Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD Review [2025]

By
Ognen Dzabirski
-
Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A BJJ DVD that offers a sales framework for the business aspects of running a BJJ Academy. 
  • Includes tactics and procedures for lead generation, customer relations, metrics, and sales methods, divided into sections. 
  • Features a full intro class at Marshall’s academy and covers the role of such a class in attracting students. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 7 out of 10. 

MASTERING YOUR SALES ELIOT MARSHALL DVD GET HERE

Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD Cover
Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD

Robert Drysdale once declared that teaching BJJ is a crappy job, and that people are ungrateful. Back then, I thought he was crazy or just fed up. Fast forward about 10 years or so since that statement, and I understand him completely.

However, I don’t think that it’s the fault of the people who train. In my opinion, it is the business plans behind academies whose owners are also the head coaches, and are crazy about BJJ, that fail. But, in this day and age, there’s an insturctional for everything in BJJ. Even business. Check out the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD.

The Business Side of Jiu-Jitsu

For the majority of people out there, BJJ is the fun thing they do after school or work. For the people who run the academies where that fun happens, though, the work is the class you enjoy taking. So, if you’re an academy owner, you already know the headaches of running an academy.

So, let’s look at how you can alleviate some of those headaches. The Eliot Marshall Sales DVD offers a great way to help the business side of things, which I find is lacking in all the best academies that don’t employ business professionals to run this portion.

I can be confident of this because I’ve done it myself – tried to run classes, administration, sales, marketing, all on my own. It is not easy, and it is not meant to be done by just one person. And yet, it is the one thing that is beyond crucial to keep the doors of the academy open.

Eliot’s DVD has some strong pointers on how to make sure you, or whoever you trust to run the sales and marketing, can secure the best return for the time they put into generating leads and talking to potential clients. It seems like a framework that will work, and Marahsall’s success with his own academy backs that notion up even further.

Eliot ‘The Fire’ Marshall

Eliot Marshall is a very interesting character. I’d seen him fight in the UFC, but never had an idea that he was so good at grappling. It turns out he is not just a solid grappler but a very legit black belt under Amal Easton.

I figured all this out when I saw his Fundamentals DVD not long ago, and was quite impressed with the contents. So, when another one of his instructionals appeared, I was immediately drawn to the name, but this time, it was an instructional like I have never seen before. And, coming from me, that’s something,

Marshall has been actively training and competing in combat sports for the better part of 25 years. He is also a coach and co-owner of the Easton Training Center, which positions him perfectly to deliver the information he covers in the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD.

Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD Review

This one-of-a-kind BJJ instructional offers a roadmap on how to run the business side of a BJJ academy. Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD contains sales tactics, methods, role-playing ideas, and full sample intro classes in a DVD that lasts over two hours:

Part 1 – Understanding the Sales Process

Part one of the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD is like business school, but for combat sports academy owners. I’ve never seen anything like it, nor have I tested it out, but I will make my conclusions based on the content and the fact that I’ve been running my own academy for 15 years.

Eliot begins with an overview of the entire sales process, starting from creating a price for all the services (programs) you offer, before talking about appointment setting. His idea is to keep people coming back, as opposed to just having a trial class and leaving.

All kinds of marketing avenues appear here, from online communications (the most useful one, according to me) through lead acquisition calls, all the way to the power of word of mouth. The goal of this part of the sales process is to gather data.

Appointment setting comes next, with Marshall offering a several-step process that includes building rapport depending on the background of the potential new client. He even covers how to approach and talk to parents as the main client behind a kid looking to train.

Part 2 – Intro Classes

This second volume of the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD is the one that sold me on the effectiveness of his instructional. I never thought I’d watch an instructional on running a BJJ academy as a business, but this is one that I would even go as far as recommending to academy owners.

A big reason for this is that Eliot covers the importance of intro classes as a means of retaining people who walk through the doors. He goes beyond just mentioning them, offering a full class taught in his academy, divided into two strategic portions, each with a specific sales goal.

Part 3 – Customer Relations

The final piece of the puzzle that the Mastering Your Sales DVD explains in detail is how to close the actual sale. Role-playing is a huge aspect of this portion of the process, and yes, it is absolutely necessary for you, or whoever you trust to run your sales, to master it.

On top of the role-playing sales closing tactics delivered in useful sections, which provide an easy framework to remember, Eliot also covers metrics and how to track how successful you are with the entire process. He wraps up with the most important thing that keeps people walking back – customer relationships.

There’s More Than One Gameplan

If you are a BJJ gym owner or co-owner, you need to make space in whatever means you use to make your BJJ game plan. Why? Because you will need to include another game plan alongside it, and this one is going to be all business and no fun.

That is the price of being a BJJ academy owner. It is also one of the reasons why many people decide to switch back to coaching full-time at someone else’s place, rather than running their own. It takes time, effort, and lots of financial ups and downs to make ends meet by running a Jiu-Jitsu school.

For those without a business background, things tend to get as complicated as they are when you ask a white belt to shrimp – you get lost. Instead of trying to learn business using shortcuts, the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD actually offers everything you need to put together a strong game plan for the sales part of your BJJ business. It’s worth a look.

Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall Free DVD Sample
WATCH A FREE SAMPLE: Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD

DOWNLOAD HERE: MASTERING YOUR SALES ELIOT MARSHALL DVD

Start Here! 

There’s no point in pondering whether the Mastering Your Sales Eliot Marshall DVD is going to help. It is one of the most secure returns on investment you’ll ever have. Of course, just watching it won’t suffice, and you’ll have to go through some trial and error, just like in BJJ, However, once you figure out role playing, lead management, and the importance of intro classes, you’ll get to be the head of an academy that thrives on the mats, and in the accounting books.

Coaching is a s*it Job and Students are Ungrateful – Robert Drysdale

Complete Fundamentals Curriculum Eliot Marshall DVD Review [2025]

Academy Kings: Best Practices To Grow Your BJJ Academy Business

BJJ Purple Belt Sirena Allen-De Guzman Reveals Grooming by Coach at 15

By
BJJ World
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BJJ Purple Belt Sirena Allen-De Guzman Reveals Grooming by Coach at 15
  • Sirena Allen-De Guzman began her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey at 15, seeking physical activity and community.
  • What started as a supportive environment quickly turned into a nightmare when her BJJ coach, a man in his 40s, began grooming her.
  • By 17, she was in a relationship with him, a situation she now recognizes as a clear abuse of power.​

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“By the time that I was 17, I was dating my 40-something-year-old Jiu-Jitsu coach.”

– Sirena Allen-De Guzman

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A Trusted Mentor Turns Predator

When the inappropriate relationship came to light, the gym’s response was to expel the coach. However, instead of supporting the teen grappler, the gym effectively punished her as well.

The coach told her, “I’m not allowed to train, so you’re not allowed to train,” leading to her departure from the sport she loved.​ This reaction highlights a troubling tendency within some martial arts communities to prioritize reputation over the well-being of victims.​

A Pattern of Control and Isolation

The relationship was marked by increasing control. Allen-De Guzman described being cut off from friends and family, with the coach dictating her interactions and finances.

The breaking point came when he forbade her from attending a work event, leading to a realization of the unhealthy dynamics at play.​

________________________________________________________________________

“It made me realize that I was in this relationship where I couldn’t make a decision like going to a work function without having to deal with the fallout,” 

– Sirena Allen-De Guzman

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Returning to the Mat

After nearly five years away from BJJ, Allen-De Guzman found the courage to return. With the support of a new coach who told her, “Don’t sell yourself short. We’ll develop your skills until you feel like you have earned that blue belt again,” she began rebuilding her confidence and skills.

________________________________________________________________________

“We don’t talk about gym etiquette in that way in any gym that I’ve ever been in. There’s never been a conversation about ‘hey guys, if somebody says no, that means no.’”

– Sirena Allen-De Guzman

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Not an Isolated Incident: Other Cases in BJJ​

Allen-De Guzman’s unwanted BJJ grooming experience, which she shared on the Partizan Grappling podcast, is unfortinately not unique. Several high-profile cases have highlighted a troubling pattern within the BJJ community:​

Claudia do Val and Ricardo De La Riva

In 2020, three-time IBJJF World Champion Claudia do Val accused her former coach, Ricardo De La Riva, of sexual misconduct during her early training years. She detailed the experience in an interview, shedding light on the abuse of power by a respected figure in the BJJ world.​

The Fight Sports​ Controversy

In 2020, a BJJ black belt under Abreu and instructor at Fight Sports Naples, Marcel Goncalves, was accused of sexual assault by a 16-year-old student. Abreu faced criticism for his handling of the claims and was later named in a civil suit alleging failure to oversee trainers and protect minors.

In 2023, a second lawsuit implicated Abreu and Fight Sports LLC in another sexual assault case involving a minor.

Lloyd Irvin and Team Lloyd Irvin​

In 2013, two students from Team Lloyd Irvin were charged with the violent rape of a female teammate. Subsequent revelations about Irvin’s own past, including involvement in a 1989 gang rape case (for which he was acquitted), led to an exodus of top athletes from his team and the eventual disbanding of his affiliate program.

________________________________________________________________________

“Something that I would really love to see as the sport continues to develop is women who are kind of strong athletic role models for young girls in this sport,”

– Sirena Allen-De Guzman

________________________________________________________________________

Purple Belt Sirena Allen-De Guzman Groomed by BJJ Coach at 15

A Call for Change

Allen-De Guzman’s story serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within martial arts communities. It emphasizes the urgent need for gyms to implement strict policies, provide education on power dynamics, and create safe spaces for all practitioners. By confronting these issues head-on, the BJJ community can begin to heal and ensure that the mat remains a place of respect and growth for everyone.

Rafael ‘Barata’ Freitas Acused Of Sexual Assault On A Student He ‘Drugged And Raped’

MMA Coach Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of A Minor

Jackson Sousa Not Guilty OF Sexual Aassault

Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD Review [2025]

By
Ognen Dzabirski
-
Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ DVD with three volumes, delivering key details on how to modernize a classic passing staple – the headquarters. 
  • Features headquarters instructions, integrated passing combos using different methods, and contains plenty of drills.   
  • Provides a full volume of rolling breakdowns focused on headquarters passing. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10. 

HEADQUARTERS PASSING SHAWN MELANSON DVD GET HERE:

Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD Preview
WATCH THE TRAILER: Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD

All your passing troubles are not going to get solved by getting a BJJ DVD that covers the subject. However, some instructionals out there, such as the Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD, will provide you with more than just bits and pieces that you’re left trying to put together on your own.

Shawn has a very solid DVD here, offering not just a new perspective on a classic passing system that we know works, but also different ways of achieving your goal from there. When passing, he combines several super-effective techniques and constantly changes between them. Interested in learning more? Read on.

The Key Condition for Successful Passing

What does it take to pass the guard? A pin. I can already hear most people screaming that pins come after passing and that I’ve got things backward. But I’m right, and in a minute, you’ll know exactly why.

Pinning is an essential component of passing that happens the moment you decide to get past the bottom player’s legs. If you can’t keep your opponent down, and they can just stand up, then how can you hope to pass their guard?

Therefore, you need to think about pinning people before you begin to battle their legs and conquer the space that leads past their hips. Pinning in this instance is active and dynamic, as opposed to holding someone in side control or mount.

IN fact, you’re already doing it, but probably have no idea when or why. Every time you force a seated guard player to a supine position, you’re effectively pinning them to the mats so you can pass. The Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD will give you the ultimate pinning position to launch a myriad of different highly effective passes.

Shawn Melanson – The New School

I figured out who Shawn is the first time I looked at a DVD of his, which happened to be his first. He caught my eye, so I kept following his crazy good Instagram content since then, and never regretted it for a minute. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to see what his second DVD was all about.

Before I get into that, a few words on Shawn Melanson for those who don’t know who this rising star is. Shawn has been training and competing for a long while now, with 30 high-profile wins already to his name, more than half of which he finished.

He has a knack for efficiency, which is very evident in the Shawn Melanson Passing DVD we’ll be covering today. As a competitor, Melanson has a great idea of what works, and why, and with his sights also set on pro MMA, there’s hardly a better source these days for grappling efficiency.

Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD Review

The Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD is a three-volume BJJ instructional presented in No-Gi, delivering a very interesting, effectiveness-oriented approach to a classic passing system we already know works:

Part 1 – Drills, Drags & HQ Introduction

The first part of the Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD, which is also the longest, is divided into two main sections. One covers a set of super useful drills to develop effective guard passing, and the other contains details on the Headquarters and related passing.

In the drills section, Shawn delivers his go-to live training methods for developing a sense for making all the passing combinations that he follows up with. Speaking of passes, lots of dragas and knee cuts feature in this opening salvo, mixed into the drills and laying the foundation for Melanson’s system.

Headquarters info appears after the halfway mark of the first volume, starting with a short intro to the origins of the position and going straight into the integration of the above drills. Shawn covers knee cuts, stacking, and dragging from the headquarters, along with a very cool set of guidelines on how, and more importantly, when to switch between them.

Part 2 – Stacking & Shin-to-Shin Passing

After the strong opening of the first part, volume two of the Shawn Melanson Headquarters DVD does not diminish in quality of the material. Although somewhat shorter than the first part, the focus here is on completing the pass that started in the headquarters, without getting tunnel vision about the direction.

Stacking gets a lot of attention in this part, along with reaction passing, which is the one thing in this DVD that you must pay very close attention to – it brings everything together.

Bits and pieces to help you fill in common issues, such as being stuck in sticky half guards and dealing with shin-to-shin guards, also feature here. The proverbial cherry on top comes in the form of the smash pass, the endgame option to tame even the most defiant guard player. And it all starts with the headquarters.

Part 3 – Rolling Breakdowns

I am a very big proponent of rolling footage in BJJ DVDs, so the inclusion of such a segment automatically drives the score up for the Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD.

In this instance, Shawn provides an entire volume, just shy of 20 minutes in duration, filled with live rolling examples of everything he covered in the previous volumes. Bonus marks for the narration and breakdown of the rolls, which somehow emerges as the best way to learn Jiu-Jitsu from video material.

Camping Tactics for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Patience. If I had to describe an effective Jiu-Jitsu game in one word, I’d just say patience. Of course, something as simple as patience is also the hardest aspect of grappling to master, which in large part, is due to the nature of exchanges during live training.

The most common mistakes made in BJJ are the ones people make just before they reach the end-range of their effort. It can be a submission, a pass, a sweep, or a takedown – just before you get it is also the moment when you will lose out on most of your efforts. And it’s all got to do with timing.

And how do you explain timing? With patience. Wait more. Take your time and capitalize on the moment your opponent is trying to go for an end-range motion. The only issue here is picking a position that you can control while you’re patiently waiting, so that you don’t end up losing all that you’ve worked for.

In passing, one of the best camping positions like this is the headquarters. And, while Lovato Jr. created and refined it, the Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD takes it to a whole new level.

Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson Free DVD Sample
CHECK OUT A SAMPLE OF THE DVD: Headquarters Passing by Shawn Melanson

DOWNLOAD HERE: HEADQUARTERS PASING SHAWN MELANSON DVD

Modernize Your Passing! 

As I said at the beginning of this article, the Modernized Headquarters Passing Shawn Melanson DVD is not going to teach you how to pass. You’ll have to do that yourself.

It will, however, provide you with a framework on how passing works, where to start from, what passes you can combine, and when, and several rounds of live examples. Along with the passing drills offered in this DVD, you’re definitely going to emerge a better passer after seeing it!

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Arm Bar It All Shawn Melanson DVD Review [2025]

4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD Review [2025]

By
Ognen Dzabirski
-
4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A Gi BJJ DVD offering a different, but very effective way to learn any Jiu-Jitsu guard.  
  • Goes over key concepts such as connection and control points, retention, attack tactics, timing, distance and mindset. 
  • Features technical details and instructions, followed by specific drills/games in each of the volumes. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10. 

4 WEEKS TO A BETTER GUARD TRAVIS STEVENS DVD GET HERE:

4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD Preview
dvd trailer: 4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens

Wondering how you can improve your guard in the fastest amount of time possible, without having to learn a completely new guard just because it is the latest “most effective’ fad? What you need is to learn guard from someone who does not want to play any more guard than aboslutely necessary.

So, ask a Judoka. Or, even better, ask THE Judoka. The 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD has not just the framework but also all of the drills you’ll need to become a guard master at any (and all) guards faster than you’d be able to even go through the material of your run-of-the-mill guard DVD these days. Here’s why:

BJJ Guard by a Judoka? 

The one thing they teach you in Judo from day one is to keep your shoulder blades off the mats. Now, think of a BJJ guard – it does the exact opposite, right? So how can a Judoka, even an Olympian like Travis Stevens, teach you how to develop one the most effective guard game ever?

The answer is time management. Judokas don’t want to spend time with their back to the mats – we already covered that. So, when, like Travis, one of them also has a BJJ black belt, they tend to be super effective off the mats.

Stevens is a master at managing contact and executing guard transitions at the exact moment when the top person is the most vulnerable. It has a lot to do with timing, off-balancing and braking posture.

Sounds familiar? Of course it does, I just described Judo for you. That means that you have an expert at disrupting balance and throwing people to the mats, showing you how to do the same, just from a different level relative to the ground. It’s all in the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD.

Grappling Giant Travis Stevens

Yeah, it’s a Travis Stevens DVD, and it’s not Judo. And that, somehow, just makes it even better! Travis is a name most people have come across as one of the best coaches in grappling these days. I might even go as far as calling him the new Judo Gene LeBell of the modern grappling world.

Travis is a multiple-time Judo Olympian and a silver medalist, as well as a multiple-time world and national champion in Judo.  Stevens is also one of the rare Judokas who picked up BJJ very early in their career, which has provided him with about 15 years of super valuable BJJ experience and a black belt earned from John Danaher.

These days, Travis is known as one of the best coaching minds in BJJ and, arguably, the best one at connecting Judo and BJJ into a cohesive, effective, and fairly quick-to-learn style.

He teaches daily at the Travis Stevens Jiu-Jitsu Academy and is not shy of delivering great video content regularly. His latest effort is the 4-Week Roadmap to the Travis Stevens Guard DVD.

4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD  Review

The 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD offers over 4 hours of material on building an effective guard game for Gi BJJ in a matter of weeks. It contains six volumes, each offering both technical portions and sections of drill examples.

Part 1 – Connections 

Travis has a very interesting system of delivering his information. Throughout the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD he alternates parts where he breaks moves down with drills that help develop the key skills for masterring those same moves.

In the first volume of this DVD, he talks about what purposeful connections are from the guard, and how to set them up without overcomplicating things. Travis goes over all the points of contact you may encounter, highlighting the three that are most worth pursuing.

The drills include holding the connection points against resistance, trying them out from different guards and getting to tho them against resistance.

Part 2 – Pockets and Inside Space

Second, as it should be, Stevens talks about distance management. Connections serve the purpose of maintaining distance from guard, so in this portion of the Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD you get to learn how to use the three top connections to keep your guard form getting passed.

No attacks yet, just a set of drills that aim to develop your skills in protecting your inside space, opening up the opponent’s inside space, and finding the optimal ‘pocket’ to work from using your connections.

Part 3 – Points of Control

The really surprising (positive) thing about the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD was that Travis does not mix connections with control. This is a point I’ve been struggling to pass on to students who like to play guard.

Holding on to someone and controlling them are two different things, and in this part of the institution, Travis is going to show you exactly what that difference is. Once again, he teaches concepts like points of connection vs. points of control and how to adjust connections for better control, followed by drills to help you put it all into live practice.

Part 4 – Attacking From Guard

At the halfway point of the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD, the first attacks emerge. If possible, I’d advise everyone using this DVD to first get comfortable with the content from previous volumes before moving on to the attacks – this will yield the best results.

Travis likes to keep things simple, so attack-wise, he offers concepts that define what you can do without breaking a connection or losing control. He uses the knees as the ‘sight’ that you should aim at your opponent when attacking.

Drills in this part include sweeping (knocking the partner down against resistance) and connecting the control points with attacks that you like to do, but are depended on using the ‘sight’.

Part 5 – Building a Guard Game

For me, this portion of the Travis Stevens Guard DVD was the most valuable one, both as a coach and an athlete. In it, Stevens covers tactics and how to weigh risks and rewards when deciding to go into attack from a guard.

He also goes over the push-pull dynamics that create the ultimate dilemmas from guard by leveraging posture and balance. The drills in this part are mostly focused on these two aspects, with each drill growing in complexity and resistance level.

Part 6 – Attack Combinations

Finally, traces offers the complexities of playing a full-guard game over the course of just under an hour. The final part of the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD once again begins with tactics, this time helping you recognize the ‘kill shot’ moment and make the most out of it without risking your guard structure.

Lots of reactive attacks appear here, with some very innovative and fun and challenging drills, such as ‘chess’, providing a great set of methods to easily put all the theory that Travis offers into practice.

This part of the DVD lets you adjust the complexity of Travis’ gaurd system to your own abilities and preferences. Travis goes as far as offering attacks on two different planes at the same time, but you can keep it as simple, or complex, as you choose to.

The Simpler – The Better

If you ask me, keeping guards simple is the best way to ensure you don’t get trapped at the bottom and suffer the consequences. This is coming from someone who spent years perfecting the Tornado guard, revelled in the Reverse De la Riva and has done more X guard variations over the years than you know exist.

What you need to know from a guard is what you are doing – retention first, attacks later. Then, you need to know how to do both, and make sure to be able to recognize when you’re entering tunnel vision, because that’s exactly when your best moves tend to fail spectacularly.

Here’s what you probably didn’t hope to read in this article – the specific guard you play doesn’t matter. You can imagine one on the spot, as long as it ticks the what and how boxes. If you want to understand this at a deeper level, the  4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD should already be in your checkout basket.

4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens Free DVD Sample
FREE DVD SAMPLE: 4 Weeks To A Better Guard Travis Stevens

DOWNLOAD HERE: BETTER GUARD TRAVIS STEVENS DVD

It’s Only a Month!

Okay, it may take a bit longer than that. But still, even if it takes two months of drilling, as instructed in the 4 Weeks to a Better Guard Travis Stevens DVD, to become a guard specialist, is it not worth it? Let’s not forget that we’re talking about almost immediate improvements here – imagine what’s going to happen to your guard capabilities after a year of doing the drills!

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DONE! Gordon Ryan Retiring—and Danaher Might Not Be Far Behind! [2025]

By
BJJ World
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Gordon Ryan Retiring—and Danaher Might Not Be Far Behind!
  • Gordon Ryan is the most dominant no-gi grappler of his generation. ADCC absolute champ. Multiple-time superfight winner. The face of Danaher Death Squad and New Wave Jiu-Jitsu. And now—possibly, incredibly—he might be done competing.
  • In a subtle but seismic revelation, longtime coach John Danaher hinted that Gordon Ryan retiring is on the cards, this time for real.
  • The update came with little fanfare, no major announcement, and no black-and-white retirement post. Just a comment made in passing, but one with enough weight to cause a stir across the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community.

Ryan, just 29 years old, has been the undisputed king of no-gi for nearly a decade. But chronic health problems—specifically a long-standing battle with gastroparesis—have kept him in and out of training camps, off major cards, and constantly managing his body just to stay functional.

Danaher Stepping Away Too?

The rumors didn’t stop with Gordon Ryan retiring. Danaher, the architect behind the system that made Ryan, Garry Tonon, and many others, most recently Helena Crevar, household names in the BJJ world, may also be stepping back from full-time coaching.

When announcing the New Wave team for CJI 2, Danaher also hinted that he might be planning to limit his active coaching role. Given his upcoming surgery schedule, this is not surprising.

Whether that means fewer appearances at competition, a shift toward online instruction, or something more permanent is unclear. But if true, it marks the possible dissolution—or at least downsizing—of one of the most influential BJJ coaches.

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“Gordon (Ryan) is very sick at this point, so I don’t believe he’ll be competing again.”

– Danaher

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Sick Gordon Ryan Retiring

A Legacy That Might End Without a Rival

With Ryan gone, the sport becomes a lot more open—and a lot more unpredictable. Craig Jones, Nicky Rod, Mason Fowler, Kaynan Duarte, and even newer names like Nicholas Meregali (who transitioned from Gi to No-Gi under Danaher)—all stand to benefit from the shift in power.

But filling the competitive vacuum is one thing. Filling the cultural one is another. Love him or hate him, Gordon Ryan drove traffic, attention, and debate like no one else in grappling. If he’s truly gone, the BJJ world will need a new focal point. And that might be the hardest role to replace.

Ryan’s potential retirement—if confirmed—would go down as one of the most dominant exits in combat sports. He’s beaten nearly every elite grappler of his era, including Felipe Pena, André Galvão, Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, Craig Jones… He didn’t just beat them—he often finished them.

He rewrote the way people approach No-Gi grappling. He elevated leg lock systems, positional control, and offensive pressure. He made long-form instructionals part of the sport’s economic engine.

And he did it while marketing himself like a WWE heel—complete with brash callouts, relentless social media activity, and a swagger that turned heads whether you loved him or hated him.

But if this really is the end? No retirement tour. No loss. No real rival left standing.

Just a quiet fade from the top of the mountain.

Gordon Ryan Retiring in 2025

From King of No-Gi to Kingmaker?

The silver lining for fans is this: Gordon Ryan reportedly isn’t walking away from Jiu-Jitsu entirely. According to the same reports, he’s expected to shift toward coaching, especially focusing on younger athletes under the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu banner.

If Danaher’s stepping back, it opens the door for Ryan to become the face—and possibly the brain—of the next generation of elite no-gi grapplers. With years of experience under one of the most structured systems in modern jiu-jitsu, Ryan has the knowledge base and technical language to become a coach in his own right.

The question is whether he can command the same dominance from the sidelines as he did on the mats.

Who Fills the Gap?

With Ryan gone, the sport becomes a lot more open—and a lot more unpredictable. Craig Jones, Nicky Rod, Mason Fowler, Kaynan Duarte, even newer names like Nicholas Meregali (who transitioned from gi to no-gi)—all stand to benefit from the shift in power.

But filling the competitive vacuum is one thing. Filling the cultural one is another. Love him or hate him, Gordon Ryan drove traffic, attention, and debate like no one else in grappling. If he’s truly gone, the BJJ world will need a new focal point. And that might be the hardest role to replace.

John Danaher and Gordon Ryan Retiring soon!

Gordon Ryan Retiring: Real, or Just the Latest Plot Twist?

Here’s the thing about Gordon Ryan: he’s not subtle. He thrives on bold claims and viral moments. Which is why this low-key leak from Danaher caught people off guard. It doesn’t fit the usual Ryan brand. No announcement. No big reveal. No hype video. Plus, he already retired once before.

That’s why some in the community remain skeptical. Maybe it’s a break. Maybe it’s strategic. Maybe Ryan returns in 2026 with a “comeback tour” that includes ADCC and a superfight with a new contender. But based on what Danaher said, this wasn’t part of a tease. It sounded real.

And if it is? Then the No-Gi landscape just lost its biggest star, its best technician, and its biggest villain—overnight.

FREE Instructional by Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan’s Controversial Response to Nicky Rod’s Challenge: “St***ids Aren’t Illegal In Jiu-Jitsu”

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Ninja Choke? Jean Silva Chokes Out Bryce Mitchell in Vicious Style at UFC 314

By
Ognen Dzabirski
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Rare Ninja Choke in the UFC: Jean Silva Chokes Out Bryce Mitchell in Vicious Style
  • On paper, it was a classic style clash: Bryce Mitchell, the outspoken Arkansas featherweight with a dominant grappling base, against Jean Silva, the rising Brazilian striker who’s quietly been building a highlight reel.
  • But at UFC 314, the only thing that got louder than Mitchell’s pre-fight headlines was the thud of him hitting the canvas—and the silence that followed when he was rendered unconscious by one of the most technical ninja chokes the Octagon has seen in years.

The finish came in Round 2. After softening Mitchell up with consistent forward pressure and clean, accurate shots, Silva landed a perfectly timed right hand that dropped his opponent.

However, instead of chasing with ground-and-pound, he saw the opportunity. As Mitchell instinctively tried to scramble and base up, Silva wrapped his neck, secured control, and locked in a ninja choke—a rare submission that’s both high-level and high-risk.

Mitchell never tapped. The referee stepped in after realizing he was unconscious.

What Is a Ninja Choke—and Why Don’t We See More of Them?

The Ninja choke is a move you might see occasionally in high-level grappling rooms but rarely on a UFC broadcast. Silva not only executed it under pressure—he hit it in transition, mid-scramble, and made it look effortless.

That’s not just finishing ability. That’s awareness, timing, and mechanical precision.

So, how does the choke work, exactly? Well, it is a blood choke that appears in two variations in BJJ, one done with the Gi and the other without it:

No-Gi Ninja Choke (UFC Version)

The ninja choke isn’t common for a reason. It sits somewhere between a front headlock and a no-arm guillotine. That said, it is highly effective in terms of finishing mechanics and power. The main ‘issue’ with it is the difficulty of setting it up. 

What you want to do is wrap an arm around your opponent’s neck, but instead of finishing shallow, like a traditional guillotine, you want to wrap your arm around as if you’re going for a rear naked choke. Essentially, it is a front-naked choke. 

Those with long, lanky arms have a huge advantage when setting this choke up. Interestingly enough, it works from standing all to better than it does on the ground, delivering quick taps. It’s tight, technical, and unforgiving when done right.

Ninja Choke With the Gi

The Gi version is related to the No-Gi one only by name. That said, it would be sloppy to skip over it as we pay homage to the Ninja choke. Who knows, maybe this will be the kick it needs to spread more in Gi BJJ.

For a Gi Ninja choke, you start in top side control. You’ll need your far-side lapel (the one nearer to the opponent’s legs) to get it. The goal is to sneak the lapel across the opponent’s chest and around their neck on the far side. The palm of the arm you have cross-facing receives the end of the lapel.

From there, it is like finishing a baseball or Samuari choke – you head over to North-South, pulling on the lapel and driving your shoulder into your opponent. It’s very nasty, which is the only thing justifying the elaborate setup.

Silva’s Statement Win Caps a 13-Fight Streak

With the victory, Jean Silva improved his record to 13 straight wins and earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. The 27-year-old now looks like a serious player in the featherweight division.

He’s dangerous on the feet, composed in chaos, and clearly not afraid to jump on a finish when it’s there. If this was his breakout moment, he earned every bit of it.

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“I hope you all pray for Bryce Mitchell, because there’s something wrong with him,”

– Silva in his post-fight interview

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This was Bryce Mitchell’s first fight back since a wave of unwanted headlines, including controversial social media comments that made him a lightning rod outside the cage. Inside it, the loss marks his second in three fights.

Once considered a top-10 grappling specialist in the division, Mitchell now faces questions about his defence, durability, and trajectory. Still, he’s young, experienced, and talented. But on this night, he ran into someone who was just faster, sharper, and far more clinical in every phase of the game.

Rare Ninja Choke in the UFC: Jean Silva

The Submission Hall of Fame: Ninja Choke Joins Elite Company

UFC history is filled with wild, creative finishes: Korean Zombie’s twister. The Von Flue choke resurgence. Oleinik’s crazy run with Ezekiels from the bottom. Jon Jones’ standing guillotine on Lyoto Machida. But Silva’s ninja choke at UFC 314 deserves a spot among them—not just for style points, but for the sheer composure and precision under fire.

It wasn’t flashy. It was fundamental jiu-jitsu, deployed at full speed, in real time, against a high-level grappler—and it ended with his opponent flatlined on the canvas.

1. Aleksei Oleinik’s Ezekiel Choke (From Bottom Mount!)

Possibly the most mind-bending choke in MMA history. In 2017, Aleksei Oleinik submitted Viktor Pesta with an Ezekiel choke—while mounted. That’s right: he was on bottom, in the worst position imaginable, and still managed to choke out a full-grown heavyweight. Oleinik is the only fighter in UFC history to have pulled this off, and he did it more than once.

2. Jon Jones’ Standing Guillotine on Lyoto Machida

At UFC 140, Jon Jones locked up a guillotine against Lyoto Machida, lifted him off the ground, and choked him unconscious—standing. The moment is infamous not just for the technique but for how Jones dropped Machida’s limp body like a sack of laundry once the ref waved it off.

3. The Korean Zombie’s Twister vs. Leonard Garcia

In 2011, Chan Sung Jung made history by landing the first twister submission in UFC history. It’s a spinal lock that’s more common in catch wrestling than BJJ, and it stunned both the crowd and Garcia, who had no idea what hit him.

4. Bryce Mitchell’s Twister vs. Matt Sayles

Ironically, before getting choked unconscious at UFC 314, Bryce Mitchell himself landed one of the craziest submissions in UFC history—a twister finish over Matt Sayles in 2019. At the time, it was just the second twister ever to land in the promotion, after the Korean Zombie’s opening one.

5. Ben Askren’s Bulldog Choke on Robbie Lawler

Askren’s UFC debut in 2019 was chaos from the opening second. After nearly being TKO’d, he reversed a position and locked in a bulldog choke—an old-school move rarely seen at the elite level.

The finish was controversial, with Lawler’s arm appearing to go limp before springing back to life, but the result stands: a rare and dramatic comeback win by bulldog choke.

Silva’s Ninja Choke Wasn’t Just a Submission—It Was a Statement

Jean Silva didn’t just notch another win at UFC 314—he carved his name into the highlight reels of 2025 with one of the rarest and most technically demanding submissions ever pulled off inside the Octagon.

The ninja choke wasn’t just effective; it was flawless. In a sport where timing, precision, and composure separate contenders from pretenders, Silva delivered on all three—and put the featherweight division on notice.

For fans, it was a masterclass. For grappling nerds, it’s a treat. For Bryce Mitchell, it is a hard lesson in what happens when the moment gets away from you.

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6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD Review [2025]

By
Ognen Dzabirski
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6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ instructional offering detailed instructions into mastering the concept of a super-stable base for grappling. 
  • Features structural details, goals, overall game planning and key issues you’ll encounter. 
  • Contains passing examples against different guards along with ways to practice the material by yourself. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 9 out of 10. 

ESSENTIAL SKILS BASE TOP DIMA MUROVANNI DVD GET HERE:

6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD Preview
FULL TRAILER: 6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD

How good are you at not getting swept when you’re the one trying to deal with a bottom player’s guard? Be honest with yourself, and you’ll quickly realize that you have been ignoring a huge aspect of BJJ for as long as you’ve been training.

Luckily, the Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD offers a quick way to fix this, although it won’t happen without effort. There is lots of material in it covering how to develop a base that keeps you on top and allows you to control and improve your position. If you’re wondering what exactly it is, check out this detailed review.

Stay on Top! 

My worst nightmare as a coach is when I see people give up top positions in the heat of battle on the mats. I don’t care if it is IBJJF rules or a bar brawl, you don’t give up top position once you achieve it!

Think about it: the only thing that you can do from the bottom that ends up rewarding you points is get on top! So why would you want to go back to a position that puts you further from a dominating win?

The Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD tackles this subject from a conceptual angle, providing you with plenty of information, not just on why you need to stay on top but also on how. Dima calls it one of the 6 essential skills, but I’d say that along with getting a hold of someone it is the absolute crucial skill that makes grappling possible in the first place!

Modern BJJ with Dima Murovanni

One of the people making Jiu-Jitsu really fun is definitely Dima Murovanni. The black belt emerged as a hidden jewel from one of the top gyms in Berlin and ended up heading the B-team’s competitive training sessions. Very impressive, considering that he just received his black belt and built his reputation as a world-class coach as a brown belt.

Dima has that relentless stubbornness when it comes to making Jiu-Jitsu simple rather than complex, a skill that is becoming popular among many coaches who do not suffer from old-school Gracie-style coaching traumas. Murovani’s Jiu-Jitsu really is for everyone, as his outstanding students, such as Jozef Chen, can confirm.

Lately, we’ve seen a lot of Dima’s work hit the BJJ Fanatics shelves in the form of instructionals. All the subjects he covers are different from the usual positional studies we’re used to seeing. This latest one, likely serving as an introduction to an upcoming series, is the Dima Murovanni Base Top DVD, a resource I wish I had about 10 years ago.

Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD Review

The Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD is an instructional with four volumes, covering the subject of base for top players in BJJ. Dima delivers a very precise structure in the DVD, making it easy to follow his instructions over the two and half hours of material.

Part 1 – Structuring Top Base

Dima begins his journey into this instructional by covering his concepts of progressing through BJJ as fast as possible, which involves focusing all your attention on six distinct skills. The first of those is the main subject of the Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD.

Base top is the skill to remain the top person despite all efforts of the bottom player to break your balance in any way, shape or form. Murovanni talks about the basic structure that allows you to stand or half kneel against any guard player.

Key concepts such as your main goals from the position, managing intensity and even how to structure your training all feature in this opening volume. Hand fighting and a few direct examples involving Ashi/Single leg X-guard put things into perspective even further.

Part 2 – Attaching From Top

The one thing that is absolutely unavoidable for successful grappling is attaching yourself to the opponent. Howeve,r this is often easier said than done, both because of the resistance of the opponent and the tendency for people to completely ignore the importance of attachments

In part two of the Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD, you’ll understand how to change levels from the top whenever you need to increase your stability and how to use optimal gripping techniques, such as underhooks, collar ties and foot grips. A few passes appear at the tail end of this volume.

Part 3 – Weight Shifting 

Past the halfway point of the Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD, the base top game outline starts to appear. That allows Dima to move into more active work, with the third portion of the instructional covering how to counter sweeping threats in detail.

Murovanni once again uses the Ashi to present his point, beginning with the elusive concept of weight shifting and how very subtle moves can completely kill the bottom player’s offensive game.

Passing and pinning after the pass makes up for half the material in this volume, featuring a host of different options. I quite liked the Ethan Crelinsten pass, and the step out, but the X-Guard base top section is definitely also worth exploring.

Part 4 – Killing Open Guards

As we reach the final portion of the Dima Murovanni Essential Skills DVD even more guards get destroyed by Dima’s concepts. He renders the De la Riva guard and all its variations useless first, delivering not just his ideas but also ways to present them to others, which is exceptionally useful for coaches.

The K-Guard also gets some time in the spotlight as one of the most common guards these days. Pass-wise, the double under dominates in this final portion,  executed off the immovable base built in the previous three volumes.

Murovanni ends by explaining the pocket of exchanges he likes to stick to when fighting for base top. Once again, he delivers examples of how you can show it, along with giving you the Hail Mary option to pull out of any guard-pass exchange.

Developing Your Jiu-Jitsu Skills

I agree a hundred per cent with Murovanni that to excel in grappling fast, you need to focus on building skills rather than collecting positions and techniques. It is not just a faster but also a much better way to understand Jiu-Jitsu at its’ core, which is movement.

Where I disagree with Dima is on the number of skills you need. There are more than 6 if you really want to fine-tune your grappling skills. That said, one of them certainly is being able to remain on top and use the advantage to see off a match, whether by submission or via points.

The Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD is a good resource to push you into thinking about grappling in this manner of skill acquisition. Next time you roll, give it a try and see how good you are at staying on top when bottom players try to sweep, reverse or submit you.

6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD Free Sample
WATCH A FREE SAMPLE: 6 Most Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD

DOWNLOAD HERE: BASE TOP DIMA MUROVANNI DVD

6 Most Essential Skills

I expect that Dima is going to go a lot deeper into the full set of six essential skills to help you learn BJJ fast. If the Essential Skills Base Top Dima Murovanni DVD, which I take is the first in the series, is anything to judge him on, we’re in for yet another Danaher-esque reshape of how we see Jiu-Jitsu and what matters when we roll.

Kill The Underhook Dima Murovanni DVD Review [2024]

Kill The Underhook Dima Murovanni DVD Review [2024]

2024 BJJ Trendsetters: Rumble Passing Dima Murovanni DVD Review

IBJJF for Hobbyists? Matt Skaff Criticizes IBJJF, and Robert Drysdale Isn’t Having It

By
BJJ World
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IBJJF for Hobbyists? Matt Skaff Criticizes IBJJF, and Robert Drysdale Isn’t Having It
  • In a recent podcast interview, z Matt Skaff touched a nerve in the jiu-jitsu world when he stated that IBJJF competition is mostly for hobbyists, not serious professionals.
  • It didn’t take long before the reactions poured in—most notably from Robert Drysdale, one of ADCC’s most decorated American competitors and a longtime voice in the sport.

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“It’s pretty cool for some of the older athletes,” Skaff said. “If you’re a master’s grappler—anybody over the age of 30—and you want to get some good competition, and you want to have some cool accolades, I think IBJJF’s a great avenue for you.”

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Skaff added that younger, more ambitious competitors should look to events like ADCC and submission-only formats if they want real development or recognition. He also called out IBJJF’s membership and tournament fees, questioning why athletes have to pay premium costs to compete under what he implied was a limited and overly restrictive rule set.

“If you’re a young, hungry competitor, the IBJJF makes no sense,” added Skaff.

Robert Drysdale Responds: “Apparently Buchecha Wasted His Life, Then?”

Drysdale, never one to let bold claims slide, didn’t pull punches in his response. “Apparently Buchecha, Roger, Lepri, Malfacini, Mendes, etc., just wasted their lives then… if only they had listened to this advice,” he wrote, dripping with sarcasm.

Drysdale is a 2007 ADCC absolute champion and former IBJJF World Champion, giving him a rare perspective from both competitive worlds. His response carried more than just personal pride—it was a defence of the IBJJF’s historic role in shaping many of the sport’s all-time greats.

10th Planet vs. IBJJF: A Longstanding Style Clash

This isn’t the first time the 10th Planet system has clashed with traditional jiu-jitsu institutions. Founded by Eddie Bravo, 10th Planet jiu-jitsu was built on no-gi grappling, unorthodox positions like rubber guard, and an emphasis on submission over points.

It has always leaned into submission-only tournaments and open rule sets like EBI and ADCC, distancing itself from gi-based promotions like the IBJJF. Skaff, as a longtime affiliate of that lineage, isn’t alone in his views.

Many no-gi competitors believe that the IBJJF’s strict point-based rules and advantages system slows the game down and favor stalling. But there’s a flip side: without structure, critics argue, Jiu-Jitsu devolves into chaos or turns into entertainment-first exhibitionism.

The Cost Criticism Isn’t New

Skaff did tap into one sentiment that’s widely shared across the BJJ community: the cost of competing under IBJJF is steep. Annual membership, registration fees, and travel costs to reach the few qualifying tournaments make it inaccessible to many.

Skaff addressed these aspects, claiming the IBJJF makes “$2 million in just memberships before anyone signs up for an event.”He also pointed to the requirements for black belts to pay significant sums in order to be eligible to compete against one another.

Critics argue that the financial barrier disproportionately favors well-resourced athletes or teams, leaving talented grapplers out of elite competition simply due to cost.

This tension is central to jiu-jitsu’s identity crisis as it tries to walk the line between martial art, professional sport, and mainstream entertainment. And it’s part of the reason why smaller, open-format tournaments and grassroots submission-only events continue to grow.

IBJJF for Hobbyists? Matt Skaff Criticizes IBJJF, Robert Drysdale Defends

Same Sport, Two Rulebooks

At its core, the Drysdale–Skaff debate reflects a broader philosophical split in Jiu-Jitsu: Should the sport reward positional control, or only submissions? Should it value consistency over creativity? Structure over style?

IBJJF, for all its flaws, has created decades of structure. ADCC, for all its flair, still leans on that pipeline of IBJJF-trained talent. One isn’t better or worse—they’re different games, with different risks and rewards. But when a black belt dismisses one side of that equation as purely “for hobbyists,” the blowback is inevitable.

Viral Grappler Post Claims IBJJF Biggest Impact Is Helping Brazilians Get Green Cards

Obscure IBJJF Rules That Can Influence A Match

Obscure IBJJF Rules That Can Influence A Match

 

Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD Review [2025]

By
Ognen Dzabirski
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Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ DVD explaining why the Cross Ashi position is the one you need to master to be a great leg locker. 
  • Covers positioning, structure, follow-ups, grip variations and passing transitions. 
  • Delivers details on the Inside Senkaku and 50/50, covering all available submission holds from both. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10. 

CROSS ASHI GARAMI FIRAS ZAHABI DVD GET HERE:

Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD Preview
SEE TRAILER: Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD

Heel hooks, ankle locks, toe holds, kneebars. Whatever your lower body submission of choice is, you’ll need an Ashi Garami to make it happen. If you want to be the next big thing in leg locks, then, by all means, go into the rabbit hole and try to master all Ashi variations and transitions available these days.

For those with the ‘work smart, not hard’ approach, there is a workaround. Instead of spending weeks trying to just find the best leg locking material, opt for a proven position and a system developed by one of the original leg lockers to train under Danaher. The Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD has everything you need!

To Cross or Not to Cross?

It turns out that even though Danaher brought Ashi to the attention of the BJJ community and delivered his thoughts on what works best, there is an individual component to the ‘best Ashi’. In other words, what works for some people is not going to be effective for others, no matter how tight or submission-abundant the position is.

So, which Ashi is going to bring you the best chances of winning? Well, the configuration of your legs is down to you, but where you place your opponent’s leg does come with one position that offers the ultimate position of power – across your body.

So, if you ask me and Firs, obviously, the Cross Ashi is your best bet to submit someone. I’d even go as far as claiming that the Cross Ashi also offers the best chances for controlling the knee line and staying in position compared to other variations of the position. It’s all in the Firas Zahabi Cross Ashi Garami DVD. 

Original Leg Lock Master Firas Zahabi

It’s been a while since I’ve run into a Firas Zahabi instructional. For a while there, some 10 years ago, Firas was my go-to source for information that made sense, as opposed to the mainstream take on how BJJ works. We’ve come a long way since then in how BJJ is coached, but Firas is still one of the best coaches in the world, even today.

One reason for this is that he adapts to the constantly evolving BJJ world. Understandably so, given that he can only lead his coveted Tristar Academy forward if he knows what is happening, how to stop it and how to make his students the best at it.

In this instance, the Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD is kind of a throwback to Zahabi’s earliest instructionals. He is one of the original crew of leg lockers developed by Danaher in the blue basement, predating even the DDS. As expected, the information in this one is updated to feature everything that has happened in the leg locks area of BJJ since he last covered it.

Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD Review

In yet another impeccable instructional, Firas Zahabi delivers a masterpiece of leg locking in his Firas Zahabi Cross Ashi Garami DVD. He only needs three volumes to teach you everything you need to know about the Cross Ashi, and won’t take up much of your time – the total running length is just under two hours.

Part 1 – Cross Ashi Control

First up, the essentials of the Cross Ashi. Well, you’d think so, but no. As the Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD begins, the very first chapters deliver a public safety announcement in terms of training leg locks in a safe way. Given the potency of some of the moves demonstrated in this DVD, it is a very smart way to begin.

Moving toward the actual Cross Ashi, Firas delivers his verdict on why it is such a powerful position for leg locking, backed by structural details that are really well delivered. Aspects like tension get a lot of attention, which I rarely see in submissions, particularly leg-locking and DVDs these days.

The volume ends with a couple of options for retaining the position known as the Inside Senkako, as well as making the most out of the double trouble concept. Firas ends with a pass, allowing a safe route out of leg locks in case none of your submission attempts work.

Part 2 – 50/50 Options

The best heel hooking position in Jiu-Jitsu, before Danaher developed his Ashi system, was the 50/50. Ryan Hall was the man who went against the grain, offering instructions for heel hooks at a time when almost nobody did them.

Turns out, the 50/50 is so powerful because it also features a cross-body position of the leg. Naturally, it features in the Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD, with the Canadian demonstrating a bunch of different ways to work with a shallow knee line when hunting for heel hook and knee bar finishes.

Part 3 – Rolling Ashi Attacks & Transitions

As we reach the final part of the Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD, we also get to enjoy some more attractive leg locking from the Cross Ashi. Namely, Firas delivers his mini-system of rolling attacks, both in situations where the opponent is initiating the roll and when you are the one behind it.

The chapters in this final and longest part of the instructional include executing the death roll, hitting Estima and Achilles locks, and leveraging the * to move between different Cross Ashi variations.

Zahabi also offers more ways out, this time leading not just to passing but also to the Cradle and back attacks. I also appreciated that he included positional escapes and counters to the Cross Ashi as well, resulting in a very well-balanced BJJ instructional.

The Ashi Garami System

Playing Ashi is not optional at this point in the development of the modern BJJ game. You simply have to utilize it, even if you’re only playing it as a guard or a sweeping position. Even if your only goal is to defend yourself from Ashi entanglements and play a pressure game that ignores leg locks, you need to understand the position first.

The Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD offers both sides of the sword, although it focuses a lot more on attacking. What you will definitely gain from it is ideas on how to best set up leg lock attacks from a position that is just as easy to use for passing and transitions as it is for heel hooks.

In fact, one of the most effective uses of the Ashi these days is a checkpoint position that allows you to get from bottom to top, pass to a pin, or counter back takes and passes yourself from the bottom. Since we already agreed that the cross-body position of the leg offers the best chances, there’s little debate as to what you need to focus on in Ashi, right?

Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi free DVD Sample
FREE DVD SAMPLE: Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi

DOWNLOAD HERE: CROSS ASHI GARAMI FIRAS ZAHABI DVD

Ashi Garami Made Simple

Firas really does make things look simple. Even though the Cross Ashi is anything but, especially since it covers more than one Ashi position, the Cross Ashi Garami Firas Zahabi DVD makes it easy to make sense of the options you have and understand common pitfalls and potential dangers. All that’s left now is to give it a try – I guarantee you won’t regret it.

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BJJ Kata Controversy: White Belt Earns Stripe for Solo Routine From Coral Belt Instructor!

By
Ognen Dzabirski
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In a room full of seasoned grapplers and coral belts—some of the highest-ranking figures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—a white belt took the mat and performed something most in the sport had never seen during a belt promotion: a BJJ kata.

Yes, a kata. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For a promotion.

The event, which surfaced in late October 2024, involved a BJJ white belt student being asked to demonstrate a solo kata—a structured routine of BJJ movements—in front of a panel of black and coral belts. After completing the kata, the student was awarded a stripe on his belt.

The entire scene was recorded and posted online, and the clip quickly spread across BJJ forums, social media, and message boards, where it ignited the kind of firestorm usually reserved for controversial stoppages or ADCC snubs.

One of the more restrained comments online read:

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“What in the karate hell is going on around here?”

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Belt Testing in BJJ: A Moving Target

To understand why this caused such a stir, it helps to know how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu promotions usually work. The short version? There’s no standard. Every academy does things a little differently.

Some instructors run formal belt exams, some do a casual BJJ stripe ceremony, and others just tie a new belt on you in the middle of a random Tuesday night class. The one constant? Sparring. Rolling. Pressure testing.

There are no katas in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Period.

Most BJJ belt promotions hinge on a student’s ability to apply techniques against resistance in live training. The technical knowledge matters, sure—but in BJJ, demonstrating those techniques against an opponent who’s trying to stop you has always been the gold standard.

Which is why the kata stripe raised so many eyebrows. It’s not that BJJ doesn’t have drills, movements, or solo repetitions—it absolutely does.

But awarding a stripe based solely on a memorized solo performance? That’s treading into territory that feels more traditional martial arts than modern grappling sport.

White Belt Earns Stripe

The Case For BJJ Kata? Hear Me Out!

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time the kata conversation has popped up in BJJ circles. Some instructors have floated the idea of creating a standardized solo routine as a tool for beginners.

Shrimping, bridging, technical stand-ups, sprawls—many of these foundational movements can be linked together to form a flow. The idea isn’t totally absurd.

In fact, one practitioner wrote that:

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“I was wondering if anybody has tried to create a solo routine like a kata but for BJJ… I think it’d be a good way to solo train.”

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However, a good way to train alone and determine promotion eligibility are two very different things. The majority of the pushback online came not against the idea of movement drills but against the suggestion that they could replace the crucible of rolling with resisting partners.

What Actually Earns a Stripe?

Most promotions in BJJ consider a mix of factors: time on the mat, technical understanding, attendance, and—most importantly—performance in live sparring. There’s also room for discretion. Some coaches give stripes to encourage students. Some wait longer. Others don’t use them at all.

BJJ promotions aren’t just subjective—they’re deeply personal. Your coach’s criteria are the only criteria that matter in your gym. And that’s part of the sport’s charm and chaos.

But the introduction of kata into that mix? That’s new. That’s a step away from what BJJ has historically valued: adaptability, timing, and control under pressure.

As one high-ranking black belt put it bluntly when asked about belt exams:

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“Every day on the mat is a belt test in my opinion.”

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BJJ Kata for Stripe test

Is This the Start of Something—or Just a One-Off?

The academy where the kata was performed hasn’t released a statement, and there’s no indication this was part of a broader curriculum. It’s entirely possible this was a one-off decision—an experiment, a show of creativity, or just an attempt to add formality to the process.

However, the reaction it provoked shows how protective BJJ practitioners are about the integrity of rank. And honestly, it makes sense.

In a sport where it takes 10+ years to earn a black belt and where promotions are often as much about toughness as they are about technique, the introduction of scripted, performative elements—even as supplements—can feel like a slippery slope.

No one wants to see BJJ turn into point-fighting or board-breaking. The fear isn’t that kata will become the norm—it’s that it signals a shift toward prioritizing structure over substance.

Stripes, Standards, and Staying Real

This isn’t about gatekeeping. It’s about clarity. Promotions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu carry weight because of the work it takes to earn them. While innovation has its place, especially in training methods, using kata as a central metric for grading throws a wrench into a value system that’s always been built on effectiveness under fire.

If this incident was meant to start a conversation, it worked. But until a kata can pass someone’s guard and secure the back, don’t expect it to become a staple in BJJ grading anytime soon.

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