Randy Bloom’s Extreme Leg Locks tape from Island Martial Arts
has been out for some time now. I really haven’t seen much
written about it, so here is a review for the tape. The techniques
shown are not specific for one area. He shows different moves
that can be used in a sport competition, MMA, or in a self-defense
situation. The tape is loaded with techniques and I believe the
count is 45 overall.
Randy, or I should say a much younger version of himself, starts
out by showing 6 ways to attack the ankle. He demonstrates
techniques sitting on the ground with his partner facing towards
him. Randy goes into the different arm positions you would use
and ways to protect yourself from counter attacks. He then goes
into a way to drill the attacks he just showed you from inside your
opponents guard.
The next section of the tape shows you how to attack your
opponent’s legs after executing a throw or takedown. The five
different throws/takedowns that are shown are the Basic Hip
throw, Osoto Gari, Single Leg takedown, and two different
takedowns which are a type of foot sweep/reaping takedown.
After the takedown section Randy demonstrates a few self-
defense moves. He shows how to get out of a Bear Hug with your
attackers arms over and under your own that end up in a leg
attack.
The tape then shows Randy teaching defenses against various
kicks that lead into a leg lock. He shows you how to defend
against side kicks and roundhouse kicks. After showing you how
to defend against a kick you will learn how to get a leg lock after
your own kick is countered by your opponent. You will see a few
variations of this.
Now we move onto the next section which covers attacks from
various positions on the ground. Here is a list of some of the
moves being taught: 1. Open Guard attacks (Opponent standing
in front of you) 2. Defending against Knee on Stomach 3.
Attacking while standing up in opponent’s guard 4. Attacking
while opponent has Butterfly Guard. 5. How to defend against
Scissor, Knee Push, and Armbar sweeps. 6. How to bait opponent
to use the triangle and then counter with a leg lock 7. Attacks
from the bottom half guard and closed guard. 8. Attacks when
you have the side mount. 9. Attacks when your opponent is
turtled and more.
It would take forever to list everything but you now have an idea
of what he shows. The tape is over an hour long and is well worth
the price! In my opinion it gives you a good idea on how you can
attack your opponents legs from just about any position.
i guess there's something in the water at joe moreira's academy cuz those guys are really good at explaining techs (RB, Harris, Jen).
as a white belt, i went from 0 to 6 sweeps in 20 mins watching his 'playing outside the guard' dvds. and that was only vol. 1! i imagine this dvd is just as underrated as his others. i'll have to pick it up. thanks gubbs, and nice review.
Funny to see this review,one of my husbands friends helped Randy out on this tape about 6 years ago,Pat tasson,is now a brown belt under Joe Moreira,maybe he'll have some stuff out also,very good figther,props to Mr.Moreira for putting great instructors out.
yeah i always figured he had something decent but just isnt a BIG NAMER like some of the others. I think its high time to do some checking on no namers that are just as good in their area at what they do as well.
Please don't take this the wrong way as I'm sure Randy is a good guy and all, but those tapes sucked.
i bot them long ago when they first came out. they weren't good then (in terms of content or production) and pale in comparison to what's available today.
No problem...no offense at all. Not everyone is going to like them,
but there are those of us that did learn something from them. I've
seen other leg lock tapes and each has their own pro's and con's.
I changed my mind, let's rumble! Just kidding :) Fighting over if you like a video or not is a waste of time. You like something or you don't like it, plain and simple.
I think the weakness with this particular tape is this:
Randy doesn't really explain HOW to do each leglock. He often says things like "And then you just......" and finishes the lock without saying anything. So if you already HAVE good leglock mechanics, that's not a problem. However, if you already have good leglocks, not much of what he shows on the tape will be new to you. In the barrage of techniques he uses, you may find one or two new entries, but your odds are better with someone else's leglock tape.
This is just my humble opinion--I don't claim to be an authority, and I hate to speak ill of any tape out there, but I really felt this tape didn't make the standard.
First Randy gives you a basic foundation of leg lock grips and
positions in the beginning of the tape. He then gives you the
details on each leg lock throughout the tape. I even had some of
my students over to watch it too see if they were left hanging on
the instruction and they thought it was clear to them.