Key Takeaways
- A No-Gi BJJ instructional put together by several of Marcelo Garcia’s top black belts.
- It delivers insider information on his best moves, like the NS choke, X-guard, Guillotine, seated guard, and back attacks.
- Features Paul Schreiner, Matheus Diniz, Joel Burgess, Scott Kaplan, Kanan Clarke-Jones, Matheus Lutes, Tony Bibaj, and Yuta Shimada.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
BEST MARCELO GARCIA TECHNIQUES DVD HERE:
Marcelo Garcia is undoubtedly one of the best ever in the sport of Jiu-Jitsu. However, anyone that has attempted to learn from his DVDs has found it difficult to replicate the success Marcelo has had over the years, using those exact same moves.
So, is the game that Marcelo Garcia played, which is often dubbed as the best ever for No-Gi, only something he can do? Over the years, we’ve seen many of Marcelo’s students do the same, using elements of his fame to become great.
Now, some of those students have joined forces to give us the Team Marcelo Garcia DVD, offering a selection of the GOAT’s best techniques and tactics. Enjoy it!
The Best BJJ Game For No-Gi?
Marcelo Garcia was a force to be reckoned with in the early 2000s. He demonstrated that BJJ sis not set in stone and that a world champion’s game is just as subject to change in order to keep being successful as that of a blue belt still figuring things out.
Marcelo won the ADCC 4 times, out of 5 possible in the span of 8 years. He literally tortured everyone the first time out, in 2003, taking the back and choking folks out left and right, aided by his expertise in the crucifix.
As people thought they got the hang of him for 2005, he came out playing butterfly guard and tapping people with some of the nastiest guillotines we’ve seen, which have later been dubbed ‘the Marcelotine’. The same thing happened in 2007, when he unleashed the X-guard, once again leaving opponents dumbfounded.
To this day, all the staples of Marcelo’s game, from the crucifix to his North-South choke, are super-effective at the highest levels of the sport and used by all pro grapplers. I guess it is safe to say that Marcelo is the source of most of the stuff that’s considered to be the best game for No-Gi in the 21st century.
Now, we have a chance to learn about the nuts and bolts that make this game work, as his best instructors come together to offer the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques by Team Marcelo Garcia DVD.
The Marcelo Garcia Legacy
There was a short period of time some 10 years ago when people in the BJJ world kind of had no clear idea who Marcelo Garcia was. He did kind of fall out of the spotlight when he retired, so, understandably, people who took up grappling after the fact had little exposure to his work.
For us who were here to see him do what he does best, he was nothing short of a miracle. All due respect to Gordon, but he’s never going to achieve the same as Marcelo did. Moreover, Marcelo was always the nice, kind, and smiling guy who could wrap anyone up as a pretzel.
Well, after his very public battle and victory over stomach cancer and his crazy comeback to competitive grappling under the ONE Championship banner, everyone in grappling knows who Marcelo Garci is once again. The world is back in balance.
Last year, when Marcelo was in the headlines due to his struggles with cancer, the BJJ community came together to help, and none more than the instructors in his academy. One of those projects was the Team Marcelo Garcia DVD we’re having a look at today.
Team Marcelo: Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques DVD Review
The Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques by Team Marcelo Garcia DVD is a two-hour-long No-Gi instructional with four volumes, with the moves presented by several prominent black belt instructors who have learned directly from Marcelo:
Part 1 – North-South Choke & Back Attacks
The concept behind this instructional is one I’d enjoy seeing more often. Several people come together to demonstrate specific moves, making it kind of like being in a BJJ camp. The first duo to present their techniques in the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques DVD are Paul Schreiner and Matheus Diniz, two of Marcelo’s most famous black belts.
Schreiner is first, delivering an in-depth analysis of how Marcelo’s North-South choke works, complete with finishing mechanics and setups from different top pinning positions. Diniz comes next, offering a very comprehensive hand-fighting system from the back that will help you get a choking position every time.
Part 2 – Single Leg X-Guard & Guillotines
Joel Burgess picks up from Diniz in part two of the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques DVD, providing an overview of the Single Leg X-Guard, a Marcelo Garcia classic. Burgess focuses on sweeps, as Garcia never really did many leg locks, going through the double ankle, twist sweep, and overhook X attacks.
Scott Kaplan provides a change in scenery with his delivery of Marcelo’s guillotine secrets, shown from the seated guard position. He opens up with several different setups before spending a considerable amount of time explaining how to finish the choke.
Part 3 – Passing & Turtle Attacks
Kanan Clarke-Jones opens up the third installment of the Marcelo Garcia Techniques Team Marcelo, going over some Marcelo-inspired loose passing involving the knee cut pass and going outside. He also shows turtle attacks that will break down the defenses of even the most stubborn turtle player.
Still on the subject of passing, Matheus Lutes takes over from Clarke-Jones, targeting knee-shield passing. All of the passes, both against high and low knee shield guards, lead toward the North-South and that inevitable Marcelo Garcia NS choke finish.
Part 4 – X-Guard Sweeps & Over-Under Passing
As we reach the final portion of what is a very unusual but highly engaging No-Gi instructional, Tony Bibaj takes us through some full X-guard moves that are the centerpiece of his guard game. Sweeping is the star once again, leading directly into passes of the over-under variety, which Bibaj covers in extreme detail.
The final couple of chapters of the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques DVD are reserved for Yuta Shimada and an explanation of side control escapes and hook sweeps against super-stable opponents.
Learning From ‘Students’
Despite having all of Marcelo’s DVDs on the subject of his North-South choke, I was never able to pull it off. We’re talking about ten years ago and a very old set of DVDs, just to be clear. It was years later, after seeing an instructional by Marcelo’s black belt Emily Kwok, that the choke finally clicked.
That experience opened up a new door to learning BJJ from DVDs for me. I started looking into seminars, classes, and videos of the students of people who were excelling at specific moves. This changed how much detail I could get on a certain move and made it as close as possible to training with Marcelo, for example, and getting my questions answered without actually having access to him.
The trend of looking up signature moves from specific grapplers is still going strong, and we’re definitely missing instructionals such as the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques DVD. After all, without taking away from the moves’ creator, the more people that can reiterate why they work, the easier it is to really understand them.
DOWNLOAD: MARCELO GARCIA TECHNIQUES BY TEAM MARCELO DVD
Team Marcelo!
Personally, I’ve always been inspired by and loved watching Marcelo Garcia, whether it is him competing or his instructional DVDs. However, I find that the Best Marcelo Garcia Techniques by Team Marcelo Garcia DVD is a much better resource for understanding his signature moves than any of his other instructionals. In fact, I’d start with this one and then use his dedicated DVDs to really go deep in a specific direction. Good luck!
