If you enjoy using the Gi to wrap opponents and training partners up neatly, then you’ll really enjoy this Kendall Reusing DVD. It is all about using the Gi to set up, chain together, and finish different submissions while never losing control of the top position.
It is a competitor’s take on the whole “control before submission’ thing for all you concept lovers out there. The main stars of this release, though, are submission holds done with the help of the Gi. Since we seem to have neglected these in favor of crazy lapel-bound pins and guards, let’s take a look back at what truly matters in Jiu-Jitsu – the tap!
Key Takeaways
- 3-part Gi instructional about holding and submitting from the top in Gi BJJ.
- An entire submission-based game is tailor-made for competitive success.
- The original Kendall Reusing Kendall-Cana taught in great detail.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 9 out of 10.
GI TOP POSITION SUBMISSION DVD AVAILABLE HERE!!!
Using the Gi for Submissions
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers a tool to use while rolling or competing that very few other martial arts have to offer. Well, okay, a few that matter and can do it effectively anyway. The Gi represents a weapon in BJJ, one that you can use both for offense or to fend off the opponent’s attacks.
A particularly sweet way of using the BJJ Gi to your huge advantage is to set up submissions with the help of lapels, collars, sleeves, and even the belt. Alternatively, anywhere you and grab along the kimono to get that all-important inch for submission of any type, you should make the most out of it.
In the realm of modern BJJ, we see the Gi take a more controlling role, with many guards and pins, and even takedowns, revolving around what is, in my opinion, overly complicated use of the Gi. Remember how Roger won the World Cross choking everyone? That is what we need more of, and we get a solid dose in a brand-new Kendall Reusing DVD instructional.
Kendall Reusing – Gracie Barra’s No-Gi World Champ
One of the best black belts to come out of the Gracie Barra competitors pool lately, Kendall Reusing has been tearing it up in the international Jiu-Jitsu scene. The 27-year-old has several huge titles to her name, despite only being a black belt for 5 years. So far Kendall has conquered:
- Polaris Open Weight Championship in 2002 and 2023
- IBJJF No-Gi Worlds (double gold in 2019 and division gold in 2023)
- The IBJJF No-Gi Pans in 2021
- ADCC East Coast Trials winner in 2021.
She got a major world title in every eyra since being a black belt, adding to her already impressive world title list in the colored belts. Reusing is proficient in both Gi and No-Gi but has had a lot more success without the Gi, especially as a black belt.
Reusing has a very versatile game as a result of experience competing both with and without the Gi. She always goes for submissions, which account for almost half of her victories as a black belt. Exactly the person you want to learn Gi top position submissions from.
Kendall initially started her grappling career as a wrestler at the age of 5 and joined BJJ classes not long after. Not surprising, given that her father Tom Reusing is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Nelson Monteiro. She trained in both until she was 13, when she decided to compete only in wrestling, to much success.
Gi Top Position Submissions: Kendall Reusing DVD Review
Throughout the three-part Kendall Reusing DVD, she does a very good job sticking to submissions, not talking too much about entries and controls, but rather guiding us towards logical and effective chains.
Exactly what you’d expect from the instructional of a world-class BJJ competitor – effectiveness through simplicity. The material she covers is just over an hour and a half long, and the DVD is obviously a Gi instructional.
Part 1 – Side Control Gi Submissions
In the very first volume of this Kendal Reusing DVD, the world champion kicks it off with a few pointers on how to get to the grips you need from side control without the bottom person blocking you.
Once that is out of the way she immediately rolls out a fan favorite – the paper cutter choke, spiced up with some details based on her experiences. It is one of her highest percentage finishes as a black belt.
Kendall goes on to seamlessly tie in the threat of the choke with a modified armbar working off of the same grips. The Gi attachment makes this setup particularly tight, and Reusing adds more options by demonstrating several different leg positions for finishing.
Part 2 – Mounted Gi Finishes
As we move on to the second volume, Kendall starts exploring one of my personal favorites, and go-to of mine about a decade ago – the step-over choke. Having all but forgotten about it, Reusing refreshed and expanded my knowledge of this useful Gi choke
The cross-collar choke, of course, makes an appearance in the Gi Top Position Submissions DVD, announcing the transition to mounted submission attacks. To be fair, Kendall does start with an upside-down version of it, using it as an overture to very slick arm triangle entries.
The arm triangle is another gem that we’ve seen Reusing use a lot. She has some very interesting and innovative details to share, as well as a few different ways of finishing from mount or by dismounting at the right moment.
Part 3 – The Kendal-Cana
Those who have seen Kendall Reusing compete probably expected that her signature Kendall-Cana is going to make an appearance somewhere in this Kendall Reusing DVD. It does in volume three, where, after a few more arm triangle combos, Reusing finally reveals it.
The submission is what older grapplers remember as answering the telephone, a follow-up armlock that you use when someone is defending an arm triangle. Kendall has truly elevated the submission to a whole new level, changing up bits and pieces to massively increase its effectiveness, even against much stronger opponents.
Top Position Submissions
As I keep preaching to everyone who will listen to me on the mats (they kinda have to in my academy), always gun for a top position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I don’t care if you are the self-proclaimed king or queen of the guard, nothing beats being on top.
When you have a powerful weapon such as the Gi to help you better distribute weight and keep things even tighter, then trying to play against gravity really makes no sense. With efficiency in mind, obtaining any top position past the guard with the Gi at your disposal, is, as Kendall clearly demonstrates in her Gi Top Position Submissions DVD, a massive advantage to have.
Here is one more idea of how you can implement Kendall’s system of top position submissions with the Gi: study the grips she places. Even if you don’t do exactly what she does, you can use the grips she shows to sink your submission a lot deeper, since most of the weight distribution from top principles will still apply.
DOWNLOAD DVD KENDALL REUSING GI TOP POSITION SUBMISSIONS
Get a Grip on It!
The best way to show how much I enjoyed this Kendal Reusing DVD is to share that I personally avoid Gi grips like the plague. I have decided long ago to only grip No-Gi, regardless of how I am rolling, in an attempt to save what is left of my knuckles. Apart from finishing submissions, of course.
What I got out of this DVD as a BJJ black belt, is increased efficiency in grip placement and power. There are more strategies and tactics in everything Reusing shows that meets the eye, and it will benefit anyone rolling or competing with the Gi, at least occasionally.
What Two Years Of Using The Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu Curriculum Have Taught Me
