits of deep practice to each individual step of the learning process.
Of course, this requires a certain amount of patience.
But the rewards are staggering.
Interestingly, this method of chunking is one of the biggest objections Akins get from students enrolled in his advanced fundamentals course.
Because instead of uploading all of the content at once, reminiscent of a Netflix binge that students will quickly be overwhelmed by, Akins’ year-long course releases at controlled intervals each week to purposely limit access to the material.
This helps the students gain a deeper understanding of the position, or the technique, or variables that may come up and how to deal with them.
Plus, each new video requires the previous video to be watched to unlock the next.
Some videos are as short as two minutes long.
But each video builds sequentially on the video that came before it, much like a mathematics curriculum, laying a perfect foundation for unbeatable fundamentals – layer by layer – with a mind-blowing 286 lessons that span just over one calendar year of time.
Tool #3: Intervals of Focused and Diffuse Thinking
The leading experts on learning and peak performance now understand one of the biggest obstacles to learning and performance – procrastination – actually holds the key to tricking the brain into learning most effectively.
Because researchers now understand that procrastination is the brain’s emotional reaction to overwhelm.
When a task seems too complex, or too difficult, the brain looks for a way out.
That’s what procrastination is. On the Jiu-Jitsu mats, this manifests in the form of tuning out when the instructor is demonstrating something the student is overwhelmed by or uninterested in, or skipping class for weeks or months on end when the student feels stuck.
However, if the complex task can be broken down simply, if the difficulty can be chopped up and scheduled into smaller, easier challenges ahead of time, the brain is able to feel good about the task and even find the challenge engaging.
This is where intervals of focused and diffuse thinking come into play.
Because as Rener Gracie pointed out in the beginning of this article, the two main reasons students do not make it to the higher levels of skill is because Jiu-Jitsu is often both complex and demoralizing.
But by alternating intense focus on simple lessons, and then forgetting about the material altogether at planned intervals, the student can remain motivated and engaged by the challenges, while the brain can consistently develop deep connections and maximum proficiency with every single lesson, and completely side step the need to procrastinate or quit.
Also, Akins’ students are consistently set up for success because each lesson is so simple, and so effective in its aim, most lessons can be used effectively against full resistance almost immediately after they’re learned, so long as the progression in the positional training drills are followed.
This offers an unmatched sense of consistent accomplishment and advancement which completely reverses the “demoralized” feeling most students have to deal with regularly.
For those who would like to learn more about Henry Akins’ scientifically designed advanced fundamentals course, and when the next class will be open for admission, visit the link below: