Here’s something you’ve never seen before! A Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu DVD! Oh wait… that’s right, you’ve seen a bunch of them. perhaps even more than any other black belt out there. So why is this one different? I will do my best to do “Power Ride: A New Philosophy On Pinning” justice and tell you exactly what everyone’s favorite Aussie grappler has to teach this time.

Overview

Since founding B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, Craig has been extremely active, competing, promoting the team, and putting together instructional. One thing that is very noticeable in terms of every B-tam member’s name is their wrestling. And I am not just talking about takedowns here.

This particular Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu instructional focuses on pinning opponents by utilizing a wrestling classic – riding. I’ll explain the concept of riding further in the article, but it is a skill sorely missed by modern BJJ grapplers and one that the B-team and New Wave Jiu-Jitsu are leaning heavily towards.

In 6 volumes Craig covers leg and body rides of different varieties. The goal is to use them in order to pin opponents and eventually gain maximal control over them which will lead into submissions. SInce rides don’t just happen out of the blue, Jones also covers entries in his Power Ride pinning system.

Instructor Background

It s Craig Jones. I can leave it there and everyone will know everything they need in terms of the instructor behind the “Powe Ride: A New Philosophy On Pinning” instructional.

Still, let me repeat a few major things about Craig Jones:

• He was born in Australia and currently lives in Austin Texas.
• Craig is a black belt under Lachaln Giles, promoted in 2016.
• He is predominantly a No-Gi grappler, who has won silver in the last ADCC, is he 205 and 185 Polaris champion, and has some outstanding performances in sub-only tournaments like EBI, Kasai, and SUG.
• Craig was a part of the Danaher Death Squad and put together his own B-team Jiu-JItsu after the DDS broke apart.
• Founder of Mexican Karate.
• There are currently no less than 13 Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu DVD instructional available, with more undoubtedly on their way.
• Wears signature leopard-themed uncomfortably short shorts.

Subject

As promised, I’ll try and explain more about the concepts of rides, which is something BJJ people do not know about. At all. And that is a real shame. Rides are a staple of wrestling and include a series of different ways to attach yourself to an opponent and force them to move, while at the same time not having to actively follow them as they do, but rather hitch a ride on a certain body apart of theirs, so you still end up in a better (mostly top) position than them.

In other words, rides are ways wrestlers use to break down defensive positions like the turtle or the referee’s position and get a match-winning pin – press both of the opponent’s shoulder blades on the mats. This is easy to do when you have your body strategically attached to one of their leg or torso.

In the six-part “Power Ride Pinning” DVD, Craig talks about how you can control and submit people in BJJ by using these age-old wrestling tactics which are not at all difficult to master.

Complexity 

This is a No-Gi instructional that involves wrestling techniques and BJJ positions. In the case of both, no real deep prior knowledge is required. Craig Jones is a good coach that knows how to break things down. in this case, he does so perfectly when attempting to teach BJJ grapplers how to get better at pinning by using underestimated wrestling techniques.

Given the general lack of knowledge about wrestling (outside of takedowns and headlock) in BJJ, even most black belts are going to be white belts on the subject of rides. In other words, this Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu instructional will make anyone a better grappler. Guaranteed.

Technical Details 

This instructional is available as a hard copy DVD or as a digital download. In both situations,  it consists of six volumes of HD video and sound quality material, very carefully organized in a progressive learning system.

The full running length of the ‘Power Ride: A New Philosophy On Pinning” DVD is around 240 minutes (~4 hours). The first couple of introductory volumes is the shortest (each at around 30 minutes. Parts three through five last just over 400 minutes each, with the sixth one lasting over an hour.

Craig is a native English speaker and an eloquent one at that. While he does speak with an Australian accent it is not overwhelming and it is very easy to follow his thought process.

Detailed Analysis

DVD #1

After a short intro, Craig starts to explore the traditional scoring system of BJJ and exposes one key fact – points do not equal control. On that note, control is much better defined in terms of other grappling martial arts, especially in wrestling.

In order to understand how the control works, one first needs to figure out movement. How movement is created, where the power comes from, and the standard operating procedure of BJJ grapplers are all things Jones dwells on in the first portion of his “Power Ride” instructional.

DVD #2

While part one of this Craig Jones JIu-Jitsu DVD is about theory, part two is where he puts it to practice. This volume covers leg rides, which in turn, provide you with leg control. It is different from AShi Grami or other types of leg control (like takedowns) that you might know so far.

Leg rides involve using your legs to entangle the opponent’s leg(s) and prevent them from moving or following them when they move in a direction you actually want them to go towards.

The volume covers some classic wrestling rides like the Turk and the Shelf, as well as some interesting takes on the rear mount.

DVD #3

In part three of the “Power Ride” DVD, Craig JOnesexplores upper body controls that often lead to successful pinning.

Once again, there is a lot of classic wrestling stuff in here that BJJ people do not use (for reasons beyond my understanding).  Things like claw rides, cross face control, Nelson variations, etc are all a staple for wrestlers. Quite often, they are also the reason why wrestlers outperform BJJ athletes on the mats.

There’s more rear mount work here, wrestling-style (as opposed to classical BJJ back control).

The star of this volume is of course the Dagestani handcuff. You’ll recognize it easily when you see it.

DVD #4

Can Craig Jones e the one to solve the biggest defensive puzzle of modern BJJ – the turtle position? Well if anything can be used to beat the old wrestling-inspired defense,  it has to be wrestling-inspired offense, right?

In volume number four, Craig Jones looks at diagonal rides, crab hooks, spiral rides, and other simple ways of breaking down a heavily turtled-up opponent. He throws in some cradles and underclaws in there as well, to create a loop you can keep an opponent in endlessly.

OF course, Craig offers a way to piece everything together at this point before moving on to bridge the gap between wrestling for wrestling and wrestling for BJJ.

DVD #5

How do you combine all the wrestling stuff Craig Jones demonstrated in previous volumes so that they improve pinning success in BJJ? This is the volume that brings everything together.

\IN the first chapters, Craig goes over side control, mount, knee on belly, and back control entries. he utilizes all of the things demonstrated earlier in the “Power Ride” instructional, tying them to the most important (and point scoring) positions in Jiu-Jitsu.

The second portion of the fifth volume looks into some passing and top control positions that are not point scoring but do provide lots of control. Leg drags, dope mount, smash passing, and everyone’s favorite new toy – the body lock.

DVD #6

Wrapping up what turns out to be one of the best Craig Jones Jiu-JItsu instructionals ever is a volume that covers submissions. it wouldn’t be a Craig Jones DVD if it did not have a bunch of crazy subs in it, would it?

This is where you’ll learn how to execute many of the submissions you’re already doing. From arm triangles to Darces and rear naked chokes, Craig goes over BJJ submission while offering wrestling-based pining control that improves their finishing rate. Plus, he throws in some catch wrestling surprises like the Half Nelson finish and the Cow Catcher, finely mixing things up.

How We Grade The “Power Ride: A New Philosophy On Pinning” Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu Instructional

Considering the “Power Ride: A New Philosophy On Pining” instructional DVD’s technical aspects and quality of content, we come to an overall score for this instructional that I’ll deliberate in short below. 

Technical Quality: 10/10

 NO mistakes here, as once again BJJ fanatics prove why they are the gold standard when it comes to BJJ and/or wrestling DVD instructionals. 

Quality of Content: 10/10

This is as complete an instructional, as a grappler can hope for. Perfect length, a very underrated subject brought to light, connecting different grappling martial arts and all of it done by one of the world’s best grapplers (both competitive and teaching-wise). This instructional is a great fit for grapplers of all ages and levels, including those that only grapple with a Gi on. 

Overall: 10/10

 Just what the doctor ordered. I am rarely impressed by a BJJ DVD nowadays, but this one certainly did the trick. Has to be my personal favorite Craig Jones Jiu-Jitsu DVD today. 

Wrap Up

Why would you ignore 50 % of the human body? IF that famous quote made sense to you then why would you ignore thousands of years of grappling knowledge simply because the prefix BJJ is not in front of it? Wrestling offers exactly that, and now that Craig Jones did all the hard work funneling it into one instructional, there are no excuses not to, and get this one for yourself or your favorite grappler. 

Here is an interesting BJJ instructional by one of the now-defunct DDS squad black belts that is not one of the Ryan brothers or Gary Tonon. This time, Ethan Crelinsten is the one sharing leg lock knowledge, and he does so in the opposite direction of what we are used to seeing from the Danaher bunch – he teaches leg lock counters in his first BJJ DVD instructional so far. 

Overview

The leg lock game has reached new heights in the past decade. From the obscure and demonized moves they were until the 2010s, leg locks are now a staple in any gym’s curriculum. That evolution, though, means that most people now know how to attack with some of the most common lower limb submissions from the infamous Ashi Garami positions. Not only that, but people are also getting good at defense. AS the threat of leg locks rises, Ethan Crelinstein steps in to offer a different kind of leg lock defense – direct leg lock counters. 

The 4-part Jiu-Jitsu instructional addresses the most common leg lock attacks and offers ways to counter them. Counters include both positional counters, that will land you in a better controlling position, as well as direct leg locking counters.

As you might expect from a DDS member, this is a No-GI instructional.

Instructor Background

Ethan Crelinsten is a John Danaher black belt that came up splitting his time between the NYC blue basement of Renzo Gracie’s BJJ Academy and Firas Zahabi’s TriStar gym in Montreal. He started off as one of the junior members of the Danaher Death Squad, eventually going on a run of big victories himself, most notably at the ADCC North America Trials in 2017 and 2018. 

Crelinsten was born in Montreal, Canada in 1994. He took up MMA training at the age of 19, having no previous experience with sports whatsoever. Since TriStar is the spot to train in Montreal, he quickly ended up blooming under the tutelage of fellow Danaher black belt Firas Zahabi. Crelinsten quickly shifted his focus to Jiu-Jitsu. Connecting with the mother-gym in NYC was only a question of time, and Ethan ended up training with the DDS regularly as a purple belt.

In his short and fruitful career so far, Crelinsten has two ADCC Trials wins, as well as notable wins in submission-only super fights against big-name opponents. Most of those came before his promotion to black belt. Ethan got his black belt along with Nicky Ryan in 2020.

After the Danaher Death Squad disbanded, he went over to form B-team Jiu-Jitsu with Craig Jones, Nicky Rod, and a few other standout grapplers.

Subject

There is no real surprise that a former DDS member, now a member of the B-team has a leg lock instructional. However, the specific aspect of leg locking that Etha Crelinsten covers in this BJJ DVD instructional is highly interesting. Instead of trying to demonstrate attacks, or straight out defense, he chose to focus on leg lock counters. 

Throughout the 4 volumes of the instructional, Crelinsten demonstrates how to get the back, or pass guard when a bottom person is attacking you with leg locks. He also shares sneaky and extremely effective leg lock counters to leg loc attacks, meaning you’ll get a leg lock submission off your own using the opponent’s set up to enter into Ashi Garami.

A very interesting thing he does in this instructional is that he offers his concepts and principles in terms of countering leg locks in the final volume as opposed to the first (as most others do).

Complexity

This DVD instructional will help you deal with leg locks in a more efficient and advanced fashion. However, it requires a least fundamental understanding of some of the most effective submissions and positions. 

In modern Jiu-Jitsu, this does not exclude people in terms of belts, given that some white belts out there are much more experienced in leg locks than some of the old-school black belts. That said, the DVD is not for those without any leg lock experience, regardless of belt level.

The reason for that is if you do not understand leg locks, you’ll most likely try to use the leg lock counters Ethan teaches in a way that won’t work and will only get you in more trouble.

If you are a leg locker, though, this DVD will open up a whole new dimension of options, particularly when grappling fellow lower limb fanatics.

Technical Details

A BJJ Fanatics production delivering the usual high-quality video and audio aspects of the DVD. The instructional is available in DVD format, as well as a digital download. 

The material is organized in 4 volumes. The first two volumes last around an hour, while the third volume caps off at the 50-minute mark. All of these are filled with leg lock counters techniques and are divided into chapters. The last volume lasts around 20 minutes and focuses on the concepts and principles that Ethan Crelinsten uses to set up his leg lock counters.

That brings the total running time of this instructional just over 3 hours.

Detailed Analysis

DVD #1

In the opening volume, Crelinsten starts off offering a series of slick back takes when an opponent is attempting to hunt for leg locks. He begins by addressing the 50/50 a.k.a. the modern bane of leg locking positions. He offers both top and bottom 50/50 entries to the back mount.

Ethan then moves on to explore how to deal with the outside Ashi, reaping, and even double trouble situations.

Some of the most innovative aspects of Crelinsten’s counter leg lock game are in the final few chapters of this volume. In them, he shares ways to get the back off of elevation and inversion attacks which are pretty much a big part of every leg locker’s game.

DVD #2

Part two of “Leg Lock Counters” looks into guard passing as the final result of countering lower limb attacks. Ther is a different multi-chapter section for techniques in terms of dealing with 4 of the most common Ashi Garami positions from the top.

The first section covers straight Ashi Garami. There are two chapters, the Ashi smash and high step vs. Ashi to easily get you past a straight Ashi. As it is essentially the same as the Single Leg X-Guard, you get double the value of these passing counters.

The outside Ashi is next up for passing counters. Again, Ethan Crelinsten starts with a smashing pass, before exploring a double underpass. He also uses a wrestling leg ride called the Turk to beat the outside Ashi (my personal favorite).

The largest part of the techniques in this volume addresses the Cross Ashi Garami (Hoenyhole). After Ethan’s favorite smash pass, the options spread to include countering leg pummels, rolling knee folds, and kick overs. In addition, Crelinsten turns to wrestling again, this time using the crab ride to deal with the Cross Ashi and pass. A couple of slick movement-based passes round this section up.

Finally, it is back to the 50/50, looking to expand on the top position counters already touched upon in the first volume. Apart from the straightforward stack pass, both other passes include a direct leg lock submission opportunity for the top person.

DVD #3

Part three is exactly what makes leg lockers water at the mouth (and maybe other places). Once again there are sections covering straight, outside, cross Ashi, and 50/50 positions.

The counters include transitioning into Ashi variations yourself, killing the original attacker’s options by doing so, and opening up a host of leg lock finishes to ap them out. Some of the moves you’ll see here include the infamous backside 50/50, reverse figure four finishes, hip flops, and a bunch of other sneaky counter leg lock submissions.

DVD #4

I am still curious as to why Ethan left his conceptual approach and the way he thinks about leg lock counters for the very end. That said, this volume does contain some extremely important information for anyone that likes to dabble with leg locks.

The concepts Ethan Crelinsten talks about are the relation of the hip and knee in an Ashi Garami. He explores this crucial battle from both an offensive, defensive and counter-attacking perspective.

Another cool concept he offers is keeping the feet together to prevent people from ever gaining a deep control of one of your legs. He also talks about dividing the opponent’s attention and resources and folding them in order to strip Ashi Garami positions away easily.

How We Grade The “Leg Lock Counters” Ethan Crelinsten Instructional

Considering this Ethan Crelinsten BJJ instructional’s technical aspects and quality of content, we come to an overall score for this instructional that I’ll deliberate in short below.

Technical Quality: 10/10

As previously mentioned, every technical aspect of this DVD is bang on point, from audiovisual quality to multi-angle camerawork and the way Ethan explains the material.

Quality of Content: 9/10

Content-wise, this is a gold mine. The length of the instructional is also in the perfect 3-5 hour sweet spot for a BJJ DVD. As usual, everything shown in a No-Gi instructional is very easily transferable to Gi Jiu-Jitsu, and this instructional is no exception. 

The only drawback of this particular DVD is that you absolutely need previous leg lock knowledge in order to get the most out of it. In fact, the more you already know about leg locks, the more useful this instructional is going to be for you.

Overall: 9/10

 A solid 9 out of 10 for Ethan Crelinten’s first instructional. I advise everyone to give this one a try, as, at one point or another, everybody will have to expect that leg locks are here to stay. 

Wrap Up

I have always loved the concept of countering from bad positions instead of only defending and escaping. In the context of leg locks, this is pretty much readily available, given the proximity to Ashi Garami for both players. In “Leg Lock Counters” Ethan Crelinsten precisely outlines how you can counter the modern leg lock game not just by more leg locks, but also by passing or aiming to obtain back control.

Nicky Rod. Even if this is all I write, you’re probably going to want to go and get this DVD immediately. Such is Nicky Rodriguez’s reputation, and every bit of it is more than well-deserved. HE is a true grappling phenom, one that gives his teammates the likes of Craig Jones and Ethan Crelinsten huge headaches on a daily basis. Imagine what he does to his opponents. Well, now he shares a bit of his signature body lock guard passing system he proudly calls “The Rody Lock”.

Overview

This is not just another body lock instructional trying to outdo Gordon Ryan’s famous one. This one might actually be the better option, given Nicky’s wrestling background. It is a blend of Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling body lock techniques, all focused on helping you pin people down while you pass their legs. 

The instructional has 6 parts, and instead of offering a dozen different body lock variations that stem into even more different guard passes, it is more of a study of the most basic way you can use the body lock guard pass.

Nicky Rod starts with concepts, moves into ways to get to the body lock, explores grips and how to force half guard, and solidifies the passing position before beating the legs. He also covers solutions to common problems well as a couple of really cool and funny stories.

The “Rody Lock” instructional is No-Gi, which makes it useful for everything, from Gi BJJ to MMA.

Instructor Background

Nicky Rodriguez is a purple belt under Jay Regalbuto and one of the most athletically gifted professional grapplers in the world. The 25-year-old beat the who is who of world-class black belts with decades of experience at the 2019 ADCC, and did it as a blue belt!

Nicky started training in wrestling at the age of 12 and had a fair amount of success on the mats at the collegiate level (a record of 34-7). He decided to drop wrestling while pursuing a full-time modeling career. In doing so, he chose Jiu-Jitsu to stay active but ended up so drawn by the sport that he found his career path in it.

Rodriguez began raining under Jay Regalbuto at South Jersey BJJ. HE started competing just three weeks into his training and remained undefeated at a professional level for the next two months.

After a private lesson with Gordon Ryan in 2018, Nicky Rod got introduced to the Danaher Death Squad, which he became a full member of in 2019. After the DDS break up, Rodriguez went on to Craig Jones’ B-Team.

Subject

Passing the guard is a subject that is constantly in everyone’s focus, simply because you can’t train BJJ without knowing how to pass. As guards change and develop, so do guard passes. Recently looking into wrestling has become the thing to do for both defensive and offensive Jiu-Jitsu. Body locks are an integral part of wrestling, which is clearly visible in the “Rody Lock” instructional, in which Rodriguez blends wrestling philosophies perfectly with BJJ tactics.

Body lock passing si new to BJJ, hence its immediate effectiveness against most forms of guards. many consider it to be  No-Gi only tool, which I strongly disagree with. The Body lock is a very powerful weapon that you can use not just to pass a guard, but also to pin an opponent to the ground, both before and after you deal with their legs.

Complexity

The “Rody Lock” contains great information on body lock passing but it is not really intended for everyone. As an amazing competitor as Rodriguez is, he still lacks in the teaching department. 

While everyone will find details in this instructional I’d say that it is best suited for people between blue and brown belt. The way Nicky Rod presents the material is organized but lacks cohesion. He shares stuff similar to how wrestlers do, going into detail about the position, but not really connecting the big picture dots.

As such, this is too complex for beginners (apart from those with prior wrestling knowledge) but will lack substance for black belts, especially those that have seen Gordon Ryan’s body lock passing DVD

Technical Details

 A BJJ Fanatics production. The quality of the video and audio is in HD. You can acquire the “Rody Lock” DVD in hard copy, or in the form of a digital download. 

The instructional contains 6 volumes. Different volumes have different lengths, ranging from 20 minutes to an hour and a half. The entire length of this No-Gi instructional is around 5 and a half hours.

Detailed Analysis

DVD #1

Kicking things off, Nicky talks about the main concepts and foundations of body lock passing. The grips are first up, with Nicky Rod explaining how and shy you should aim to grip and how to transition between different grip configurations.

HE also talks about how to position the head, which I halve always found to be the one main weakness of body lock passing.  He also talks about how to kill the opponent’s legs and how to time going forward so that every movement you do helps you gain ground.

DVD #2

Part two of the “Rody Lock” is all about getting to the body lock configuration. Building on the explanations of what your main goals and principles are (from part 1), Rodriguez covers four different scenarios to launch the body lock from. Those are against a seated and supine opponent when standing, and against a seated and supine opponent when kneeling.

Each category involves methods of acquiring the body lock specific to it. Examples are chest pushing, shin to shin, lateral knee push, knee slice, etc.

Rodriguez calls this phase 1 of passing via his body lock system.

DVD #3

Halfway into the DVD Nicky Rod explores how the 2-on-1 grip can help you force half guard from the Rody lock position. In what he calls phase 2, he covers ways to counter butterfly hooks, knee swivels, and crossed ankles.

Nicky also shows how to use the sprawl to open the legs and force half guard without getting yourself into trouble.

DVD #4

this brings us to part four of the instructional where Rodriguez shares phase 3 of his passing system: beating the legs.

Once again, he keeps going based on the previous volume, so he uses the 2-on-1 and a half guard to demonstrate the best ways (according to him) to get past the opponent’s legs.

A basic idea of the direction in which he moves from the 2-on-1 is to elbow pry or holds a tight waist in order to step over the knee line, sprawling as needed.

From the half guard, the head and arm, knee slice and brutal crossface tight waist caught my eye somewhat.

DVD #5

Phase four is all about making sure you don’t give away the position you worked so hard to earn by passing. This volume covers top pinning positions you are familiar with.

As expected, side control features first, followed closely by mount. Nicky Rod also covers scenarios in which opponents try to turn both into and away from you. Something i liked was his take on playing from the 3/4 position, covering options on both the near and far hip.

DVD #6

In the final part of the Rody Locks instructional, Nicky shares some FAQss. he covers common issues like frames, overhead sweeps, underhooks, and the threat of butterfly guard. He offers his take on how to solve all these issues easily. 

Finally, he shares a couple of crazy stories, that for me, were the best part of this entire BJJ DVD instructional.

How We Grade The “Rody Lock” Nicky Rod BJJ DVD Instructional

Considering this Rody Lock instructional DVD’s technical aspects and quality of content, we come to an overall score for this instructional that I’ll deliberate in short below. 

Technical Quality: 10/10

I like the way the instructional is organized (into the different phases of passing). In terms of the audiovisual technicalities, the DVD is up to the industry standards set by BJJ fanatics. It is also not too short or long, with the total time topping off somewhere around the five and half hours mark.

Quality of Content: 7/10

I’d say it is a high grade, all things considered. Once again, I like that every volume covers a distinct phase of the body lock pass. I am still not sold on it. Moreover, Nicky’s approach, despite the organization in phases is still very technical and scenario-based, covering only very specific aspects of passing in an “if-this-than-that” format. 

Similar to most successful competitors out there, the material is based on what works for Nicky Rod, and given his crazy athletic abilities, not everything shown in this instructional is a good fit for most “mortals” out there.

Overall: 7/10

The “Rody Lock” is a good instructional if you like to mess around with the body lock pass. Whether or not Nicky’s approach will work for you, depends on your skill level and athleticism, along with your body shape. if you are similar to Nicky, you’ll most likely do fine. That said if you’re looking for a way to pass the guard, I’d encourage you to look in a different direction. Especially if you araa Gi player. 

Wrap Up

There is always value in a great competitor’s BJJ DVD instructional. However, manage your expectations as most of the best competitors out there are not even close to being as good teachers as they are fighters. If the body lock is your niche, you’ll find useful info in those Nicky Rod instructional.