Key Takeaways
- A focused No-Gi instructional built around the back step as a hub for passing, leg locks, back takes, and upper-body submissions.
- Best suited for grapplers who already understand basic passing and want a more connected attacking system from transitional positions.
- The strongest parts appear to be the Bear Trap leg lock material, Starsky Step chains, and Euro Step upper-body attacks.
- Not ideal for brand-new white belts who still need basic positional orientation before jumping into dynamic back step entries.
- A strong pick for No-Gi players, 10th Planet students, leg lockers, and anyone who likes creating offense from odd angles.
- Rating: 8.5/10
GET THE BACK STEP CLAN MARVIN CASTELLE DVD
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is exactly the kind of instructional that will either make immediate sense to your game or feel like the weird stuff your trickiest training partner keeps hitting on you. That is not a criticism. The back step is one of those transitional movements in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu that looks simple until someone uses it to turn your guard into a leg lock, a back take, or an upper-body trap.
Marvin Castelle frames the position as more than a flashy passing motion. The idea here is to use the back step as a repeatable gateway into offense. Instead of treating passing, leg locks, and back takes as separate departments, this instructional connects them through one mobile, angle-changing system.
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD earns its 8.5/10 rating because it takes an underused movement and gives it real structure. It is not the most beginner-friendly instructional on the market, but for the right No-Gi grappler, it has a lot of bite.
Systematizing Back Steps
The back step is one of the most useful “in-between” movements in grappling. You see it during guard passing, half guard battles, leg lock scrambles, rolling exchanges, and back exposure sequences. It is not always a stable position by itself, but that is partly the point. It creates motion, confusion, and angles.
In modern No-Gi, where guard players are constantly hunting inside position, leg entanglements, and off-balances, a good back step can change the entire direction of the exchange. You are no longer trying to smash straight through the guard player’s frames. You are stepping around the problem, forcing them to turn, defend, expose legs, or give up upper-body connections.
That makes back step guard passing a strange animal. It is not pure pressure passing, and it is not pure movement passing. It sits somewhere between both. You need balance, hip mobility, timing, and enough submission awareness to know what is becoming available as the opponent reacts.
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is interesting because it treats the back step as a full offensive platform. That is the correct way to look at it. If you only use it to pass, you will miss half the value. If you only use it to chase leg locks, better opponents will start reading you. The magic is in the switching.
Marvin “Da Cerberus” Castelle
Marvin Castelle is a first-degree black belt under Eddie Bravo and the head coach at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu: Torrance. Understandably, this is very much a No-Gi-first instructional. Castelle’s game sits comfortably in the 10th Planet universe: creative entries, leg lock awareness, unconventional transitions, and submission-oriented movement.
He is also the founder of the Dark Arts Association, a No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu movement that has expanded beyond California. Castelle has a 10-7 grappling record, including submission wins and matches at events such as ADCC Trials, Fight 2 Win, SubStars, and IBJJF No-Gi competition.
That competitive background does not automatically make an instructional good, but it does help explain why the material is so focused on transitional finishing opportunities rather than static positional control. The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD feels like it comes from someone who enjoys chaos but still wants a map through it.
The Complete Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD Review
The product page presents the instructional in a clean progression: movement foundations, entries, leg lock systems, Starsky Step attacks, Euro Step upper-body options, defense and concepts, then an outro. That is a sensible order because the back step can become messy very quickly if you do not understand how to move first.
The biggest strength of the Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is that it does not pretend the back step is just one move. It shows it as a position-changing mechanism. One entry can become a pass, leg entanglement, Kimura, triangle variation, crucifix route, or back take depending on how the opponent reacts.
Volume 1 – Foundations & Movement
The first section covers the base mechanics: the introduction to the Back Step Clan system, along with a bunch of drills and entry details. This is the right place to start because the back step is easy to imitate badly. Most people can swing a leg around and far fewer can do it without losing base, giving up leg position, or falling into a counter.
The combat sit-up material is particularly relevant for No-Gi because it connects seated guard movement with entry mechanics. If you are stiff through the hips or slow to transition between seated and turning positions, the rest of the system will feel forced.
Castelle’s decision to start with solo movement gives the Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD a better foundation than if it had opened with submissions immediately. This section is probably less exciting than the leg lock material, but it is the part most people should revisit the most.
Volume 2 – Entries & Setups
The second section introduces lots of original work, such as the front step and Rosenswag, followed by Marvin’s bread and butter – backsteps into leg locks. This is where the instructional starts becoming more than movement practice. You begin seeing how Castelle wants to enter the back step instead of just arriving there by accident.
The value here is in the directional change. A good back step does not happen in isolation. It usually comes after the opponent commits their hips, frames, knees, or underhooks in a way that opens the angle. By covering multiple setups, Castelle gives the viewer a better chance of finding an entry that matches their existing passing style.
For guard passers, this is probably one of the most important sections in the Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD. Without reliable entries, the rest of the system becomes a highlight reel you cannot actually force in rolling.
Volume 3 – Bear Trap System (Leg Locks)
The Bear Trap section is one of the standout parts of the instructional. I couldn’t make up my mind whether I like the Aoki Lock to calf slicer or Hayden Bar to heel hook better. And these are not the only submissions in this portion of the Marvin Castelle instructional.
Bear Trap leg locks are useful because they punish the opponent for turning, extending, or trying to recover too casually. Instead of seeing the back step only as a way to pass, this section shows how it can become a direct finishing route.
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD does well here by stacking threats. If the opponent clears one danger, the next one is nearby. Aoki Lock, calf slicer, inside heel hook, heel hook chains, and Z-Lock options all fit the same general theme: enter the angle, trap the leg, and force the bottom player to defend before they can rebuild guard.
Volume 4 – Starsky Step System
The Starsky Step section moves into backside leg lock territory, including the Starsky Step to Backside Honey Hole and Starsky Step to roll, backside, and heel hook. This is where the instructional leans deeper into modern No-Gi leg entanglement language.
The appeal of this section is that it gives the back step a follow-up layer. Sometimes your initial angle will not give you the clean pass or the first leg lock. The Starsky Step appears to function as a way to keep spinning the exchange into a more dangerous backside configuration.
In practical terms, this is the kind of section that will reward repeat viewing. The movement pattern may not click immediately for everyone, especially if they are not already comfortable with backside leg lock positions.
Volume 5 – Euro Step Attacks (Upper Body Focus)
The Euro Step section is a smart shift because it prevents the instructional from becoming too leg-lock obsessed. Kimuras, triangles, Crucifixes and more upper-body attacks all feature here, tied to the Euro Step in a very 10th Planet-flavored set of upper-body attacks.
This section helps balance the whole course. If every back step only leads to legs, opponents will start hiding their feet and turning their knees away. The Euro Step attacks punish that overreaction by climbing toward the arms, shoulders, neck, and back exposure.
For grapplers who thrive on upper body submissions, this section gives the Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD broader appeal. It also makes the system more useful under different rulesets.
Volume 6 – Defense & Concepts
The defense and concepts section addresses how to stop the backstep in a small but important inclusion. Too many instructionals teach offense without explaining what shuts it down. That leaves students confused when a good partner blocks the first layer.
A section on stopping the back step helps the viewer understand both sides of the position. If you know what kills your own back step, you also know what details you need to protect when attacking.
This portion also gives coaches something useful to bring back to the room. Teach the attack, then teach the counter, then let students play the scenario. That is probably the best way to make the Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD translate into actual rolling instead of isolated drilling.
Volume 7 – Outro
While it is not a technical volume in the same way as the previous sections, the final one still matters as a closing point. That is especially important here because the back step connects several different families of attacks. The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is best approached as a modular system rather than a weekend binge.
More Than Just a Leg Lock Setup
The best way to use this instructional is through narrow positional sparring. Start from a seated or half guard-style exchange where the back step is realistically available. Give the top player one goal: enter the back step and stabilize. Give the bottom player one goal: deny the angle or recover guard. That alone will teach more than ten dead reps.
Once the movement feels normal, add one finishing branch at a time. For example, spend two weeks on the Bear Trap entries before touching the Starsky Step. Then add one Euro Step upper-body option so you are not always diving on legs. This keeps the No-Gi back step instructional material from becoming cluttered.
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD can affect a grappler’s development in a useful way because it teaches transitional awareness. Instead of thinking “pass or fail,” you start thinking “angle, reaction, next attack.” That is a more advanced way to pass and submit, but it is also how a lot of modern No-Gi exchanges actually work.
Competition players can use this to build dilemmas off scrambles. Coaches can turn the sections into scenario rounds. Hobbyists can use it to make their passing less predictable.
THE BACK STEP CLAN MARVIN CASTELLE DVD DOWNLOAD
Who Is This For?
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is best for blue belts and above who already understand basic guard passing, leg lock safety, and No-Gi movement. Strong white belts with wrestling, MMA, or previous grappling experience may still get value from the movement sections, but complete beginners will probably need more foundational passing material first.
Stylistically, this is for No-Gi players who enjoy attacking from angles. Leg lockers will naturally like the Bear Trap and Starsky Step material. Passing-focused grapplers will benefit from having a more dynamic alternative to straight-line pressure. 10th Planet students and fans of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Torrance will likely feel at home with the terminology and submission chains.
It is less ideal for pure Gi players who want collar-and-sleeve passing, lapel control, or classic pressure passing. It is also not the first instructional I would recommend to someone who is still confused about basic half guard top position. For the right person, though, this is a fun and dangerous system.
Pros & Potential Drawbacks
Pros:
- Strong central theme: Everything revolves around the back step, which gives the instructional a clear identity instead of feeling like random No-Gi techniques.
- Connects passing and submissions: The course does a good job showing how a guard passing motion can become leg locks, back takes, Kimuras, triangles, and crucifix attacks.
- Excellent No-Gi relevance: The material fits modern No-Gi exchanges where leg entanglements, hip turns, and transitional back exposure are constant threats.
- Good lower-body attacking depth: The Bear Trap and Starsky Step sections give leg lockers several useful branches from the same general movement family.
- Upper-body options prevent predictability: The Euro Step material helps keep opponents honest when they start over-defending their legs.
- Includes defensive thinking: The “Stopping the Backstep” section adds useful context and helps students understand the position from both sides.
Potential Drawbacks:
- Not beginner-first material: Newer white belts may struggle if they do not already understand passing posture, hip angles, and leg lock safety.
- Very No-Gi specific: Gi players can still learn movement concepts, but the system is clearly built for No-Gi application.
- Potentially narrow if you dislike leg locks: While upper-body attacks are included, a major portion of the appeal comes from lower-body threats.
Step Back to Attack!
The Back Step Clan Marvin Castelle DVD is a sharp, creative, and highly usable instructional for grapplers who want to make the back step a real part of their No-Gi game. Its biggest strength is the way it connects passing, leg locks, back takes, and upper-body submissions without making them feel like separate systems.
It is not the best pick for someone who still needs basic guard passing structure. It also will not be equally valuable for Gi-only players or beginners who are not ready for heel hook and calf slicer territory. But for intermediate and advanced No-Gi grapplers, especially those who like attacking through scrambles and odd angles, there is a lot to work with.
