UFC legend to teach self-defense seminars at Royce Gracie Academy of Missouri on Saturday

PALMYRA, Mo. — UFC legend Royce Gracie will lead children and adult self-defense seminars on Saturday, July 27, at the Royce Gracie Academy of Missouri in Palmyra. The 60-minute youth seminar will begin at 9 a.m. followed by a two-hour session for adults at 10:30 a.m.

Gracie, one of the most influential and recognizable figures in martial arts, revolutionized the martial arts world when he submitted every opponent in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) battles 1, 2 and 4 using jiu-jitsu techniques he learned from his father, Grandmaster Helio Gracie, in battles against all styles of fighters. This style of jiu-jitsu focuses on realistic self-defense techniques against the most realistic and common confrontations and real-life attacks.

In a press release, Mark Kerkhoff, founder of Royce Gracie Academy, said, “We are extremely excited for Royce to be here in Palmyra teaching for the first time. He is 100 percent focused on his father’s jiu-jitsu as a martial art of self-defense intended to neutralize violence in a real-life encounter or street attack.

“Royce has one of the most extreme and difficult black belt testing processes in the world, and there are only a handful of direct Royce Gracie black belts in the Midwest. It is really an honor to have him here at our school in Palmyra this Saturday.

“The entire original purpose of jiu-jitsu was for self-defense in real combat and, unfortunately, this system has become less and less common with the meteoric rise in popularity of sport jiu-jitsu for tournaments and competitions in nearly every town.  Royce is the absolute leader in self-defense jiu-jitsu, and he is stalwartly committed to preserving the most truly effective form of self-defense in the world. We are honored to have him here in Palmyra.”

Kerkhoff is one of only seven Royce Gracie black belts in the Midwest. He was awarded his black belt directly from Royce Gracie in 2022. He also is a certified firearms instructor and licensed attorney.

Gracie was the first member inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He was named one of Sports Illustrated’s top 50 athletes of all time. Now retired from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition, Gracie travels the world teaching seminars. His 2024 world tour included stops in Spain, Portugal, Wales, United Kingdom, Ireland and Scotland just weeks before his visit to Palmyra.

For registration and pricing information, visit https://sparkpages.io/?i=_aGmb or contact Kerkhoff at 573-283-8353.

Founded in 2023, Royce Gracie Academy, 811 N. Main in Palmyra, focuses entirely on self-defense and specializes in group and private classes for kids, teens, women and adults of all ages and experience levels. As the owner and lead instructor, Kerkhoff’s vision is to build a group of capable leaders to help eliminate the childhood epidemic of bullying.

Visit https://roycegraciemo.com/ for more information on kids, teens, women and adult self-defense training available year-round.