Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD Review [2024]

Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ instructional deconstructing the Aoki lock and straight ankle lock.
  • Contains entries, braking mechanics, variations, and different follow-ups. 
  • Features match breakdowns and practical examples of common-use scenarios. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.

JETT THOMPSON MASTER ANKLE AND AOKI LOCK DVD GET HERE:

Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD Preview
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How good are you at stringing along ankle locks? I’m not talking about using them to set up heel hooks, but rather combining different ankle lock variations to tap out anyone you’re up against. If you are not able to use ankle locks to their full potential and need help making them work, you’ve come to the right place.

Today’s focus is on the Jett Thompson DVD, a No-Gi instructional by one of the most promising brown belts in the world today, who happens to have a real knack for ankle locks. Already a proven threat with the Aoki lock and ankle lock, at the highest levels, Jett now shows how he sets them up, combines, and finishes them in this DVD. Is it worth exploring? Read on!

Heel Hooks Don’t Work (Like Before) 

What is your favorite leg lock finish? Most of you will probably pick something that involves heel hooks, which is understandable, given how prevalent they are in Jiu-Jitsu. However, it is exactly this prevalence that killed off many moves that people specialized in throughout the eyes, such as Berimbolos, lapel guards, and some leg locks.

The fact that there is such exposure to these things means people adapt to them and develop ways to block, escape, or counter them. In that sense, most heel hooks have become a lot harder to finish, as people don’t fear them anymore, and have found solutions that work against them.

It is not that a well-placed heel hook from a solid controlling position won’t work. It just won’t get the panicky, immediate tap as it did 10 years ago. That just means we need to introduce variety into the mix, and the good old ankle lock is here to provide exactly that. Toe holds can help too but ankle locks are the submissions that will get you those fast taps due to the pain and tightness associated with the finishing mechanics.

Since there is a lot more than just the straight ankle lock to consider for your arsenal, a look at the Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD won’t hurt your leg-locking development. On the contrary, it is going to introduce a whole new dimension to it.

Emerging BJJ Talent Jett Thompson

In this day and age of BJJ, when belts don’t really matter anymore. This ushers in a new opportunity to learn from those who have taken and creative mind, even though they might not bear the coveted BJJ black belt. One such example of a great up-and-comer who has loads to teach on the subject of leg locks is Jett Thompson.

Currently, a brown belt, training at and representing the Watkins Wrecking Crew Team, Jett has caught the eye of those following the No-Gi competition scene through his impressive performances in the PGF, most notably in season 6.

The 17-year-old has been tearing it up with standout performances centered around the smart and highly effective use of ankle lock variations. He is a real master of the straight ankle lock, and the super powerful Aoki lock, one of the best lower body submission holds in the game.

For those who have no idea who Jett is, and have no ego in learning efficient leglock systems from teenagers who haven’t earned their black belt yet, the Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD is exactly what you want to see.

Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD Review

The Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD features a very effective and fluff-free combination of a couple of ultra-potent ankle lock variations that come together in a neat little system. Over two volumes, Jett covers entires, setups, finishing, combinations, and follow-ups, as well as some match breakdowns:

Part 1 – Finishing Mechanics & Variations

This is a very straightforward BJJ DVD with Jett offering his ways of finishing a couple of ankle locks that are not just very good on their own but also combine together beautifully. The first of two volumes in this Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD begins by introducing the breaking mechanics of the ankle lock and Aoki lock.

There is lots of focus on gripping, as you’d expect, but Jett proves his worth by demonstrating highly modified grips, such as the elbow to elbow and forearm grip which introduce even more tension to finishing mechanics.

He also talks a lot about the use of the legs, not really focusing on any particular Ashi Garami dynamic, as much as he does on the role of the legs, particularly when starting from guard. X guard, shin-to-shin guard, K Guard, and 50/50 entries and finishes all feature in this volume.

Once Thompson gets the finishing details out of the way, he moves on to cover entries into the Aoki lock and ankle lock from different positions we’ve seen him use in PGF such as Bolos, the 4/11, and butterfly guard. A couple of high-side ankle lock variations bring this first half of the DVD to a close.

Part 2 – Common Use Scenarios

The second volume of the Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD is something we don’t see a lot in instructionals, which I, personally, think is a major drawback of other DVDs. Jett covers the common scenario in which his system fits perfectly rather than trying to paint it as the end-all-be-all “only system you’ll ever need”.

He starts by talking about wrestling up and how people tend to turn away while standing up, which opens up the perfect opportunity to set ankle lock attacks. Denied upper body submissions such as triangles and armbars also feature, as do more setups from guards, including some closed guard work. Jett even does match breakdowns to enforce his points and round off a great leg locks instructional.

Combining Ankle Locks

The real power of ankle locks lies in their ability to easily combine with one another without the need to change leg configurations, a.k.a. Ashi Garami positions. Namely, things like the straight ankle locks, reverse ankle locks, and Aoki locks form a very deadly trio, that capitalizes on the opponent’s defensive actions to each.

As people try to escape a certain ankle lock variation, they just get stuck in another tighter one, which if they manage to counter, leads to the third one. The best part is that they work as a cycle so that you can interchange attacks and always have a tighter ankle lock waiting on the other end of your opponent’s reaction.

Having such a versatile ankle lock game with eventually lead to better heel hooks as well because opponents end up with the only option of exposing a heel to try and avoid your ankle lock bonanza. The Jett Thompson DVD explains the relationship between ankle locks and their uses a lot better and in great detail.

Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD Free Sample
FREE TECHNIQUE: Aoki Lock Finish by Jett Thompson

DOWNLOAD: JETT THOMPSON MASTER ANKLE AND AOKI LOCK DVD

Break a Leg! 

Since you’re going to be hunting for leg locks anyway, why not make your opponents worry about more than just heel hooks? The Jett Thompson Master Ankle and Aoki Lock DVD shows you how you can introduce and combine a different threat, just as potent as heel hooks, but a lot more difficult to defend. The best part is, that you don’t have to worry about the legality of it- you can do these at white belt!

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Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD Review [2024]

Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ instructional explaining the basics of X-guard positioning and attacks.
  • Offers details on off-balancing, sweeping, and transitions to the back and Ashi
  • Features easy-to-understand connections between X-guard variations and other guards.
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

EFFICIENTLY EXECUTING X-GUARD GIANCARLO BODONI DVD HERE:

Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD Preview
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Thinking about X-guad? you’re not alone, many grapplers end up wondering what they did wrong while attempting what seems like one of the easiest guards in BJJ. Well, it is about time to shift those thoughts to more positive ones, like for example, those of you sweeping and submitting folks from the position.

The Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD is your go-to resource for quickly making sense of all the key things about the X-guard. You won’t get any fancy inversions and multiple-step lapel grips in this open – just the basics of off-balancing, sweeping, transitioning to the back and Ashi, and merging it with other guards.

The Hardest Open Guard in BJJ? 

Out of all the open guards, you’ll end up playing in BJJ, I think one of the hardest ones to really get a grip of is the full X-guard. While seemingly simple and easy to understand,  mostly once people make the X connection between the name and leg positioning, this guard is deceitfully difficult.

Namely, people tend to forget that to use a guard, you need to actually engage your legs, not just place them in a configuration and magically wait for things to happen. While this is true for all guards, failing to keep your legs active in the X-guard will cost you a lot more than closed or half guard, mostly because your opponent is on top of you.

With only your legs to prevent them from mounting and their head and collars too far out to reach, you’re not really left with too many attachment options from an X-guard. However, on the plus side, the guard is extremely difficult to pass once you get the just of it, and is one of the rare guards that offers 360 attacking options, for the exact same reason it flirts with being mounted so much – you’re right beneath your opponent.

The Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD is perfectly named as it really does teach you how to become effective at playing this very powerful, but equally risky position.

2x ADCC Champion Giancarlo Bodoni

I was not really aware of Giancarlo Bodoni, part of the random Danaher post before he stepped on the ADCC mats in 2022. His performances in his debut year took him all the way to the title, his first in the competition. I guess it is not was not surprising to those who knew him and saw him win the IBJJF No-Gi pans in 2021.

The few super fights he had in between the 2022 and 2024 ADCC editions further revealed what a gem had walked into the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team. Bodoni made quick work of grapplers like Lucas Barbosa, Roberto Jimenez, Patruc Gauido, Pedro Rocha, etc as he established himself as one of the folks to beat in the -88kg No-Gi divisions on a world level.

At the latest ADCC, he demonstrated his growth by beating the who-is-who of -88 kg grapplers (at least those that opted for ADCC over CJI) in Gabriel Almeida, Felipe Costa, and Jay Rodriguez. He also had a good run in the absolute, losing out on points to veteran Robery Cyborg Abreu in the semi-final.

There is a lot more to come from the 28-year-old. As he prepares for his next adventures on the mats, he occasionally treats the BJJ world with well-thought-out instructionals, such as the Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD we’ll deconstruct today.

Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD Review

This Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD is a 4-part No-Gi BJJ instructional covering the basics of holding and attacking from the X-guard, including variations, and lasts for a total of two and a half hours.

Part 1 – Kuzushi

Unsurprisingly, the foundation of the guard game that Bodoni shares in this Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD begins with a staple of his teacher Danaher’s guard philosophy – off-balancing.

After a short intro, Giancarlo covers the different ways to make people lose their balance from the X-guard, using general positioning concepts and easily explained mechanics. Basically, BOdoni shares how to make people fall by adjusting the X-guard positioning rather than going all-out for technical sweeps.

The crucial guard concept (open and closed) of climbing up with your legs, also features in this volume, just after the chapter on setting up an ankle pick-like sweep from the ‘basic’ X-guard.

Part 2 – Sweeping

Speaking of sweeps, they are not far away once you get the hang of causing Kuzushi, which is exactly how Bodoni set this DVD up. Building on the previous principles he explains how to sweep people in different directions, beginning with backward sweeps.

Spinning the leg is a major method that we see a lot through this volume, as well as the relationship that his attack has with forcing the top person to bring their knee to the mats. A few wrist and ankle grab sweeps round off the second volume of the Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD, right after he shares how to use the 50/5 as a natural follow-up to the X-guard.

Part 3 – Reverse X Guard

The reverse X-guard is what really changed the landscape of X-guards when leg locks entered the frame, so, naturally, there is a lot of it in this part of the Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD.

A few entries into the reverse X set the subject up, followed by common issues and easy solutions to troubleshoot them, mostly effective because they are based on successful off-balancing, which was thoroughly covered in the first volume. If you expected leg locks, you’ll have to wait until the very last chapter of this volume (and in the entire fourth one).

Part 4 – Crab Rides & Ashi 

Ashi Garami is a natural continuation of X-guards, be it the single, regular, or reverse version The final part of the Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD offers ways to get an Ashi Garami if you’re not able or don’t want to finish sweeps once you create Kuzushi.

Bodoni shares entries to both legs from the regular and Reverse X guard, as well as options to mix up attacks by transitioning into crab rides that open up back attacks. A short guide on how to use all the information in this instructional is the perfect ending to this very well-thought-out and executed BJJ DVD.

Close Range Guards

The X-guard falls under the category of close range guards, along with the deep half guard, 50/50, and single-leg X-guard, to name a few. These guards put you beneath your opponent’s hips, offering the best possible position to launch into lower-body attacks and sweeps.

The drawbacks are that upper body submissions are far away, especially chokes, and you can mess up everything really easily and allow the top person to get into the mount. These drawbacks are there in every close range guard, though, and end up being worth the gamble once you understand how to play guards.

In that regard, the X-guard is the easiest guard to set up, both from guards and after escaping bad spots, like Mount. As such, it is the perfect launching pad for all kinds of attacks, including mid and long range guard ones, since it is great to haunt your opponent as they try to put distance between you by moving backward.

Most of the mechanics that allow you to stay in the guard, as well as some key sweeps and lower body submission attacks, are really well covered in the Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD. This one is an awesome resource for every guard player out there.

Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD Free Sample
FREE MOVE: X0-Guard to Ashi Giancarlo Bodoni DVD

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Playing X-Guard

Let’s face it, you’re going to fall in love with the X-guard once you give it a try for a while. It is the perfect way to keep an opponent in your grasp while they are standing, which is the most difficult aspect of playing guard in BJJ. The Efficiently Executing X-Guard Giancarlo Bodoni DVD has everything you’ll ever need to set up a solid X-guard game that you can turn back to in time of need, or make it the centerpiece of your game.

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Craig Jones BJJ Story – From Zero To Hero

Craig Jones

Who is the face of Jiu-Jitsu these days? The common answers point to Gordon Ryan, but he is not really active and is on his way out, leaving the door open for one of his rivals, former teammate and leader of one of the best BJJ competition teams in the world to take the reign. I’m, talking about Craig Jones, of course. To be honest, many people would’ve jumped to him before Ryan anyway, me being one of them.

Craig Jones BJJ Story

But where exactly did Craig Jones come from? Even though it feels like he’s always been around, lurking near the 2nd place on the podium, he does have an origin story and it is a very entertaining one at that. 

Craig Jones was not a complete unknown when people first noticed him after a memorable performance at EB. After all, he did fight at the ADCC, didn’t he? But he is a fairly new BJJ sensation, that first caught attention at EBI 11- The welterweight. 

As are most things Australian, the humble-looking grappler is a dangerous and extremely lethal predator and possesses a true knack for business. But, how did he come to be such an accomplished BJJ athlete and where was he hiding all this time?

Craig Jones BJJ Beginnings

Craig Jones was born on July 17, 1991, in Adelaide, South Australia. Ever since early childhood, he was interested in sports. Although his first sporting adventures included football and basketball, he soon abandoned them for martial arts. 

Instead, Craig turned to Judo and Taekwondo, albeit briefly. As a teenager, he discovered MMA and that seemed to fit him better than the traditional arts. With dreams of becoming a UFC world champion, 15-year-old Craig Jones enrolled in a BJJ academy run by his cousin. 

Craig Jones DVD Instructionals Collection

At the ISOHEALTH Academy, under the tutelage of Matt Jones, Craig started making a name for himself in the local grappling scene. When he reached purple belt, Craig migrated to the Maromba BJJ Academy in Melbourne. This academy later morphed into Absolute MMA which was his home base prior to the B-Team headquarters in Austin, TX.

In 2015 Jones received his brown belt from Lachlan Giles after an eye-catching IBJJF Worlds performance. It was around the same time that he got to teaching full-time in Melbourne. A year later, Giles awarded Craig Jones a BJJ black belt.

Off the mats, Jones also succeeded wherever he set his mind to. He is now completely dedicated to BJJ, but during his rise, Craig Jones also got a degree in Psychology, more specifically in Behavioural Science as a safety net. It is safe to assume that he’s been using that knowledge a lot lately. 

Craig Jones BJJ Career (So Far)

Initially, I wrote this article in 2018. Since then, Craig has led a very turbulent grappling life, constantly making the headlines, mostly for the right reasons. You can expect me to update this piece over and over again as Craig keeps pulling stuff out of his sleeve. But where did it all start for him?

Before Craig Jones became known to the world, he built a name for himself in Australia. His BJJ endeavors prior to his groundbreaking ADCC performance were no easy feat. His first magnificent burst onto the BJJ scene was thanks to his performance at the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds. 

He defeated every opponent in impressive fashion, earning the title of world champion.  The enigmatic 26-year-old later said that he trained with a small group of friends in his living room, but still dominated everyone. Moreover, he got bronze in the 2016 UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro, which led to an invitation to compete at EBI, which ended up launching him. 

The success of Craig Jones is largely due to his tight and elaborate game. His BJJ is as high level as it gets. As the BJJ world now knows, he is a leg locks specialist who needs only seconds to finish a heel hook. 

Despite his favoritism towards leg locks, Jones is not one to exclude other aspects of BJJ. Apart from also having an outstanding Z-Guard, his first submission of choice was the triangle choke. Essentially, Craig is a very well-rounded BJJ athlete. His game is submission-heavy, which is no surprise given that he prefers to roll No-Gi. 

In leg-locking terms, he has innovated to great success, as witnessed by his victories. The crucial points of his game can be found on this DVD.

Furthermore, Craig’s mind is as fascinating as his technical abilities, which is what makes him such a BJJ standout. He is able to perform well under any rule set, regardless of weight divisions. Jones also spends lots of time studying tape and attending seminars to broaden his game. 

Another thing that merits attention is how exemplary his work ethic is. Craig Jones takes pride in performing extremely well under enormous pressure. That Psychology degree seems to be paying off in more ways than one, doesn’t it?

EBI 11 – Unveiling Craig Jones

Before his ADCC escapade, Craig Jones caught the eye by performing well at EBI 11. The eleventh edition of Eddie Bravo’s Invitational featured BJJ welterweights and was held in LA. Despite not getting to the finals, Jones put in some great performances along the ride.

Back then, he was a recently promoted black belt and a huge underdog. That did not prevent the Australian BJJ phenom from pulling off major upsets. 

First, he submitted Eddie Bravo’s highly regarded black belt, Nathan Orchard in the very first round. Then, Jones went on to beat Darragh O’Conaill. Ultimately, Vagner Rocha stopped the Aussie’s run via the fastest escape in the semifinal overtime.

Despite the ultimately unsuccessful run, Craig Jones did catch worldwide attention. All this before his true breakthrough on the global BJJ scene.

Early ADCC Performances

First, let’s note that Jones was no stranger to ADCC competition. He initially won the Asia and Oceania ADCC Trials at purple belt, qualifying for ADCC 2015. His run in that competition was a short one, as he came up against BJJ World Champion Romulo Barral in the -88 kg division. 

As Craig Jones put it himself “At that point in my jiu-jitsu, he would have smashed me on my best day.”

This did not discourage the 26-year-old and he was back for another try in 2017. Once again, his path took him through the Asia and Oceania ADCC Trials, which he once again won. His ADCC performance in 2017, on the other hand, could not have been more different than his previous one.

In the first round of the most elite No-Gi BJJ competition in the world, Jones was up against Leandro Lo. An impossible match for any BJJ competitor, Jones approached the fight calmly and technically. His reward was a submission victory over a legend of the sport of BJJ. 

Jones did not stop there, however, adding one more scalp to his collection, in the form of another submission win, this time over Murilo Santana. His ADCC trip came to a halt in the semi-finals when he faced Keenan Cornelius. His rise to stardom, though, had just started.

EBI 14 – Almost A Champion

Not long after ADCC, Jones got an invite to re-appear at EBI, this time in the event’s Absolute division. Once again demonstrating his BJJ versatility, welterweight Craig Jones took less than 2 minutes to heel hook three much heavier opponents, reaching the final in record time.

The final of EBI 14 was a very entertaining match between two of the world’s best. One was our enigmatic Aussie, while the other was multiple EBI champion and ADCC champ, Gordon Ryan. Jones managed to get the match into overtime, where he got within touching distance of the EBI championship belt. 

He had Ryan in one of the tightest armbars the BJJ world has ever seen. To his full merit, though, Gordon escaped, but not without damage to the arm, and subsequently won the match in overtime and the title with it.

Although once again coming up short, Craig Jones is far from being finished. He decided that what beat him could also make him stronger, so he jumped into the blue basement, becoming a part of the then reigning, elite competition team the Danaher Death Squad. 

Puerto Rico With The Danaher Death Squad 

When COVID many people in the BJJ world wondered if we would ever get back on the mats. The Craig Jones BJJ story was put on hold, just like everything else in the world. However, after those scary first few months, Danaher found a loophole and migrated his entire Death Squad to live and train in Puerto Rico, where regulations were far looser than in NYC. 

At first, it seemed like a dream, and the team took training to another level, with everyone living together in a couple of houses. However, what was initially meant as a team bonding experience quickly backfires splitting the squad into two teams, which have been rivals ever since.

As COVID restrictions vanished, both teams returned to the mainland but decided on swapping NYC for Austin, and both settled in the same city. Craig Jones pulled Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rod, and several others with him, while Gordon remained with Danaher, and long-time friend and teammate Garry Tonon. 

Craig Jones BJJ Story Puerto Rico DDS Break Up

ADCC Tales

Craig’s short-lived Danaher Death Squad days did not go without a major performance, though. The 2019 ADCC saw the New Zealander in the Aussie’s corner, as Craig once again narrowly missed out on the title, losing to Matheus Diniz in the final of the -88kg division. That was the year when Gordon won the double title, proving his supremacy over everyone else. 

Fast forward to ADCC 2022, and we are in the post-COVID era, with Craig and Ryan on opposing sides again, although in different divisions. Craig already had his Bteam up and running and Ryan managed to quickly dispose of former teammate Nicky Rod, in the only clash between the teams on the mats. 

Craig himself, ended up second again, giving merit to the name he chose for his team, this time failing to get past Kaynan Duarte as the final obstacle in the -99 kg division. It also happened to be the last time Craig appeared at the ADCC, at least for now. 

The Birth of B-Team

Upon returning from Puerto Rico, there was a lot of back and forth between Danaher and Gordon on one side, and Craig on the other. If we put all the drama aside, we end up with two teams that train and live in the same town, both drawing world-class talent but showcasing a completely different approach. 

Craig managed to find a top-class facility for his team, whether he poached it from Danaher or not, and does provide a platform where people from all around the world can join. He grew his team quickly by allowing people to drop in and filtering out those who were not good enough through sheer intensity of training. 

Mexican Ground Karate

While the Craig Jones BJJ story started seriously, Craig seems to have found a fun side to the fact he never managed to claw himself to a major title and build a very successful brand around it. He opted for the carefree and let’s-not-take-anything-serously approach, naming his brand of Jiu-Jitsu Mexican Ground Karate.

The complete range of shenanigans that Craig utilizes to bring attention to the B-team is too vast to cover in an article, but it is out there for everyone to see. What matters is that it works, so much so, that Craig ended up rivaling, or should I say, surpassing ADCC in his latest endeavor – a professional, invite-only tournament bearing his name.  

Craig Jones BJJ Story Mexican Ground Karate

The Craig Jones Invitational 

CJI, or the Craig Jones Invitational emerged less than a year before ADCC 2024 took place. It turns out Craig was asking ADCC organizer Mo Jassim to raise the paycheck for athletes, with the ADCC offering $10.000 to the division winners. When his demands fell on deaf ears, he decided to take things into his own hands. 

Somehow, somewhere, Craig found a rich benefactor that allowed him to launch the CJI, which offered professional grappling athletes $10.001 just for accepting the invite and appearing on the mats. With two professional divisions (-80 and +80 kg), the CJI offered a million dollars to the winner of each and delivered on that promise.

Craig managed to take it to the next level by scheduling the event for Vegas on the same weekend that the ADCC took place. The draw of the CJI was huge, taking away big names from the ADCC roster, and providing incredible entertainment, plus a much more significant purse for the competitors. 

Craig himself decided to embrace his playful persona and only participated in a super fight that nobody could take seriously, as he fought (and defeated) Gabi Garcia in a cross-gender grappling superlight. He did, however, put two of the best-ever female grapplers up against each other in a super fight in Ffion Davies vs. Mackenzie Dern at the inaugural CJI, which steamed for free on YouTube

What’s Next?

At 33 years of age, the Craig Jones BJJ story is far from over. With a super successful competition team and gym, and a highly promising brand in CCJI, Craig seems to be constantly on the rise. Not bad at all for a virtual nobody who didn’t get to train with world champion-level black belts on a daily basis. Ladies and gentlemen, keep an eye out for Craig Jones, who has no intentions of stopping his crazy rise from zero to hero!

If you’re interested in buying Craig Jones DVD’s you can check them HERE:
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Craig Jones DVD Reviews:

Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD Review [2024]

Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ instructional covering quick and effective ways to kill collar ties.
  • Contains early and late collar tie stripping solutions, covering distance management too. 
  • Features advice on how to train wrestling for BJJ in terms of intensity, rules, and rounds. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.

DIMA MUROVANNI KILL THE COLLAR TIE DVD AVAIALBE HERE:

WATCH FULL TRAILER: Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD Preview

How do you deal with the collar tie grip in Jiu-Jitsu? If you’re not sure what it is and why you need to know how to solve it, you’ve never grappled someone with experience or a good wrestler. You are in for a rude awakening once that happens.

If you know exactly what I mean, or simply want to be proactive, then a look at the Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD won’t hurt. It is concise instructional that you can go through quickly, and use immediately on the mats. That’s exactly what you want when you grip fight – efficiency.

What’s A Collar Tie? 

Grips are the one subject I always dread teaching, as people get bored quickly with it and lose attention, ending up doing needless repetitions of useless motions. That said, grip fighting remains the very first method of engagement we use in grappling, and knowing both how to grip and how to get rid of grips is essential for grappling success.

Collar ties are those pesky grips that people in No-Gi (and sometimes Gi) use to control your posture and manage distance, by grabbing behind your neck with one of their arms. The grip can end up being very difficult to strip off if you don’t know how and opens up lots of opportunities for your opponent.

The worst thing about collar ties is that you can’t really do much, particularly while standing until you get the grip off. This often leads to people trying everything they can think of to strip it, which basically gives the collar tie holder a free pass at doing whatever they want.

And no, grabbing a collar tie of your own, once you’re caught with one is not the solution, and won’t neutralize the opponent’s initial grip. Wrestlers are highly aware of this and address collar ties immediately which is something we skip over in BJJ. Now, you can use the Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD to correct this.

The BJJ Coach Everyone Wants – Dima Murovanni

Belts don’t really matter in BJJ anymore, and that statement is not only true for competitors. We’ve always seen athletic blue and purple belts with Judo or Wrestling backgrounds make quick works of black belts.

However, these days, we also see a lot of people who teach before they reach the black belt. Again, nothing too new, as we’ve all seen academies led by colored belts. What’s new in that regard is that people get so good at coaching that they end up creating world-class grapplers from raw talent, way before they even ner the black belt level.

One such example is Dima Murovanni, a German-based, coach who currently holds a brown belt under Robert Nestor. Operating out of Nestor’s BJJ Akademie in Berlin, Dima has been the mastermind behind some of the top athletes who are killing it on the professional scene, even though they’re not black belts yet.

Some of Dima’s “products” include prodigy Josef Chen and Linus von Schrenk, whose success led to Dima being wanted by a host of other world-class grapplers. Namely, Margot Ciccarelli, Owen Jones, and Brianna Ste-Marie are just some of the athletes who asked Murovanni to help them out.

Josef Chen’s travels and association with the B-team also opened the door for Murovanni, who ended up joining the coaches of Craig Jones’ popular Austin-based gym. This helped him establish himself firmly as one of the best new coaches in Jiu-JItsu and start launching his instructionals, one of which, called the Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD is up for review today.

Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD Review

The Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie DVD is part of his BJJ Trendsetters series and is another No-Gi instructional by the popular B-team coach. It contains three volumes, each covering a key aspect of dealing with collar ties in BJJ, with the material amounting to a total of an hour and a half.

Part 1 – Collar Tie Basics

the opening portion of the Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie DVD begins by covering the essentials of collar ties, which do not get nearly the same attention defensively in Jiu-Jitsu, as they do in wrestling.

Dima first explains the key differences between using the tie in these two grappling settings, and what constitutes a good BJJ collar tie, based on the rules and goals of the sport. This sets the tone for him to begin covering ways in which you can strip it off, and keep it off.

The first few key aspects are all about your positioning and body structure. Using the head and shoulders are staples of early collar tie prevention in wrestling and works like a charm in BJJ as well. Being aware of the opponent’s hands and the distance between you are two more big things to constantly consider when grip fighting, both standing and on the mats.

Part 2 – Dominating the Arms

Once body positioning and distance management are covered, Dima’s attention switches to grips, explaining how your arms can help you stop collar ties in their tracks with a smart combination of grips. Elbow ties feature heavily in the opening sections of this part of the Dima Murovanni DVD.

As the volume unfolds, Dima also includes underhooks, explaining all options that those present and the dangers you need to be aware of. Different methods of collar tie stripping, such as the deadlift method, pushing and pulling the arms and elbow controls, round this part of the DVD off.

Part 3 – Overties and Frames

The final portion of the Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD keeps focusing on grips you can use to render collar ties useless, with overties now getting most of the attention. Mercy grips emerge a lot as a great option to control the opponent’s arms, along with some wrestling-inspired framing.

Bofer bringing everything to a conclusion, Murovanni also talks about the 2-on-1 grip, a.k.a. the Russian Tie. Closing arguments come in the form of crucial advice on training methodology, intensity, and how to set up wrestling training for BJJ.

Grip Stripping Essentials

Back when I started training BJJ, everything was about grip stripping. The norm was that if you’re in someone’s closed guard, you don’t do anything until you strip their grips away. Well, that ended up providing us with some very boring grip-stripping rounds that led nowhere apart from damaging our finger joints.

The two key aspects of grips that people seem to miss constantly in BJJ are to have a purpose with your grip whenever you’re holding one and to know when to leave an opponent’s grip and when to strip it off. Not an easy thing to figure out, I know, but there are two ways you can go about it.

You can either just grapple and leave it up to experience, which will require years of content training to develop the necessary awareness. Alternatively, you can set up scenarios and checkpoints in terms of holding and stripping that define when you address grips.

It is difficult to make a distinction between holding and stripping grips in terms of importance, but as a rule of thumb it is more difficult to make someone let go than grab them, so stripping should probably get a bit more attention, especially if you’re not sure what’s going on.

Given how ‘boring” and difficult to explain the subject is, not many good instructions are available to help you out. The Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD is one that is useful, albeit only in terms of the collar tie grip in No-Gi.

Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD Free Sample
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DOWNLOAD NOW: DIMA MUROVANNI KILL THE COLLAR TIE DVD

Kill the Tie! 

Why would you let someone grab and hold a collar tie when you understand now how much power it gives them over distance and posture? The Dima Murovanni Kill The Collar Tie BJJ Trendsetters DVD puts this in perspective really well, along with offering plenty of different ways to address collar ties, both before they become a problem and after you’re stuck in one. You’ll have to learn them at some point, so you might as well start today.

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Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD Review [2024]

Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • Gi BJJ DVD offering a short but detailed and precise overview of fundamentals.
  • Covers top pinning positions such as passing, side control, mount, knee on bell, and North-South. 
  • Features crucial details on concepts such as posture, balance, and transitions. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 9 out of 10.

OLD SCHOOL BJJ RICARDO CAVALCANTI DVD AVAILABLE HERE:

Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD Preview
WATCH FULL TRAILER: Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD

The highly entertaining and extremely useful Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD caught our eye recently, so we decided to delve deeper into it. Most “old-school” BJJ DVDs are just senseless collections of random techniques that bring no real value to whoever is trying to learn from them.

This DVD is not one of those. It is a carefully crafted instructional that covers the true fundamentals of the game of Jiu-Jitsu, presenting them in a way that is easy to understand, follow, and adapt to fit your game. After all, Ricardo Cavalcanti is one of the true OGs of BJJ and has had more than 50 years to figure out how to filter out the fluff.

Old School vs. Modern Jiu-Jitsu

I love the debate that sparks among grapplers on the subject of old-school Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the modern-day iteration of the sport. usually, you get young people who have known Jiu-Jitsu as it is today for most of their journey, claiming Gracie BJJ is obsolete and has no role.

On the other side are older grapplers (mostly) who have started training using the old-school Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu principles, and are strong advocates that nothing works without the basics. Both are right, and both are arguing a very obsolete point.

It absolutely doesn’t matter what type of Jiu-Jitsu you train. If you compete, you’re going to adapt to the needs of the match and tournament rules anyway, so such a debate is senseless, really. For those who don’t compete, trying to figure out which period of grappling development is best is an utter waste of time.

I say train everything and make the most out of it. You need the basics to understand why modern moves work, because they all share the same fundamental goals of control and finishing, regardless of their date of origin. Great example are the timeless techniques and concepts presented in the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD

Coral Belt Ricardo Cavalcanti

The name Ricardo Cavalcanti is one of those that either doesn’t ring a bell to those who’ve started Jiu-Jitsu in the last decade or represents a pioneer of the sport to those who have trained for a while. That is fitting, seeing as the Brazilian started training back in 1071 when most Westerners were into karate.

Cavalcanti originally began training outside the Gracie family but ended up with Carlson Gracie after a few years, and he stayed with the legendary Gracie family member until his death in the early 2000s. You can understand the wealth of experience Ricardo has in grappling just by the fact that he got his black belt in 1995.

As a competitor, Ricardo holds a world and a pans title, but that doesn’t really say much, as those competitions formed late when compared to his career. In the old days of BJJ, competition record keeping and stats were far from today.

As a coach, Cavalcanti is in charge of his own team, which was originally a part of Carlson’s organization and is now associated with Renzo Gracie. He was also on the roster of the early UFC coaches, brought to America by hall-of-famer Frank Mir.

A coral belt since 2016 under Reylson Gracie (although unrecognized by the IBJJF), Cavalcanti has embraced the modern-day practice of releasing BJJ instructionals, with quite a few titles to his name. Today, our focus will be on the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD.

Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD Review

The Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD is a very precise instructional that offers around 2 hours of quality material by a coral belt. It is a Gi BJJ DVD that is divided into five different volumes each covering a major top position pin:

Part 1 – Posture and Passing 

if there was ever a BJJ instructional that lives up to its name, it has to be the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD. you get nothing but the very basics in it starting with posture.

As this DVD kicks off, Ricardo covers the importance of keeping posture during passing, the one thing everyone seems to forget once they go live sparring or in a match. This first volume is very short (around 15 minutes) and addresses the role of posture, how to use it while passing, and how to combine it with your balance to improve both.

As simple and short as this part is, it is absolutely filled with essential information on key subjects that, old-school as they might be, are 100% applicable to grappling today, perhaps even more than they originally were.

Part 2 – Side Control

Side control is next for Ricardo Cavalcanti to deconstruct, which he does in great detail in the second volume of the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD. Some basic positioning kicks things off before the key information emerges – how to seamlessly transition between different side control variations without losing the position.

As the volume draws to a conclusion, Cavalcanti slowly introduces the next one, by offering the bare essentials of unstoppable transitions to mount. This section is particularly useful, as he explains certain aspects of these transitions that most people get wrong most of the time.

Part 3 – Mount

having arrived in the mount in the previous volume, Ricardo just keeps going, offering more than just the fundamentals from the position. This third part of the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD contains a complete mount game plan that is perfect for Gi or No-Gi.

Positional fundamentals kick things off, just like in the previous volumes, with Cavalcanti covering both mid and high-mount. There are some great tips on stabilizing the position and launching direct and indirect attacks.

On the indirect attacks front, he offers crucial S-mount tips to ensure you don’t lose mount while establishing the S-configuration with the legs. Understandably, armbar finishes follow.

Wrapping up the volume are a couple of sections covering how to retain mount against opponents who constantly buck up and move, tying in the back mount as a natural follow-up. Mount escapes complete this detail-packed volume.

Part 4 – Knee on Belly 

The next position on the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD roster is knee on belly, which surprised me simply because I expected back mount to feature instead of it. As a matter of fact, Cavalcanti does not cover back attacks outside of those in the mount volume, focusing on front pins instead.

Once again, the basics of positioning come first, before Ricardo breaks down how to place immense pressure on the bottom person by manipulating your posture. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of intermediate positions and the systematization of the knee on belly within them.

A real treat comes at the very end of this volume, with Cavalcanti revealing the Carlson Gracie Senior knee on belly “system”, complete with a set of attacks that made the Gracie particularly feared from this position.

Part 5 – North South

The final part of the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD addresses the North-South position, which despite being a side control variation gets its DVD. Ricardo finds the position highly useful for both grappling and MMA and deconstructs it thoroughly.

The positioning portion covers alignment and the inevitable principle of posture. He then launches into transitions that include side control, knee on belly, and mount, as well as offering versatile attacks from the position that tie everything together.

Ricardo Cavalcanti brings the entire DVD to a wrap by sharing his thoughts on how hard you need to train, how to set up your training as a competitor, and how to use the material in this instructional.

The Best of Both Worlds 

Can you learn how to drive a car without going through the basics of how it operates and how traffic works first? Certainly, but you’ll never be as good of a driver as someone who has that base. Moreover, you’ll just end up learning those things anyway since there is no way around them, it’ll just take more time and effort.

Well, it is exactly the same with Jiu-Jitsu. If you want to learn how to drive the latest race car model of competitive Jiu-Jitsu, you need to figure out how to drive the Civic first, taking it slow and steady through the streets of your neighborhood before moving on to the race track.

The old-school BJJ has its crucial place in the foundations of the sport, but make no mistake that it contains just as much fluff as modern grappling does. At the end of the day, it comes down to the filtering abilities of your coach, and as you progress through the sport, also your own.

A great way to cheat the system is to get the endless already filtered out by using a resource such as the Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD.

Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD Free Sample
FREE TECHNIQUE: Mount Attacks Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD

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Go Old-School! 

Don’t bother too much with the origin date of the Jiu-Jitsu you explore. Learn everything, but make sure you understand the basics that drive the entire sport. The Old School BJJ Ricardo Cavalcanti Fundamentals DVD is an awesome release, completely fluff-free and only offering crucial aspects of grappling that will help anyone in the sport, white belt to coral!

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Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD Review

Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ DVD instructional deconstructing the straight arm bar submission.
  • Contains setups, mechanics, configuration variations, and follow-ups. 
  • In-depth information on how to create a full game centered around the Ude Gatame. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 10 out of 10.

GET MASTER THE MOVE STRAIGHT ARM BAR JOHN DANAHER DVD HERE:

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WATCH TRAILER: Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD

John Danaher is switching gears again in terms of the subject of his instructionals. I started to get a bit bored with his latest releases, but he definitely brought something fresh to the table in his latest release, titled Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD.

As the name suggests, it is all about just one move, and a somewhat peculiar one at that. Most people seem to shy away from using the straight arm bar in BJJ, most likely due to the fact it is different than the “basic” arm bar they learn in their first few classes and don’t want to spend time understanding it. Well, that is about to change…

Are you Underusing BJJ Armlocks? 

Just for fun, I often ask people who have been either fans of combat sports, or training in them for a longer period of time, what is the statistically most used submission in the history of the sport.

Most people say rear naked chokes (not far from the truth, as they come in second), some think leg locks have won that crown in their short time on top, but the true answer is the straight arm bar. Yeah, the good old arm bar tops all charts in terms of submission efficacy in BJJ, and it is either top or near the top in MMA, I’m not really sure about that stat.

When we take a look at a usual training session or competition, there are going to be lots of arm bars on the mats. most of them are of the same variety, the Juji Gatame, or the arm bar which first pops into your head when you think about the name.

However, bent arm locks, such as Kimuras, Americanas, and Omoplatas are also arm bars, as the much less frequently utilized, but equally as powerful straight arm bars, which the latest Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD covers in extreme detail.

The John Danaher Effect

If you haven’t seen John Danaher’s work yet and you’re involved in grappling I have no idea where you are training and what you are doing. Are you sure you’re training BJJ?

For everyone else, Danaher is the one staple name in the BJJ world that everyone whispers in admiration when it comes to coaches. The man truly dedicated his life to Jiu-Jitsu, in my opinion far more than the Gracies. John is actually crazy about BJJ, developing the sport, and helping athletes grow, whereas the Gracies might’ve started similarly but quickly got their attention turned on by monetary gains.

From the moment GSP kind of introduced Danaher in the Ultimate Fighter, through his leg lock explosion with Eddie Cummings, and the culmination with Gordon Ryan’s success, the New Zealander single-handedly pushed Jiu-Jitsu to develop on a world scale.

So far, Danaher has released both No-Gi and Gi instructional, some aimed at competitors, others at recreational grapplers. He also covered standing exchanges and strategies and has now launched into exploring specific moves, breaking them down to their tiniest functional aspects.

Before we take a look at the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD though, let me finish by explaining that the Danher effect is the encouragement to innovate and think outside the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu box. That is what truly changed BJJ forever.

Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD Review

The Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD is an interesting new type of insturctional by the BJJ mastermind. While he named instructionals after moves before, they delivered his competition-focused submission systems.

This instructional offers something else – it unravels the thread of straight arm bar submissions, moves that are not often used in Jiu-Jitsu even though they are just as powerful as your ‘regular’ arm bar.

Master The Move Straight Arm Bar contains six different volumes, carefully organized to follow a progressive pattern, and delivers just under 4 hours of material:

Part 1 – Setups

The Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD kicks off with the mandatory introduction and DVD format outline that is the trademark of any Danaher instructional. As expected, the opening volume barely gets into position, focusing on the conditions for setting up the move more.

Namely, John explains what exactly is the main precursor to set the straight arm bar (a.k.a. Ude Gateme) up. He tops that off covering the two major methods of securing it – the underhook and overhook from guarded situations.

Some essential tips on the mechanics of the straight arm bar follow, with Danaher addressing the thing most people miss – elbow position.  He also covers how to use the head to trap the wrist and offers a great entry drill to help you master everything laid out so far.

Part 2 – Lower Body Mechanics

The most important part of finishing any arm bar in BJJ is the positioning of your hips, which naturally pulls your entire lower body into the mix. The second part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD clears up everything on the subject by categorizing how you control the opponent’s shoulder using your legs.

Around the midway point of this part, John goes over the seated and supine setups and finishes of the Ude Gatame, also offering his favorite version. Throughout these setups, the focus remains on the legs, with lots of talk about hooking.

What I consider to be an unstoppable triangle setup when you’ve secured the Ude Gatame brings this part of the instructional to an end.

Part 3 – Finishing Variations 

part three of the Danaher Arm Bar DVD is where things start to get really interesting. John starts explaining how to strategize when hunting for the position, offering a blueprint for using the opponent’s reactions against them, particularly their highly predictable defensive movement patterns.

This is also where he is behind introducing follow-ups, which in this part are defined by sweeps and headlock transitions. Sweep-wise, the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team’s favorite Sumi Gaeshi variations from the bottom are the main stars. The headlock transition leads to a pinch ehadlock which has its own Danaher instructional.

Part 4 – Combining Arm Bars

Already on the subject of follow-ups, Danaher expands our options in the fourth part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD by explaining the relationships between the straight arm bar and other arm bars we usually use more often.

The straight arm bar you usually associate with arm bars, a.k.a. the Juji Gatame appears, as well as the Kimura lock. There are several variations of both, that tie in with the Ude Gatame during different scenarios, offering a cycle of non-stop arm lock attacks.

Part 5 – Leg Configurations

Remember all the talk about legs that Danaher offered in the second part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD? Well, in this portion, he circles back, this time exploring how you can improve the finish and/or follow-ups using different leg configurations.

There are five versions that he covers: two feet to hips, shin to armpit, quasi triangle, crossface, and reverse crossface, all explained to include their strong suites and drawbacks. A few Te Gatame variations, or as it was taught to me back in the day after I tapped quickly to it over and over again, the short armbar from guard.

Part 6 – Ude Gatami From Top

The final portion of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD brings the instructional to a conclusion, by exploring how to set up the straight arm bar from the top, and of course, tying in leg locks to the mix. It is a John Danaher DVD after all.

Becoming a Submission Specialist

I’ve said it before and I stick by my experience that training someone to be a submission specialist is a great way to produce a top competitor, but not at all efficient in making people understand and truly learn BJJ.

Even if you want to make someone a top competitor, you need to pair a couple, or preferably more submissions in a system, effectively making people specialists in a system rather than just one move. Of course, the one move can drive it all, but you need to have other options and follow-ups, just like in the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD.

The bottom line is that if you want to compete more than anything, you should study systems and practice them over and over again. That will give you lots of results quickly, as it takes considerably less time to master a system than to understand how Jiu-Jitsu works as a whole.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is learning the entire art or sport or whatever, which comes down to time on the mats measured in years. The best possible outcome for progress on the training and competition mats would be a careful balance of these two aspects, but that requires a world-class coach.

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FREE DVD SAMPLE: Reverse Cross Face Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD

FULL DOWNLOAD: STRAIGHT ARM BAR JOHN DANAHER DVD

Arm Bar Hunting Season! 

If you haven’t picked up on straight arm bar attacks until now, which is probably, the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD is the perfect resource to start learning them. After all, who better to teach you everything about a move than John Danaher himself? I strongly suggest you give these a try, especially if you are a guard player. Happy hunting!

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Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD Review [2024]

Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A strength training DVD offering a blueprint on workout design for grapplers. 
  • Contains 4 volumes that cover upper, lower, and arm exercises, lasting over 2 hours.  
  • The DVD also provides important details on workout structuring for BJJ.
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

CHARLES ALLAN PRICE BUILDING WORKOUTS FOR BJJ DVD HERE:

Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD Preview
WATCH FULL TRAILER: Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD

I am not a particular fan of DVDs with promises of BJJ-specific workouts. It is to be expected, after most of us fell for that Gordon Ryan DVD on the subject that was a complete waste of time and money.

Is the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD different? Yes and no. This instructional delivers on workout structure and design more than most others out there, but still doesn’t find a way to offer much In terms of exercise variety that is crucial for long-term progress. Is it good? Yes, it is, and if you want to find out exactly why, read on!

The Role of Strength in Grappling

BJJ as an art was based on the premise that technique can help a smaller individual deal with a larger one, in case of a self-defense scenario. And, unlike many other martial arts, it actually worked!

But then, a problem appeared that changed the entire premise. Namely, BJJ spread and big people started learning it too. Self-defense stuff aside, in a sport where big and small people roll on a daily basis, strength and size started making a lot of difference.

If you have two grapplers that have similar technical expertise and knowledge of BJJ and are in the same weight class, the stronger of the two is going to most likely walk away with the win. I use strength as an example here, but it can be endurance, conditioning, flexibility…

The bottom line is that supplemental physical training, in addition to BJJ, is very important, especially if you are a grappling competitor. The specific needs of BJJ, however, end up leaving us with very little information on how to structure physical training which makes instructionals like the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD very useful.

Strength Training Expert Charles Allan Price

While you can’t get all the grappling experience of people such as Roger Gracie, Eoghan O’Flanagan, Taylor Pearman, or Oscar Guagala quickly, you can become strong, fast, and explosive for the specific needs of BJJ just like than. All you need is to understand how exactly they train and balance BJJ and strength training.

The best person to explain that to you is the man who coached all these grappling athletes, and many more – Charles Allan Price. With over 10 years of experience in the field of strength and conditioning for combat sports, Charles understands exactly what a grappler needs to perform better on the mats, reduce injuries, and improve recovery.

While training directly with Allan Price can be tricky for those outside of the UK, learning the methods that are proven to work at the highest levels of grappling is easy. His work is not available in an instructional format, as the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD.

Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD Review

This Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD offers lower body, upper body, and arm exercises as well as a blueprint to put them all together in differently tailored workouts to fit your individual goals as a grappler. It has four volumes and a total running time of just over 2 hours.

Part 1 – Workout Structure & Warm Up

The opening few chapters of the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD contain the most valuable information you’ll get from this entire instructional. It has to do with how to approach structuring a workout plan for BJJ, including intensity, frequency, and recovery.

it just so happens that this is exactly what people mess up most often. Charles Allan Price shares how to dial it in so that you end up getting a bigger gas tank and more strength for BJJ, rather than just sweating it out in the gym.

He also shares a very good warm-up routine that is easy to perform in any type of gym. Apart from the exercises requiring cable for resistance, you can do the entire warm-up in a BJJ gym as well, as long as you have access to at least one kettlebell.

Part 2 – Lower Body

Charles Allan Price presents a proven split that allows grapplers to use their body functionally rather than in complete isolation like bodybuilding workouts do. The second volume of the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD guides us through training the lower body effectively for BJJ strength and endurance.

Both squat and deadlift variations feature, which is always an indication that the coach knows what they’re talking about. While Charles does provide exercise execution cues and training parameters, I feel he does not provide enough exercise variety.  In other words, you’ll benefit from using these exact exercises, but not long term.

Part 3 – Upper Body

The third part of the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD goes on to cover the upper body, starting with a specific additional warm-up and some core exercises. This part features more exercises which translates to more variety in terms of workout structuring.

The usual suspects, such as bench presses, rows, dips, and pull-ups feature, with Allan Price focusing on covering both horizontal and vertical pushing and pulling. He even adds to his repertoire of deadlift variations in this part, showing Romanian deadlift options that also target the back heavily.

Part 4 – Arms 

People often comment about how useless arm training is for BJJ and they go on to do countless stupid gripping exercises. Grip strength involves your entire arms, something that is made painfully clear in this final volume of the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD.

Charles hits arms training sports on, through exercises such as pulldowns, biceps and triceps specific work, and targeted shoulder exercises, all of which focus on improving your grip strength, rather than the size of specific arm muscles.

How to Train Specifically for BJJ

Setting up a workout routine to complement your BJJ training is not as easy as it may sound. There is loads of information out there, mostly in terms of powerlifting or bodybuilding training that has nothing to do with BJJ.

These types of popular workouts, such as Cross Fit, for example, end up leaving you exhausted, which affects your BJJ negatively and increases the likelihood of an injury. The balance between training BJJ and the effort you put into supplemental physical training is key, and it is a very delicate matter that is individual to everyone.

The Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD offers crucial advice in the opening sections, covering this exact problem. Once you have an idea of how to structure training intensity and frequency around BJjtrianing, you can use exactly those exercises that you need to correct imbalances, strengthen weak body parts, and develop match-winning endurance.

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Get Strong!

If you want to be good at grappling, get strong! There’s no need to train with weights first for a year and then join BJJ – simply pick up the Charles Allan Price Building Workouts For BJJ DVD. It will help you become strong for grappling as you train BJJ regularly, allowing you to injury-proof yourself and get that all-important edge only strength can bring to a grappling match.

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Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD Review [2024]

Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ DVD instructional showing how to use the guard for self defense.
  • Features a couple of different closed guard variations and practical drills
  • Based on old-school Gracie Jiu-Jitsu principles proven in MMA and real fights.
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.

JEFF HIGGS SELF DEFENSE GUARD BJJ DVD AVAILABLE HERE:

Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD Preview
WATCH TRAILER: Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard DVD

How confident are you that your BJJ is good enough to get you out of a real-life self defense situation without any major damage? If you hesitate at least one bit during the answer, you need to explore the practical applications of Jiu-Jitsu further and include self defense training.

You won’t need to change your gym and entire life to do it – these days, you can train for everything in your favorite BJ Jacademy. A resource like the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD is all you need to get ideas of how you can change your focus during rolling and think street while you train the sport.

Practice Art, Train Sport, Think Street

In the famous words of wisdom by the legendary Chris Haueter, one of the original BJJ Dirty Dozen, the best way to become practically good at BJJ is to practice it like a martial art, train it like a sport, but always think street while you are on the mats.

Having a mindset used to the unpredictable environment of a real-life self defense scenario is a big aspect of stress that people with martial arts experience don’t often consider. Think of it as training Jiu-Jitsu but not rolling at all – there’s no way to figure out how to do it simply by having access to technical information only.

Training for these scenarios is not common these days, which ends up costing people who might rely on it, such as law enforcement officers. Haueter’s approach is a great way to still train at any gym possible, but introduce variables in sparring that will help you develop an awareness of the streets.

If you need any ideas on how to incorporate such training tasks into your usual BJJ routine, we recommend checking out the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD.

Navy Seal and BJJ Black Belt Jeff Higgs

Jeff Higgs is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Fabio Santos, a promotion which dates back to 2002. Higgs has been grappling since 1995 when he joined the famous Gracie Torrance Academy. Previously serving as a Navy Seal, Jeff spent a lot of time training with both Santos and his instructor, the legendary Rickson Gracie.

With several big titles to his name from the old days of Jiu-Jitsu, when winning stuff was extremely difficult to do, Jeff represents one of the rare representatives of old-school Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that is actively teaching these days. Also a Judo black belt, Higgs offers well of 30 years of experience with Jiu-Jitsu that includes self defense aspects most modern black belts have no idea about.

Long time friend and training partner of Dean Lister, Higgs has had first-hand experience with the complete development of BJJ since it hit the US, both in terms of sports and BJJ for MMA, making him one of the few true experts on the subject. The Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD is a perfect example of what Jeff’s Jiu-Jitsu is all about.

Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD Review

The Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD is a No-Gi instrucitonal that covers just over an hour of material focused on a no-nonsense approach from the closed guard. While this DVD does not focus on points or sports BJJ goals at all, it still provides one of the most efficient ways to set up an aggressive and dangerous guard game.

Part 1 – Overhook Guard

While I am not overly interested in MMA (anymore), from my limited experience in that particular sport, and my personal preference overall in almost 15 years of BJJ, I find that the overhook position from closed guard offers more than any other variation.

This is confirmed through the opening volume of the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD. Higgs introduces the direct applicability of this guard to real-life scenarios, often referring to MMA examples and calling in Dean Lister to help prove the point.

What you can expect to form this portion of the instructional is quick and powerful positioning with devastatingly strong, direct attacks such as Kimura and Monoplata variations. Both these make a lot of sense, given the isolation of the shoulder you already have from the overhook.

Part 2 – Craig Kukuk Combo Attacks

A key aspect of practicing for self defense is setting realistic unpredictable scenarios, such as including noise and sudden changes in the environment during your training. The second part of the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD contains thoughts and ideas on setting this up in your gym.

After talking about how the double wrist position can save you from lots of damage in a street fight scenario, Higgs offers several armbar and triangle attack options, combining them with tactics on using environmental changes to your advantage.

This highly entertaining, and to be honest, quite useful instructional wraps up with a section that contains several chapters on the Craig Kuuk closed guard. Craig is one of the original BJJ Dirty Dozen members (just like Haueter) who influenced Higgs’ Jiu-Jitsu a lot.

The system shows how to use double armlock attacks in self defense situations, before exploring how you can add Dean Lister’s deadly armbar from guard to the mix.

Gracie Jiu-JItsu for Self Defense 

There is no denying that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu works for self defense. A part of what makes it ‘unrealistic’ by BJJ standards today is the focus on self defense over achieving points in competitions that feature rules which have nothing to do with real-life altercations.

This provides the opportunity to practice either aspect of the art, but during the past couple of decades, the scales tilted a lot more towards the sports aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which utilize visually impressive, complex, and fun techniques and tactics which would fail miserably in street fight. As a result, people train a lot less self defense Jiu-Jitsu.

In a real-life violent situation, most people with BJJ experience would still jump instinctively to positions like mount top, closed guard, or the back. That just shows how efficient the original Jiu-Jitsu is.

To be able to jump into such a mindset, though, you need practice in settings that mimic real-life situations, and very few gyms employ such training in their curriculums. If you’re interested in BJJ for self defense but you find yourself in one of these gyms, the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD is a great resource to uncover another dimension to Jiu-Jitsu.

Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD Free Sample
FREE SAMPLE: Attack Combo from the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD

FULL DOWNLOAD: JEFf HIGS SELF DEFENSE GUARD DVD

Fighting Off Your Back (For Real)

If you end up on your back in the streets, go to closed guard. If you’ve done any BJJ at all, you’ll have ideas on what to do next, especially against an untrained opponent. Still, the Jeff Higgs Self Defense Guard BJJ DVD can help guide you more precisely and effectively toward tactics applicable in real-life self defense situations. The best part is that you can still use them in your sports Jiu-Jitsu guard game.

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Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD Unpacked: A Detailed Review [2024]

Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD Unpacked: A Detailed Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi BJJ DVD instructional containing five volumes with 2 hours of material.
  • Outlines Meregalis’ top and bottom No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu game, albeit very briefly 
  • Each volume contains between one and three very long chapters, making it difficult to follow and seek.
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

NICHOLAS MEREGALI NO-GI SYSTEM DVD AVAILABLE HERE:

Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD Preview
SEE FULL TRAILER: Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD

I went into this Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD review pretty hyped up, as previous releases by Meregali were always very good. I ended up pretty disappointed with it in terms of the way Meregali chose to structure this instruction.

The Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD, while delivering on what the title promises, could’ve perhaps been a much more compact release, perhaps organized in two rather than five different volumes, and with a better breakdown of chapters. On the plus side, Meregali doesn’t disappoint when it comes to adjusting and improving staple BJJ techniques and tactics.

Bridging the Gap Between Gi and No-Gi

How can you train both Gi and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu at the same time and grow? Certainly! You don’t even have to bother with different classes that much – just put the Gi on and off during rolling every time you spar!

Developing competition games for Gi and No-Gi is a different animal. You’ll absolutely have to pick one or the other, depending on your preference or academy type. Once you do, you’ll have to specialize even further by picking a field to begin your training, preferably using systems over traditional game planning.

Once you’re proficient enough (or have had enough) of one aspect of BJJ, simply transition to the other starting with a subject you’ve already mastered in its counterpart. If you’ve worked on your half guard in Gi, start there when you transition to No-Gi and develop systems and game plans just as you did before.

While this takes time it is a proven way to bridge the competitive gap between Gi and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu training and progress. The Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD depicts, however flimsily, how this approach works.

The Story of Nicholas Meregali 

So far, Nicholas Meregali has had an eventful and tumultuous time in Jiu-Jitsu. One of the best grapplers in modern Gi Jiu-Jitsu, who also embarked upon the quest to conquer the No-Gi World is far from done – although it will be some time until we see him on the competition mats again.

At the 2024 ADCC, one of the upsets of the event was Meregali’s first-round loss to purple belt Michael Pixley by way of a choke, which he conceded extremely easily. As it turned out, he suffered a very serious shoulder injury as he posted to prevent falling during a standing exchange which then led to the submission loss.

Even though he is currently injured, the 4x World IBJJF Champion, 2x Pan Champion, 4-time CBJJ Brazilian Nationals winner, and IBJJF Grand Prix winner is still set on conquering the No-Gi world, since all of these titles are with the kimono. Training with the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu squad led by Danaher and Ryan, Meregali is bound to heal up soon and prove his point.

Until such a time, we are left with an abundance of his instructional, the last of which is available as the strangely short and ambiguous Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD.

Nicholas Meregali DVD Review: The Meregali No-Gi System

JUst over two hours of scattered material is what this Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD delivered when we packed it. There are five different volumes, with only two of them delivering information at the level we are used to, and expect, from a world-class grappler like Meregali:

Part 1 – Bottom Game

When I referred to this instructional as strange I was not joking. It is like an old wrestling instructional, with chapters lasting 20+ minutes, which in some cases, is the entire volume.

The opening volume of the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD sets the tone for the rest of the material. There are only three chapters, the longest of which is Meregali’s entire bottom game, based on body locking and back takes. While useful, it makes for very difficult navigation through the material.

This portion also contains some Judo overhead throws done from the guard, in the form of the front and sideways Sumi Gasehi variations.

Part 2 – Leg Locks and Standing Up

Still, on the subject of working from the guard, the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD jumps to Ashi Garami entries, before exploring useful ways of wrestling up that we’ve seen a lot from New Wave Jiu-jitsu athletes. I’d have preferred this chapter closer to the Sumi Gasehi as they share a common goal.

With the Ashi system, you get a watered-down version of Danaher’s system, with positions and submissions that Meregali prefers, mostly centered around kneebars and toeholds. A chapter on the Tirpod guard which lasts 15 minutes and takes about a third of this part also features to introduce more confusion.

Part 3 – Top Game Masterclass

Something we haven’t seen in the last decade when it comes to BJJ DVDs is an entire 30-minute-long volume of a DVD set that only addresses one subject. While it would be acceptable if it was a specialized topic, by explaining his entire top game, from passing to pinning in such as fashion, Meregali left a lot to be desired.

The third portion of the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD is the most disappointing of all in terms of structure, although it does have a certain value to offer information-wise.

Part 4 – Submissions

A breath of fresh air arrives in the fourth part of the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD Unpacked, where Meregali targets submissions. While the structure remains the same, the nature of the subject, which is highly specialized, actually works in this way of delivering the material.

Half of this part covers strangling from the back, including a comprehensive system of grip fighting that is inspired by the Straight Jacket system but has its own additions. The second portion of the volume is dedicated to finishing, and setting up the S-mount armbar, in that order, which, for me, is the best way to learn submissions.

Part 5 – More Submissions

The final part that along with volume 4 offers some kind of redemption for this instructional is the final part of the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD. The leg Kimura (something I originally learned as the Squirrel Lock) is the main star of this volume, although there is lots of good stuff on triangles as well.

System-Based Jiu-Jitsu Growth

If there is one thing that the original Enter the System DVD collection by John Danaher taught it is that you need to train systems if you want to become a great Jiu-Jitsu competitor. In fact, for No-Gi, which is too chaotic to predict or attempt to control thoroughly anyway,  this approach is also highly useful for learning BJJ as a whole.

Setting up a systematic approach to BJJ has nothing to do with covering positions and submissions in the way we are used to. All the relations and tactics you might have used until now go out the window and you need to start with a clean slate.

Essentially, what you want to do is lots of drill/sparring work focusing on specific aspects of the game for prolonged periods of time. For example, if triangles are your subject of choice, start trying to finish them, before going backward to look for setups and link up with other subs.

It is apparent that Danaher has tasked, or perhaps even provided Meregali with such a system to clean up and improve his No-Gi game. The results before the 2024 ADCC were there for him, but if he was using what he portrayed in the Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD I wonder if it was all luck.

Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD Unpacked: Free Sample
FREE SAMPLE: Mount Game Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD

FULL DOWNLOAD: NICHOLAS MEREGALI NO-GI SYSTEM DVD

Drop the Gi! 

A difficult time for Meregali. First his unfortunate loss to Pixley in the ADCC and the injury that will sideline him for quite a while. Now, shortly after, the disappointing Nicholas Meregali No-Gi System DVD. Not a good couple of months for the Brazilian.

While I kept my Nicholas Meregali DVD review sincere and honest, I still feel like there is value to this instructional. I doubt it will do you much good if you want to build an entire No-Gi game, but it will help you clean up specific parts of it, especially regarding submissions.

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Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD Review [2024]

Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD Review

Key Takeaways

  • A No-Gi grappling DVD offering a simple way of mastering Judo foot sweeps. 
  • The material is divided into four volumes, lasting almost 2 hours in total. 
  • Techniques feature foot sweep basics, inside and outside sweeps, combinations, and advanced foot sweeping strategies. 
  • BJJ World Expert Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

FEET FINDER FOOT SWEEPS CHRISTIAN OZBEK DVD HERE:

Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD Preview
WATCH TRAILER: Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD preview

If you take a look at your usual BJJ No-Gi match, you’ll notice plenty of different tactics during the standing exchanges. What you won’t notice a lot, at least not as much as double leg shots or front headlock, are foot sweeps.

The Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD offers a different perspective, one that a seasoned Judoka with lots of BJJ experience has come up with. Figuring out how to add foot sweeps to your standing game is going to completely transform it, making all your other takedown attempts a lot more efficient and dangerous.

Foot Sweeps For Those Who Can’t Do Takedowns 

How confident are you that you can foot sweep someone while sanding? You’d be surprised at how many times people get tangled up with their legs and end up throwing themselves instead of their opponent.

Foot sweeps are a very, very powerful weapon to have, especially for those who struggle with shoulder throws and wrestling-based takedowns. The main drawback is that they take longer to master, but what they require in time, is the payback in efficiency.

Once you get a hang of how and most importantly, when foot sweeps work, you can build a simple standing game that’s very difficult to stop. If you end up combining several different footsweeps into a system, like in the examples you’ll see in the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD, you end up with a foolproof way of getting people to the mats.

Of course, you can still decide to try for takedowns or pull guard, and what you’ll find is that these moves are going to start working for you more. This is a result of your confidence in your foot sweeps game which you can always turn to if other standing tactics fail.

UK Grappling Prospect Christian Ozbek 

The UK seems to be producing world-class grappling talent at a very high pace lately, with one of the standout examples being Christian Ozbek. Based out of London and representing London Shootfighters Submission Grappling Club, the lifelong grappler has been racking up wins.

The best way to describe Ozbek, if you haven’t watched him in action is aggressive, always on the offense, and constantly after the legs, both when standing and on the mats. His extensive Judo background (around 12 years) makes him the perfect authority on all things related to his favorite way of throwing people – foot sweeps.

The constant rule changes in Judo drove Christian to BJJ some 8 years ago, where he found the perfect platform to run his trade of sending people flying via foot sweeps. Moreover, he figured out how to work on the ground as well, adding leg locks to his already dangerous grappling arsenal.

We’ll be taking a look today at the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD which contains some of Ozbek’s key sweeping techniques from standing.

Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD Review

The Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD is a No-Gi BJj insturctional containing Judo foot sweeps modified to work for Jiu-Jitsu purposes. Four different volumes help organize the material in a way that is easy to follow. The total running time is around 2 hours, with each volume lasting around 30 minutes.

Part 1 – Foot Sweeps Basics

The first volume of the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD begins with an introduction to foot sweeps but has nothing to do with the boring introductions you get in Judo gyms. Instead, Ozbek focuses on optimal grip positioning, hinge mechanics, and how to switch sides as you go.

There is a lot of focus on timing in this part of the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD, along with a few necessary drills to fully get the hang of it. Once the basics are out of the way, Christian goes on to explain one-handed foot sweep variations as well as some follow-up leg entanglements from standing that help you finish off a failed foot sweep attempt.

Part 2 – Osoto and Ouchi

The outside sweeps feature first in this Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD, with the second volume dedicated solely to the Osoto and Ouchi techniques. Ozbek starts slow and simple talking about basics Osoto stances and how to use arm drags and collar ties to set it up without too much fuss.

As he moves through a grip change, introducing bodylocks. Chiristian’s attention switches to Ouchi techniques, which work better from super close chest-to-chest positions. After a few variations, he goes back to the Osoto, showing how to combine it with the Ouchi.

In the final few chapters, Ozbek covers the intricate relationship between outside and inside sweeps, offering Kouchi follow-ups to the dilemmas he already provided above. While I understand the need to also talk about Sasae sweeps, I find that the DVD could’ve done without them.

Part 3 – Kosoto and Kouchi

The more complicated and somewhat more dangerous to execute inside sweeps and reaps are the main subject in the third volume of the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD. Christian introduces the ‘mirror’ moves to the Osoto and Ouchi fairly quickly, before offering more dedicated attention to setting them up and connecting them to other sweeps.

Namely, he does a fairly solid explanation of baiting, which is essential in foot sweeps, as well as including grips that Judokas don’t use, such as the single leg. A chapter I particularly enjoyed was the one on runaway sweeps.

The overhook grip presents another major launching platform for footsweeps, presenting a perfect halfway point to start both inside and outside sweeps, and easily connect them together without losing the engagement or exposing yourself to too much danger.

Part 4 – Moving Foot Sweeps

The true art of sweeping feet in Judo is all about timing your sweeps so that you intercept the moment right before the opponent’s foot lands on the mats, or jsu as it is leaving them. This final volume of the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD attempts to simplify executing foot sweeps while in motion.

In all fairness, Ozbek offers some highly useful adjustments to standard Judo techniques so that they work in a No-Gi BJJ setting, such as leg shelfing, rear bodylock setups., and Russian tie entires. However, the information is somewhat lackluster, as there is no way to replace actual drilling of the timing for foot sweeps in motion, before trying these modified versions of them.

The (Lost) Art of Ashi Waza

My standing BJJ tactics throughout the years mark the usual way people approach these exchanges. I used lots of my Judo background to throw people at while belt, before switching to guard pulling at blue. Purple was all about wrestling using leg grips, before the front headlock took over during brown belt, as injuries amassed. Enter black belt, and my body is so worn down that foot sweeps and guard pulls are just about the only thing I can do.

Imagine if I started focusing more on foot sweeps (or Ashi Waza in Judo) from the beginning! They were my go-to in Judo anyway, and they would’ve probably saved me a lot of time healing and left me with much more mobility than now.

The moral of this story is that you should not exclude foot sweeps from your BJJ standing game, as they are a highly useful tool that will keep working for a long. I understand that they are difficult to master and can be boring a bit to young athletic grapplers.

For those that don’t really like them I; ‘d suggest having them in your back pocket as a fallback tactic, when all those fast sots and crazy jumping moves end up failing you. After all, if you end up training BJJ for a long time, it is better to have a decade’s worth of experience in a move that works when you’re old and beaten up, than trying to rediscover it then.

If you’ve never tried Judo before, the first three volumes of the Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD are a solid resource to get you going, mostly because they’re No-Gi. The final one is better for those who already have experience in the matter of Ashi Waza.

Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD Review
FREE SAMPLE: Collar Tie Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD

FULL DOWNLOAD: FOOT SWEEPS CHRISTIAN OZBEK DVD

Sweep Them Off Their Feet! 

Sweeping people while standing is going to be one of the hardest things you learn in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu! Why would you bother? Because once you get a feel for sweeps, you’ll be able to send literally everyone flying with just a few flicks of your feet. The Feet Finder Foot Sweeps Christian Ozbek DVD is a top resource to get you started if you have absolutely no experience, or if you’re new to using Judo without the Gi.

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