Music: {allcanada} B.C. officers training with MMA legend Gracie

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they know jiu-jitsu?

Okay maybe not the exact theme song of "COPS," but it seems that some of Canada's finest having been putting on the gi and training with one of MMA's greatest legends.

I remember a few months back, a Vancouver SWAT Team member told me about this "secret gathering" of law enforcement officers who were getting together to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I didn't really think it was too unusual until he told me who their teacher was. I was blown away to learn that it was none other than UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie.

A couple of my bros from MMASucka.com and I set out on a mission to find this top-secret law enforcement Jits club. After tracking down the secret location (The Justice Institute of BC in New Westminster, B.C.), we got a chance to chat with RCMP officer Nathan Menard, who told me that the club wasn't actually a secret at all.

"We bring anyone in from law enforcement, police, ambulance, corrections, sheriffs, anybody as long as you are law enforcement, come in and train and learn the essentials of basic self-defence," Menard said.

Okay, some of the romance and intrigue has been taken out of this story, but what is interesting is that these brave men and women get to learn from one of the best.

"We started training with Royce about eight years ago and we started a club out of our Surrey, British Columbia (RCMP) detachment," Menard added. "We started out with six different guys all with different belts like a couple of blue belts and a few white belts. Now eight years later we got three brown belts, two purple belts, and probably 20 blue belts, it's just kind of grown the last eight years."

You can't blame these men and women, who sometimes find themselves in harm's way, wanting to learn a martial art that is the most effective when things get a tad confrontational. Nowadays Officer Menard believes the RCMP and other law enforcement units have started to move away from older hand-to-hand combat methods and have embraced a mixed martial arts approach.

"Probably 20 or 30 years ago you saw a more traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu influence where there would be more strict forms," said Menard. "But over the last 15 years there has been more growth in wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, and especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu."

With the popularity of the UFC it seems that MMA is becoming less of a dirty word, and it has even influenced how police and even military view their combat training. The most valuable martial art has been BJJ.

"The thing is as a police officer if we are ever in an encounter lots of times it goes to the ground and we don't want to be down there," Menard noted. "We want to get up and base, be able to look around, scan and see if there are other people we have to deal with. What jiu-jitsu teaches is how to get out of those bad situations so you can keep you and other people around you safe."

As I stood there listening to Menard talk about his passion for martial arts, Gracie walked through the lobby. The man has a presence and when he walks into a room, people take notice.

Okay, maybe that was just me being completely star struck as I met a boyhood hero. The rest of the people acted like it was just no thing. Royce hugged a few of the guys and he even had time to hold the baby of one of the officers. I immediately told my new favourite police man that Royce Gracie wasn't too shabby of guy to bring in from time to time.

"Royce Gracie is probably the best guy to bring in," said Menard with a smile. "I bumped into him back in 2003 at a seminar when I first started doing jiu-jitsu and our relationship kind of just grew through the belts and over the last few years he has been kind enough to come out and he has seen our school grow as well as our relationship."

So with this new popular training regimen and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu club I wanted to know if some of the officers ever got into the cage and fought?

"There are a few guys who train here who have fought in some local promotions," said Menard. "It's not a no-no but it's just not very popular with a lot of police, but there are a few guys out there who are doing it and if any of them do want to fight, the club supports them and we train together."

It seems that quasi-retirement has treated Royce well. For the last few years he has traveled the world passing on his martial arts system to military and police officers alike. When he is not just teaching jiu-jitsu he also teaches what he calls the G.R.A.C.I.E. Law Enforcement Certification Program. It's a self-defence system that helps an officer or soldier with weapon retention. Gracie himself has taught many of North America's law enforcement agencies like the RCMP, FBI, Secret Service and even border patrol a range of defensive techniques.

So criminals take note, you better start working on your ground game because Royce Gracie is passing on his knowledge to society's protectors.