If you’ve ever grappled with a Judoka, you know how annoying their iron grips can be – you can’t make them let go of you! Even in No-Gi, the gripping effectiveness of high-level Judo grapplers is often the difference in matches, even if their actual BJJ skills are not up to par.
The reason behind it is obvious – the Japanese Judo Grip Fighting Secrets that Judokas have drilled over and over again for hours at a time, as they navigate a grappling art where the grip is king! While you can find ways to break these grips apart, why not do the smarter thing and join Satoshi Ishii and learn how to develop the iron grips from hell that will skyrocket your BJJ?
Key Takeaways
- A Gi BJJ instructional containing nearly 2 hours of Judo grip fighting secrets.
- Taught by Olympic and World Judo champion, MMA fighter, and pro grappler.
- Explores differnet grips and stances, grip breaks, and counter gripping tactics.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 7 out of 10.
DOWNLOAD THE JUDO GRIP FIGHTING SECRETS DVD HERE!!!
It All Starts With Grip Fighting
Okay, it all starts with distance, really, in any type of martial art or combat sport. Hwoever, the one parameter that defines a distance from which exchanges are possible is the establishment of grips. Even striking arts such as boxing and Muay Thai have the clinch, which helps control the match by controlling distance, all made possible by gripping and attaching.
In BJJ, as well as Judo, wrestling, and all other grappling-based martial arts, grips are absolutely essential to have a meaningful experience. Imagine grappling with an opponent and neither you nor they get any grips going – it is no touch martial arts at their best.
Grips are what allow us to destabilize opponents, isolate parts of their bodies, and lead them to positions where we can assert dominance. Even when finishing, grips are essential – there is rarely a submission in BJJ not requiring that you hold on to some part of your opponent with your arms.
Out of all the grappling martial arts, Judo is the one where you can master the true art of grip fighting. Since no lower body takedowns are allowed in sports Judo, it all comes down to manipulating the upper body of a standing opponent to throw them to the mats. It is no easy feet, which is why Judokas spend some much time working on their grips.
Luckily, you don’t need to become an Olympic Judo champion to develop such powerful grips for BJJ. You just need the experience and tactics of such a champion, which is exactly what you get from Satoshi Ishii and his new Japanese Judo Grip Fighting Secrets DVD.
Olympic Judo Icon Satoshi Ishii
Satoshi Ishii is a household name in Judo and MMA and is one of the most notable Japanese fighters ever. He is still active as a competitor, now focusing on kickboxing and the occasional submission grappling opportunities that professional Jiu-Jitsu opened up.
Ishii was born in Japan in 1986 and has been grappling for most of his life. Not many people in the world can say they have medaled in everything that matters in Judo:
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist.
- 2006 Asina Games Silver Medalist.
- 2004 World Judo Champion.
- 2 x All Japan Judo Champion.
Satoshi also spends considerable time in MMA, fighting for several different organizations such as DREAM, Rizin, Bellator, and K-1, emerging with a professional record of 26-14-1. The naturalized Croatian citizen also has some notable performances in Submission Underground in 2020, where he lost to Craig Jones and Mason Fowler.
Japanese Judo Grip Fighting Secrets DVD: The Review
Satoshi Ishii’s Judo Grip Fighting Secrets is a three-part DVD that covers the basics of grip fighting for grappling martial arts that use the Gi. It covers standing exchanges and goes very deep into depicting the importance of grip placement and maneuvering during grappling:
Part 1 – Basic Arm Control Gripst
Satoshi begins his instructional by offering an overview of a bunch of different Gi grips along the length of the arm, and how they work in relation to common stances. The focus of the instructional is on standing exchanges, but many of the principles can be extrapolated for use in all kinds of BJJ situations.
Instead of showing mindlessly complicated grips, Ishii focuses on how you position and move your body as you go from the sleeve, through the elbow, all the way to armpit grips. He also covers the opponent’s stance and positioning, explaining why specific grips work so well against specific stances.
Part 2 – Breaking Grips
As we go into the second part of the Judo Grip Fighting Secrets DVD by Satoshi Ishii, the focus shifts from gripping to preventing grips. Ishii shares the Japanese system that divides the opponent’s arms into pulling and pushing, addressing each accordingly.
Some of the grip breaks in this part are not new, but it is the first time someone has explained them in relation to body positioning and distance. Other grip breaks, such as dealing with overhead grips or maintaining your armpit grip despite the opponent’s breaking efforts stand out in this volume.
Part 3 – Japanese Grip Combos and Counters
The final portion of the DVD looks into more advanced grip exchanges, with intricate Judo tactics on how to grab the sleeve for that super-important first grip. In this portion, there are lots of back-and-forth tactics covered by Ishii, ending with adding color control to the sleeve/armpit grips you already know how to obtain from the previous volumes.
What I really liked about this instructional is that Satoshi covers only grip fighting and does not sidetrack into throws and trips. He sticks to the subject, taking grip fighting very deep, which, despite being boring at times, is extremely important, particularly for those grappling exclusively in the Gi.
How Grip Fighting Makes Your Jiu-Jitsu Better
Ask yourself why you place a grip in a specific position as you grapple. If the answer is ‘because the instructor told me’ then you’re likely wasting your time with the grip. The thing that is of the utmost importance during grip placement in BJJ is purpose.
The grip serves the purpose of attaching you to the opponent, but for it to be effective, that attachment has to lead to something. We all know that ‘death grips” do nothing but tire out our fingers and end up with a ton of money spent on finger tape over the years. So, instead of blindly grabbing things, understand what you’re trying to achieve with those grips.
Satoshi Ishii offers a blueprint for Gi grips during standing exchanges that covers exactly that – why grips work the way they do. The moment you realize that you’ll lock the Japanese Judo grip fighting secrets that will transform your BJJ game into a very effective and annoying one.
SATOSHI ISHII JUDO GRIP FIGHTING SECRETS DVD DOWNLOAD!!!
Japanese Judo Grip Fighting Secrets
So far, Satoshi Ishii has excelled at anything he has done, from Judo to MMA and submission grappling. He does the same as an instructor, delivering one of the best grip-fighting resources I have seen to date, and I’ve seen plenty.
If you want just one instructional to take care of all your grip fighting needs for BJJ, I’m sorry to say no such DVD exists. However, if you want to understand purposeful grip fighting, especially in the context of standing exchanges with the Gi, then the Judo Grip Fighting Secrets DVD is exactly what you need!
Female Judo Prodigy Shocks Audience by Throwing Security During Public Confrontation
