Key Takeaways
- An 8-part No-Gi BJJ DVD offering Gordon Ryan’s crucifix attacks system.
- It features back and front mount crucifix uses, setups, finishes, and transitions.
- Offers two parts with crucifix-focused rolling footage and subsequent analysis.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
SYSTEMATICALLY ATTACKING THE CRUCIFIX GORDON RYAN DVD HERE:
Thinking about adding the crucifix to your back attacks game? Why have you waited for so long? If there is one thing you can do to take your submission threat from the back to DEFCON 1, it is the crucifix, and all the information you need about it is already out there!
Today, we’ll be looking at the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD and what it has in store for us. There is no denying that we have lots to learn from Grodon, but given his previous track record with instructionals, is this one going to be a real hit or another messy miss? Read on!
The Best Back Position in BJJ?
I never really got the bug for attacking the back in BJJ, which is what everyone seemed to be after when I started training 15 years ago. I had a brief stint of fun with the Straight Jacket system by Danaher, but the classic back control just doesn’t click with me.
The crucifix, on the other hand, is something else. I know, I know, hooks bring points, hip control is crucial for choking, yadda, yadda, yadda. At the end of the day, there is a reason why one of the best grapplers ever, Marcelo Garcia, decided to opt for the crucifix as his main way of finishing from the back, after becoming one of the best backtakers in the history of the sport.
If you’re a smaller grappler (such as me) you’ll find that the crucifix offers just about everything the back mount does, and perhaps even more, in terms of the ability to control someone from the back, while exposing lots of submission options.
A drawback is that Truck and other leg ride attacks are not immediately available, which is balanced out by the option to easily mix up chokes and armlocks without having to adjust your positioning. Think about it this way – Danaher’s straight jacket system is just a different way of working off crucifix back control.
As usual, I expected Godron Ryan to be a lot more offensive than his mentor when covering a subject already covered by Danaher. The Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Why Everyone Will Remember Gordon Ryan
Gordon Ryan will undoubtedly remain a name that no one will forget in the BJJ World. Despite his crazy competition results, I think it will be his instructionals that keep his legacy alive in the decades to come.
Let’s face it, not many young grapplers these days watch Roger Gracie’s or Marcelo Garcia’s matches, but they still know the names and opt for the instructional. It is funny how things work out, as all the effort put into competing, not to mention all the trash-talking and beefs will end up being mostly for nothing.
Ryan is a polarizing figure, but one thing is for certain – steroids-fueled or not, he did manage to achieve great, if not insurmountable things in grappling. A part of his legacy is also the fact that BJJ athletes can actually get paid for competing now, and not just peanuts.
It was fun watching Gordon develop, from the scrawny kid who won his first EBI, to the man who walks into ADCC super fights as a black belt does among blue belts at an open mat. The thing with me is that I enjoy watching Ryan compete, but don’t really like how he structures his instructionals. Let’s see if the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD can change my mind.
Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD Review
The Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD follows the typical New Wave Jiu-Jitsu instructional template, offering 8 different volumes, the final two of which contain rolls and commentary of the crucifix techniques done live. The total running length of this one is just shy of 4 hours, and everything is demonstrated in No-Gi:
Part 1 – Two Sides of the Crucifix
Gordon begins the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD by talking about the two main ways you can use a crucifix – from the back, which most people know, and from the mount, which is hugely underused and underrated.
In a typical Gordon Ryan instructional fashion, ‘The King’ goes really deep into dissecting the nuts and bolts that make the position work. This part of the DVD is very well organized, focusing on how to control either arm of the opponent, how to position your limbs differently, and what your goals are.
Part 2 – Crucifix Submissions
The second part goes into the finishes that are available from the crucifix, which extends beyond just choking or trying to hit weird armlocks with your legs. Gordon basically does a short review of his Kimura attacks previously taught in other DVDs here, with the dorsal Kimura-Triangle combination being his main focus.
Throughout this portion of the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD, we also see some positional transitions, with a route to the crucifix from the North-South presented by Ryan. It makes a lot of sense but is not really viable to set up during sparring.
Part 3 – Mounted Crucifix
I enjoyed this part of the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD a lot, as it introduced an depth analysis of a crucifix position that nobody has covered in depth until now. Marcelo Garcia, the original crucifix hunter has everything covered in terms of the back, and everything subsequently done by others still works off of those principles.
The mounted crucifix, though, is a whole different ball game. It offers a different type of control to what people are used to, making escapes almost impossible. Gordon offers options for working against open and locked hands, with the crucifix still viable against both.
He also introduces some wrestling into the mix, presenting the dangers of the high crotch grip even from a dominant position such as the crucifix. He ends up with a portion of the crackdown, covering baiting entries along the way.
Part 4 – Crucifix vs Turtle
The hallway point of the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD goes over the crucifix as we know it, used against a turtled-up opponent. I’ll say it again, as I have many times before, the turtle is not just a position you can attack easily. As with other DVDs on the subject of turtle attacks, this one misses the spot by a country mile.
Gordon demonstrates back crucifix entries using the turtle, mostly by trapping one arm with the legs or using gift wraps to break the turtle down. They’re all very effective, but the problem is getting there against someone who can actually play turtle. In that regard, this part of the DVD fails miserably.
Part 5 – Belly Up Crucifix
Redemption comes in the fifth segment of the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD, with Ryan sticking to the back crucifix while supine, the position most people are after anyway.
He begins by covering the main escape routes people take, which I find to be the best approach to figuring out positional dominance. He then launches into an in-depth analysis of controlling the opponent’s head and each arm, before offering a route back towards the submissions outlined in the second part of the instructional.
Part 6 – Connecting the Dots
Speaking of submissions, the final instructional volume of this Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD is one that surprised me. In earlier DVDs, Ryan just poured more and more info as his instructions dragged on. Here, he finally circles back to connect the dots, which is extremely helpful for the cohesiveness of this DVD.
Kimuras, triangles, and chokes feature here, some against an opponent who can’t really move or do anything, while others work when the opponent escapes using one of the predictable routes. A really cool thing is that when setting up the subs, Gordon constantly leaves an option open to get back to the crucifix, which he shows in great detail.
Part 7 and 8 – R0lling Commentary
As we come to the concluding parts of the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD, we once again see classic Gordon Ryan narrated rolls. In all his previous DVDs this was my favorite portion, and I managed to learn the most from them as opposed to the other material.
Once again, the rolling commentary proves to be exceptionally valuable., Gordon rolls for 5-minute rounds against 4 different people in the penultimate part of the instrucitonal and then spends double that time explaining every roll in the final one.
Back Control on Steroids
If I had to pick one position to play until the day I stop rolling… I’d stop rolling now. There is no fun in doing one thing over and over again, even if your goal is to specialize in one move as Roger did with the cross-collar choke.
That said, if I had to pick one variation of each dominant position to play, I’d accept that challenge with a smile. With regard to the back mount, the crucifix wins 10/10 for me, even at the expense of those 4 points that I’m mission out on because of the lack of hooks.
There’s something extremely satisfying about obtaining the crucifix position against an opponent who is of a high level and sees it coming. There’s an even more satisfying component when you take all their power away, and they eventually stop struggling to get out. you know the moment, they’d scratch their head about what to do next, if they only could.
The crucifix allows you to get the most out of the back mount, while still keeping all ‘around the world’ options open, in terms of going to front pins and back at your convenience. This Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD offers some valuable insights into the use of the position, particularly mixing up front and back variations.
FULL DOWNLOAD: ATTACKING THE CRUCIFIX GORDON RYAN DVD
Ditch the Hooks!
If you want to end up with an amped-up version of back control, ditch the hooks and turn to the crucifix. Start exploring the different ways in which spreading your opponent’s arms makes them weak, and you’ll never go back to traditional back control again. With the Systematically Attacking The Crucifix Gordon Ryan DVD, you have a great toolbox to start using the crucifix from all kinds of different positions. Just don’t try to do the turtle stuff, and you’ll get great value out of this instructional.
Marcelo Garcia DVD Instructional: Complete Back Attack System Review
