Key Takeaways
- A short, focused instructional built around Bernardo Faria’s signature over-under pressure passing.
- Best suited to grapplers who want a simple, repeatable top game rather than a broad catalog of flashy passing styles.
- The biggest strength is clarity: this is a compact system that explains entries, common reactions, and finishing details without wasting time.
- The biggest limitation is scope: if you want a complete passing encyclopedia, this is not that kind of product.
- Older practitioners, busy hobbyists, and anyone trying to slow the match down will likely get the most from it.
- Rating: 8/10
OLD GUYS PRESSURE PASSING SYSTEM BERNARDO FARIA DVD HERE
The Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD is exactly the kind of instructional that knows what it wants to be. It is not trying to be a giant eight-hour masterclass on every passing angle in Jiu-Jitsu. Instead, it takes Bernardo’s best-known weapon, the over-under pass, and shrinks it into a short Fast Track format that you can get through quickly and start applying almost immediately.
That matters more than it might seem. A lot of grapplers, especially hobbyists, do not need fifty passing options. They need one that they can trust, one that does not depend on speed, and one that still works when their timing is slightly off, their gas tank is average, or their body is no longer interested in playing a sprint-heavy game. That is the lane this course targets.
Pressure Passing Still Ages Better Than Most Styles
Pressure passing has always had one huge advantage in Jiu-Jitsu: it tends to age well. Athletic movement passing can look incredible when your reactions are sharp and your body is fresh, but pressure passing usually survives wear and tear much better. It relies on understanding where to place your weight, how to shut down frames, and how to make the opponent carry you at the worst possible times.
That is why Bernardo’s approach has always appealed to a huge part of the community. You do not need to be explosive to make over-under passing miserable for someone. You need discipline, connection, and a willingness to stay patient while inching toward the pass. For older grapplers, heavier grapplers, or simply those who prefer steady control over chaos, that is a very attractive proposition.
The other reason pressure passing matters is psychological. Good over-under passing does not just beat guard retention mechanically. It drains confidence. Once the bottom player realizes they are not creating the separation they need, their guard starts to feel less like an attacking position and more like survival. That is where a simple system becomes powerful.
This is also why the Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD works better as a concept than as a marketing hook. It is not about being an old guy in a literal sense. It is about playing a sustainable style that keeps working when youthful explosiveness is no longer your main answer.
Bernardo Faria Is The Right Person To Teach This
Bernardo Faria has long been one of the clearest examples of how far fundamentals can take you in high-level Jiu-Jitsu. Rather than building his reputation on unpredictable movement or niche trends, he built it on pressure, connection, and a style that opponents knew was coming and still struggled to stop.
Bernardo was born in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, began training in his teens, earned his black belt under Ricardo Marques, and became one of the standout Alliance competitors of his era. The exact title count is framed a little differently across sources, but the broad point is the same: he is a multiple-time world champion whose pressure game held up at the top level.
Bernardo’s passing system is battle-tested. He used pressure passing against world-class opposition and turned it into one of the most recognizable styles in modern Gi grappling. He also has one trait that matters a lot for instructionals: he teaches in a way that usually reduces complexity rather than inflates it.
That teaching style fits this product. The Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD is not trying to impress you with complexity. It is trying to make you better faster, and Bernardo is one of the better instructors in the sport when it comes to that kind of direct, practical teaching.
Detailed Fast Track BJJ: Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD Review
The Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD also wears its audience on its sleeve. This is built for people who want to simplify the passing game, lean on pressure, and make top position feel tiring and frustrating for the bottom player. If that sounds like your style, there is a lot to like here.
Volume 1 – Over Under Pressure Basics
The first volume of the Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD is all about foundations and entries, and that is the right place to start. Bernardo opens with structure, a couple of solo pressure movements, and then gets straight into the over-under itself. That early emphasis on body mechanics is useful because pressure passing falls apart quickly if your posture and weight distribution are wrong.
From there, the volume moves into entries against a wide range of guards and situations. Faria is not giving you one sterile demo against a compliant partner and calling it a day. He is showing how to get into his preferred headquarters against the kinds of guards people actually use.
This part of the course is probably the most valuable for a lot of buyers. The hardest thing about pressure passing is often not the finishing angle. It is entering without getting tangled up in layers of grips, hooks, and frames. Bernardo keeps that section digestible, and that is exactly what this Fast Track format should do.
Volume 2 – Over Under For Every Occasion
The second volume is where the becomes more than a basic highlight reel. This is the adjustment section, covering what the bottom player does once they realize the pass is genuinely threatening.
Bernardo addresses hip escapes, bench-press style frames, sticky hooks, head pushes, and submission threats. That is a very sensible set of reactions to cover because those are the exact moments when less experienced pressure passers start losing confidence. They get deep into the pass, meet resistance, and then either back out too early or force the issue badly.
What makes this section of the Bernardo Faria instructional is that he frames it around goals. He explains what the passer wants, what the guard player wants, and how the little grip or head-position adjustments affect the whole exchange. That kind of explanation is more valuable than a random list of counters. It teaches you how to think while passing, not just what to memorize.
Volume 3 – Speciality Pressure Situations
The final volume covers finishing mechanics and late-stage control. This is where the Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD feels most like a compact specialist’s guide. Bernardo is not just saying “get to over-under and pressure through.” He is dealing with the ugly, annoying details that appear when the pass is almost there but not fully secure.
Those are usually the moments that separate a decent pressure passer from one people genuinely hate rolling with. I also like that the course ends on control and finishing, not just on entries. That gives the whole instructional a cleaner arc. You start with structure, move into reactions, and finish with closure. For a short course, that progression is well organized.
Becoming A Hydraulic Press
The biggest practical advantage of the Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD is that it is realistic to study. Because the runtime is so short, you can actually revisit it multiple times instead of treating it like a digital bookshelf ornament you never finish. That alone adds value.
The best way to use it would be in tight blocks. Watch Volume 1, then spend a week working only on entries into over-under from a few common guards you see at your gym. After that, add Volume 2 reactions during positional sparring, especially from butterfly, knee shield, and open guard situations where opponents are actively framing and trying to square back up. Only then really hammer Volume 3 finishing details.
This kind of course is not for passive viewing. It is for narrowing your game on purpose. If you let it reshape your top game for a month or two, it can have a noticeable effect on your rolling. You may not become a pressure-passing terror overnight, but you should become more structured, less rushed, and more comfortable forcing the match into your pace.
That is where its influence on long-term development comes in. Plenty of instructionals add techniques. Fewer actually simplify your decision-making. This one has a real chance to do that.
FAST TRACK BJJ: PRESSURE PASSING SYSTEM BERNARDO FARIA DVD
Who Is This For?
The clearest audience for the Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD is the hobbyist grappler who wants one dependable passing lane. Older practitioners are an obvious fit, but so are younger athletes who simply prefer low-risk top pressure over speed-based movement passing.
Belt-wise, I would say motivated white belts can understand the broad ideas, but blue belts and purple belts will probably get the most immediate return. They usually have enough mat experience to recognize the reactions Bernardo is solving, yet are still early enough in their development to build a passing identity around it.
Style-wise, this is best for Gi players or at least grapplers whose gyms spend plenty of time in grip-heavy guard exchanges. The amount of spider, lasso, collar-grip, and baseball choke material gives it that flavor. Some pressure principles absolutely carry over to No-Gi, but this is not a modern No-Gi loose passing instructional.
It is less ideal for people who want variety for variety’s sake. If you get bored doing the same high-percentage thing over and over, this may feel too narrow. Bernardo’s whole point is repetition and reliability, not novelty.
Pros & Potential Drawbacks
Pros:
- Very focused structure: It does not waste time pretending to be broader than it is, and that makes it easier to study.
- Excellent match for busy grapplers: The short runtime makes repeated viewing realistic, which is a major plus in the real world.
- Strong conceptual value: Bernardo explains reactions and adjustments, not just the “happy path” version of the over-under.
- Built around a proven system: This is one of the most battle-tested pressure passing styles in modern Jiu-Jitsu.
- Great fit for sustainable grappling: Older practitioners and less explosive players should find the style especially useful.
- Good practical progression: Foundations, counters, and finishing are organized in a sequence that makes sense for actual training.
Potential Drawbacks:
- Narrow scope: This is fundamentally an over-under passing course, not a complete passing curriculum.
- Short format means less depth: The compact runtime is a strength, but it also means some learners will want more layering.
- More Gi-coded than some buyers may expect: The guard examples and defensive reactions lean toward grip-heavy scenarios.
- Not the best fit for novelty hunters: If you want a dozen different passing families, this will feel limited.
Passing Like Bernardo
The Pressure Passing System Bernardo Faria DVD succeeds because it does not overpromise. It gives you a compact, usable slice of Bernardo’s best-known passing style and presents it in a format that most hobbyists can actually finish and revisit. That alone makes it more useful than plenty of longer instructionals people abandon halfway through.
