What is your opinion. These are my choices right now
Bolo's Back Escapes DVDs, Ultimate Guard Passing 1 DVD (125.00)
Ceasar Gracie's, Fabio Gurgels, Darrel's Vale tudo takedowns (140.00) or 200.00 with Renzo and Kukuk's set.
Craig's A-Z and Fabio Gurgel (150.00)
Kneebar DVD and Omoplata and dynamic guard (90.00)
Now I do want to focus on Gi training but I will be looking for good no gi instructionals soon anyway. Bolo's tapes are on sale now so that would be a point to consider. Also Stephan Kestling's DVDs are on sale. These prices are aprox. w/ shipping.
Which do you guys think is more valuable? Also is Renzo and Kukuk's tape's worth getting?
I am mainly looking to build a library for reference. I already have Sperry Master Series tapes and I am looking to get Island tapes in a month or so (I calculated, would cost 350-360 for all the DVDs I want!)
I definitely know this is a lot of information to take in but since I have the money now, I'd rather spend it on instructionals then buy stupid... like Christmas gifts! :)
What do you guys think????
Tough call. Cesar's, Jen's, and Kukuk's stuff is all great. Kukuk's is the most comprehensive. Jen goes into the most detail. Cesar covers vale tudo and sport jiu-jitsu. I have not seen any of the other artists you mentioned. I would either go Jen or Kukuk.
It really depends on what area of your game that you want to focus on. That said, you can't go wrong with Bolo's or Stephan Kesting's stuff if you want highly detailed instruction.
Do not get Renzo/Kukuk if you're going to get Kukuk A-Z. A lot of the same stuff is covered on A-Z but in more detail. I did not like Renzo/Kukuk much. It's good basic material, and still a good bargain, but you have to realize that the average "volume" (3-4 volumes to a DVD) is 20 minutes not including the fight footage, and in that 20 minutes each move is repeated a few times, so you really aren't getting that much. I haven't seen Gurgel's or Kesting's kneebar but I know everything else on that list is great.
The ultimateimports stuff will give you the most material per dollar, but Kesting and Jen's stuff goes into a lot more detail that you can't get anywhere else. So it really depends how interested you are in those specific areas, and whether or not you intend to get them eventually. If you do, you might as well get them while they are on sale.
Good choices..
www.DogsofWar.net
i would go with:
Gholar takedowns - why not learn from the best?
Jen - Ultimate Pin Escapes - pricey but invaluable and the best tape on the topic
Jen Half/Butterfly guard
Leverton- Guard 101
and for guard passing Joe Morriera's set is the best ive seen on the subject (i havent seen the bolo set so i cant comment on it)
you cant go wrong with any of the tapes ive mentioned :)
Don't get Bolo's. There's no need for more people to have access to that level of detail. Get some karate tapes instead.
I actually have almost all of the above sets except for Gurgel's and Gholar's. All rock! It really depends on your skill level as to the "best" tape for you. The only one I think you are forgetting is Roy Harris. He give a really good idea on how the "basics" work.
Stephan Kesting's Knee Bar and Omo Plata DVDs are also some of my favorites because I love those 2 positions and the stuff he gives you is GOLD. I would recommend Roy Harris to all beginners as the first tape to buy along with Jen's, but the others are very good too.
GrdStorm
If you email me, I can work out a special deal for you if you want my sets (Renzo, Kukuk, Gholar, Gurgel).
Paulviele@aol.com
Mike Jen's material is great!
i thought about getting those as I have heard good things about them but I dont want to invest my money into video tapes. I'd much rather get DVDs because they will last as long as I dont scratch them up
From: Da Specimen
Date: 14-Dec-03 07:52 AM
Member Since: 01-Jan-01
990 Total Posts
i would go with:
Gholar takedowns - why not learn from the best?
Jen - Ultimate Pin Escapes - pricey but invaluable and the best tape on the topic
Jen Half/Butterfly guard
Leverton- Guard 101
and for guard passing Joe Morriera's set is the best ive seen on the subject (i havent seen the bolo set so i cant comment on it)
you cant go wrong with any of the tapes ive mentioned :)
If you really want basics, get Pedro Carvahlo first series. If that's too basic for you, get Sperry Master Series I and II. But Sperry assumes you know quite a bit of basic stuff. If you want to get more advanced, get Gurgel dvd's where he's really trying to show you the latest stuff from Brazil. If you want half guard, get Gordo's tapes. Feitosa has some nice tapes as well. Then you also have Leozhino(sp?) who concentrates on some real specific of working from the back for example.
To me the attraction of Sperry, Gordo, Gurgel, Nino, Feitosa, Leozhino, etc. is that they have all competed at the very top level of bjj and in some cases mma and no gi. I've heard a lot of people talk about Jen and I understand he got a black belt from Joe Moriera. He had a school in San Jose, California which closed.
To my knowledge, Jen has never competed as black belt or even brown belt at the Pan Ams or Mundials so you have a leap of faith to make. Some people swear his tapes are the greatest and that he's a great teacher.
Bill Lewis has reviewed a number of sets including Jens:
http://www.bjj.org/lewis/jenmount.html
anyone get Leo Viera's DVDs from I think Unique Publications(?) I wonder how good those are.
I got the Leo Viera tapes and I'm still studying them. Unfortunately, the dvd is not broken down into chapters. The DVDs start and just keep going. You can't skip ahead or go back. This is a real draw back.
Substantively, I think there is some good material on there. For example, he really breaks down the back position and how to mount from side control. Here there is some really neat and innovative stuff.
I don't think I'm acrobatic enough to do the star guard passes. My instructor said it's good for little guys, but not really a big man's game.
Matt Thornton hasn't competed as a Black Belt in Pan Ams either but you will struggle to find a better coach. His tape series belong in every collection. I have not seen Bolo's tapes but there are enough great reviews for me to purchase it in the new year. If you are looking for an encyclopedia of moves then Kukuk is the way to go. I was looking for something that would build my game not focus on hundreds of different techniques. What is your current level? If you are anything less than a decent blue Kukuk is not going to help you. I would go with Matt Thornton's series 1 & 2; Bolo's ( As I mentioned based on many solid reviews) and Roy Harris' (Same reason as per Bolo's)
I got the Bob Bass/Williams tapes about a week ago. I still havent finished watching them all. I've mainly been looking at Controlling from the Side Control/Mount, and escapes from Side Control and the Mount.
This tape set is a true "intermediate" set. Not too basic or too advanced. If your a mid level blue belt then for sure these tapes will help your game.
My only complaint is the fact that there is a lot of "fillers" in the tapes. Theres about a 10 minute intro to every tape, and then during the moves they'll pause and go to a interview with them. I'm sure they are great guys, but I could care less about the interviews.
All the moves however are great. I still havent finished watching all the tapes and probably wont watch them all for a while. I'm just concentrating on controling and escaping positions right now.
That said last night I orderd Bolo Ultimate Guard 3: Butterfly Guard. I have his guard passing tapes and they are the BEST tapes out there for passing the guard, end of story.
Shinken4 is so correct, its not funny
For gi instructionals I like :
Mario Sperry Master Series I & II
Leo Vieira Extreme Jiu-Jitsu
Rob Bass & Rick Williams SBG BJJ
Pedro Carvalho BJJ series I, II & III
Anything from Michael "Bolo" Jen
For Basics
Graice Basics, Intermediate & Advanced series
(and yes I consider the Intermediate & Advanced series basic)
If its no gi then I like :
Matt Thornton Series I & II
Mario Sperry Submission Grappling
Tony Cecchine Lost art of hooking
Craig Kukuk BJJ A-Z
Darryl Gholar's DVDs
I haven't seen it yet but the Marcello Garcia series looks really effective as well
Last but not least
if its Vale Tudo, then I like :
Matt Thornton series I & II
Mario Sperry Vale Tudo I, II & III
"To my knowledge, Jen has never competed as black belt or even brown belt at the Pan Ams or Mundials so you have a leap of faith to make. Some people swear his tapes are the greatest and that he's a great teacher."
I agree. I don't think I've ever seen Sperry on his back. In Competition, he just mauls everyone from on top. He shouldn't be allowed to teach bottom game, since his sport BJJ record is almost all top game, and thus his bottom game is 'unproven'. And he used some moves more than others. Anything he didn't use to finish a match 10 times at least could be considered a 'fluke', and is not really proven either.
(Actually, I think Sperry rocks. I figure I need to point that out, since anyone who doesn't understand teaching and competing are two totally different skill sets may not 'get' the concept of sarcasm either.)