Key Takeaways
- A 7-part instructional focused on using the guard for real-world self-defense — including strikes, kicks, and escapes from violence
- Michael Heinz is an SBG black belt under John Frankl with a unique background in rhetoric, yoga, and martial arts
- Covers open guard attacks, closed guard defense, punch defense, strangle defense, and guard recovery against standing opponents
- Old-school Gracie-style approach influenced by Helio Gracie’s philosophy of the guard as a defensive and counter-offensive tool
- Best suited for practitioners interested in self-defense, law enforcement, or traditional Jiu-Jitsu concepts over sport competition
- Rating: 8/10
PRACTICAL JIU-JITSU USING THE LEGS MICHEAL HEINZ DVD DOWNLOAD
Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz is not your typical BJJ instructional. Practical Jiu Jitsu 2: Using The Legs To Defend, Strangle, and Knock Teeth Out by Michael Heinz — the full title referencing Helio Gracie’s famous line — is a return to Jiu-Jitsu’s self-defense roots. The title alone — referencing Helio Gracie’s famous assertion that the guard exists so you can “kick teeth out” — signals that this is a return to Jiu-Jitsu’s self-defense roots.
While most modern instructionals focus on sport-specific sequences designed for competition points, Heinz’s approach is grounded in the reality that someone on top of you might not be trying to pass your guard — they might be trying to punch you. Across seven parts, he builds a guard system designed for survival, control, and finishing the fight from the bottom.
A Practical Aspect of Jiu-Jitsu
The guard in modern BJJ has become almost exclusively a sport position. Guard players chase sweeps and submissions with the assumption that the person on top is playing by IBJJF rules — no striking, no stomping, no headbutting.
But Jiu-Jitsu was not designed for that context. The original purpose of the guard, as taught by the Gracies and developed in the Vale Tudo era, was to neutralize an opponent’s striking advantage by using the legs to control distance, defend against punches, and create openings for sweeps and submissions. Practical Jiu-Jitsu is about recovering that original intent while keeping the technical developments of modern BJJ.
This guard for self-defense mindset means learning to use the legs as defensive frames, striking weapons, and strangling tools — all from the bottom position. It’s guard work, but guard work designed for the worst-case scenario.
SBG’s Michael Heinz
Michael Heinz’s BJJ credentials trace back to John Frankl, the founder of SBG Korea, under whom he earned his black belt. He is also a former professor of rhetoric with a master’s degree in education.
He has over 14 years of martial training across Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and boxing, plus more than 20 years of yoga practice and 5,000 hours of meditation. Before opening his gym, Heinz spent 15 years in East Asia — two years in Japan and 13 years in South Korea — where he taught rhetoric and met his wife. He opened SBG New Braunfels in Texas in 2020, two weeks before the COVID lockdown, and grew the gym to over 300 members within its first year.
Heinz is also the author of Practical Jiu Jitsu (Part 1) and has conducted seminars internationally, including at the Monster Gym in Dublin, Ireland, at the invitation of John Kavanagh. His diverse background — academic, yogic, and martial — gives his teaching a distinctly old school Jiu-Jitsu flavor that emphasizes principles over flash.
Practical Jiu Jitsu 2: Using The Legs Michael Heinz DVD Review
If you train for self-protection, work in law enforcement, or simply want to understand the roots of the position that defines Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz is a valuable addition to your library. If you train purely for sport, the closed guard defense concepts and triangle entries will still translate — but the overall philosophy may not be your primary interest.
Part 1: Punched — Open Guard Attacks
Part one of the Using The Legs Michael Heinz DVD opens with Heinz teaching the fundamental premise: when you’re on bottom, punches are coming. The warm-ups and introductory drills establish the body mechanics for kicking from the guard — using the legs not just to sweep but to create distance through striking.
The Tripod Sweep and Stand teaches a high-percentage sweep that leads directly to standing up. The section on keeping one ankle free emphasizes the importance of maintaining mobility in the guard. Freeing your knees — both with legs and with hands — is taught as a priority skill for survival.
Part 2: Pin Prevention — Guard Recovery
In the second part, Heinz covers what happens when the guard fails, and you get pinned. Heinz teaches the concept of “heavy legs” — using dead weight and leg positioning to make it difficult for the opponent to stabilize.
A couple of slick leg recovery options give two different pathways to recover guard from a pinned position. The Underhook section addresses the self-defense scenario where you need to escape and disengage entirely. The Rocking Chair and Pinned Feet Recovery sections cover positional escapes from a different perspective, when the opponent has you flattened and unable to move your hips.
Part 3: Open Guard vs A Kneeling Opponent
Volume three addresses one of the most common self-defense scenarios: an opponent on their knees in your open guard. The Shin Shield for Jaw Defense section is what you can’t miss in this Mike Heinz instructional – it teaches a specific defensive structure that prevents the opponent from punching your face while you work from bottom.
The Scissor Sweep is taught in both static and dynamic variations. Getting up is also covered, addressing the tactical decision of when to stand up versus stay on the ground. Wrapping up is a take on a 2-on-1 triangle armbar system that shows how to transition from a defensive grip to an immediate submission threat.
Part 4: Pinned in Closed Guard
This portion of the Mike Heinz DVD is all about the worst-case scenario in closed guard: you’re pinned, the opponent has crossface pressure, and punches are coming. Heinz starts with Forearm Choke counters — teaching students to recognize and address the threat of being choked from inside guard.
He then shares some back take and sweep options against pressure, along with some cool grip fighting moves to free up your hands. An Arm Triangle and Sweep chain provides a submission directly from the escape, bringing this part to an end.
Part 5: Strangled in Closed Guard
Heinz talks about scenarios where the opponent is actively trying to choke you from inside the guard. Stop the Choke and Kick the Face is exactly what it sounds like — desperate measures for desperate situations.
The Armbar section includes the setups from elbow on chest and a detailed breakdown of the role of each leg in the armbar. An Armbar to Triangle and/or Omoplata chains follows, showing how to transition between submissions when the opponent defends the first option.
Part 6: Punch Defense in Guard to Leg Stranges
The sixth part of the Using The Legs Michael Heinz DVD is the title sequence — using the guard to defend against punches and transition into a triangle choke. Thoracic Control teaches how to use your legs to control the opponent’s upper body.
Named perfectly, Cobra Frames Training establishes the upper body defensive structure. Knees Inside to Kicking Heads Off Shoulders builds the entry. A few triangle guard traps teach the complete triangle system from the self-defense context. The cherry on top of this DVD is a Kimura taht ties in the triangle and armbar chains perfectly.
Part 7: Punch Defense in Guard to Reversal
Finally, Mike Heinz covers reversing position from the guard against a striking opponent. Hip bump sweeps cover variations of a classic self-defense sweep followed by details on maintaining the mount after the reversal. More Kimura options lead to the eventual strikes from closed guard searies, closing the instructional with offensive striking options from bottom position.
Using The Legs To Defend & Strangle
Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz is best studied as a complete system rather than picking individual techniques. The 7-part structure builds progressively: start with Part 1 to understand the leg-as-weapon concept, then move through Parts 2-3 for survival and guard recovery, and finish with Parts 4-7 for the closed guard responses.
Heinz teaches conceptually — emphasizing why each technique exists — which means the material sticks better if you drill it with a partner who simulates the pressure of a real attack. Expect 6-8 weeks to work through the full system.
This is not a speed-study instructional; it rewards slow, deliberate practice with an emphasis on understanding principles over collecting techniques.
GET THE PRACTICAL JIU-JITSU USING THE LEGS MICHEAL HEINZ DVD
Who Is This For?
This practical self-defense BJJ instructional is ideal for practitioners who train for self-defense, law enforcement, or personal protection. It’s also valuable for sport-focused grapplers who want to understand the original purpose of guard positions and how they evolved.
Purple belts and above who feel their self-defense knowledge is thin will benefit the most from Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz. White belts should approach this after establishing basic BJJ fundamentals, as the striking-aware guard concepts build on existing positional knowledge.
Competition-focused grapplers who train exclusively for IBJJF or ADCC rulesets will find less direct application, though the guard concepts in the Using The Legs Michael Heinz DVD — particularly closed guard and scissor sweeps — transfer to sport contexts.
Pros & Potential Drawbacks
Pros:
- Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz fills a gap that most modern instructionals ignore completely — this is legitimate, practical self-defense material from the guard
- Heinz’s background in yoga and meditation brings a unique body awareness perspective that most BJJ instructors lack
- The integration of striking defense into guard retention and guard attack is something every grappler should understand, regardless of their competitive goals
- The triangle system in Part 6 is taught from a self-defense context that emphasizes getting the choke despite strikes — a much more demanding scenario than sport triangle entries
- The emphasis on conceptual teaching (why each technique works, not just how) makes the material transferable
Potential Drawbacks:
- The self-defense focus may feel irrelevant to sport grapplers who train exclusively for competition
- Some sections of Practical Jiu Jitsu 2 Michael Heinz — particularly the striking components — require a partner willing to simulate realistic attacks at training intensity
- The old-school approach may conflict with modern guard concepts that practitioners are learning from other instructional
Knock Teeth Out!
Using The Legs Michael Heinz DVD is not about winning IBJJF opens or ADCC trials. It is about understanding what the guard is actually for: controlling an opponent who is trying to hurt you. Heinz has built a 7-part system that revives the self-defense purpose of Jiu-Jitsu while keeping the technical precision that makes BJJ effective.
