Book Review - When The Fight Goes To The Ground (Lori O'Connell)

Short Review: In her second book, Japanese jiu jitsu stylist Lori O’Connell has attempted to write a basic primer for self defence on the ground. She sensibly includes suggestions on where to find legal advice and notes that technique is just one part of a self defence encounter. Nevertheless, there is an explanation of common attacks and defences on the ground, though without the level of detail you would find in a comparable BJJ instructional. O’Connell’s background is mainly in Can-ryu, which unlike BJJ does not emphasise sparring and competition. Available to buy here (and in the UK, here)

Full Review: Last year, I was contacted by Lori O'Connell, who asked if I would be willing to review her new book. I first encountered her writing several years ago, over on her Jiu Jitsu Sensei blog (which has since moved to her club website). It isn't a site I regularly follow, given that I do not have a great deal of interest in semi-contact styles of jiu jitsu, but as far as I'm aware it is a popular blog. Unlike other instructional books I generally review, When The Fight Goes To The Ground is aimed entirely at the self defence audience, from a Japanese jiu jitsu perspective.

If I was looking to recommend a book for someone to read who wanted to learn about self defence, particularly if they are already involved in martial arts, then Rory Miller’s Meditations on Violence would probably be where I'd tell them to start. Although I'm not entirely convinced by the content, such as the section where he tries to justify the use of kata as a training methodology, it is still the most mature book on self defence I've read up until now.

This is partly because Miller does not try and teach you techniques, which he feels are not the key factor in self defence. Rather than techniques, Miller talks about elements like environment, the differences in types of violence (e.g., predatory violence compared to the ‘Monkey Dance’ of status posturing) and dealing with chemical affects.

For example, he has a pithy summary on martial arts techniques in self defence: "Of everything in this book, skill at fighting is the least likely to affect your survival in a sudden assault. It’s better to avoid than to run; better to run than to de-escalate; better to de-escalate than to fight; better to fight than to die." The pre-eminence of other factors beyond combative techniques is something O'Connell also acknowledges. As she puts it in her introduction:

The ground defense system in this book is NOT a complete system of self-protection. It covers only one aspect to be partnered with other strategies and defensive techniques, including soft skills like personal awareness, conflict avoidance, and de-escalation tactics, as well as hard/physical skills, such as stand-up striking, throws and takedowns, etc. Nevertheless, ground defense is an important skill to learn if one's goal is to have a well-rounded system of self-protection.

Of course, learning techniques for self defence is not pointless, as long as it not all you are doing. As 'M. Guthrie' puts it in his praise for Miller's book, "technique is important, no doubt, but any defense scenario is much more than a series of techniques thrown in a vacuum. This book will fill in those gaps - all the other stuff that goes along with it. And that is truly where the art of self-defense lies, outside of technique."

O'Connell's book is seeking to help teach you a series of techniques for a specific situation: as the title says, that situation is when the fight hits the ground. Generally speaking, when looking for a quality instructional on that topic, most people would go to Brazilian jiu jitsu. That is not to say that there are no other styles which can teach you equally good grappling: there are plenty of judoka with excellent newaza, or practitioners of SAMBO who are as adept as any BJJ black belt.

Miller makes another related point which I'll repeat here. "Most martial arts are just a piece of the puzzle. Technically, some practice striking, some throwing, some practice both. Some add grappling and others specialize there. A truly complete martial art would cover everything from talking to shooting, and more besides." The arts I just mentioned specialise in grappling and throwing. BJJ lacks striking and certainly doesn't cover shooting, not to mention those various 'soft skills' O'Connell mentions. It is far from the full picture when it comes to self defence.

However, BJJ is very good at its specific piece of the puzzle: grappling. This is largely because of something judo, SAMBO and BJJ have in common, which is the training methodology of full resistance. Full contact sparring and competition are integral parts of all three. O’Connell trains in a martial art called ‘Can-ryu jiu jitsu’, one of the many styles under the umbrella term 'Japanese jiu jitsu'. JJJ variants are often entirely different from Brazilian jiu jitsu (I talk about that more here), most notably in that they frequently lack that emphasis on full contact sparring and competition. At the same time, 'Japanese jiu jitsu' is a very broad term, so it also includes schools that do plenty of full-contact sparring. As a result, these schools may produce students just as capable as those from the average BJJ, judo or SAMBO school.

O’Connell’s knowledge of full-contact grappling styles, like BJJ, SAMBO, judo, wrestling and the like, is relatively limited. She began her cross-training with BJJ lessons twice a week for around six months, then due to her teaching schedule switched to privates once a week for a further four months. O'Connell then returned to BJJ classes once a week while also training in MMA two to three times a week for six months. She then dropped BJJ to focus on MMA for two and a half years, though still alongside her Can-ryu. This was with a view to competing, but unfortunately her manager was unable to secure a fight.

She provides some further details on her blog. This post from 2009 discussed her training with BJJ brown belt Jennifer Weintz, who also wrote a foreword for O'Connell's book (this boils down to "keep an open mind"). O'Connell has also been to a few Eddie Bravo seminars: whatever else you can say about 10th Planet, it certainly doesn't train compliantly (although citing Ari Bolden, as she does here, probably isn't going to win her many fans in the BJJ community, given his reputation). To her credit, O’Connell has also competed in a submission grappling tournament back in 2007.

In his foreword, the head of Can-ryu remembers how he asked O'Connell to "review our curriculum's existing ground defense techniques and see where improvements could be made." That could mean that O'Connell has a firm grasp of grappling and was therefore able to improve an already well-constructed syllabus. Alternatively, it might indicate that Can-ryu's curriculum was so limited in grappling that even somebody with little experience on the ground knew more than her peers. In terms of BJJ rank, she is currently a four stripe white belt.

It is therefore worth spending a bit of time on Can-ryu, as O'Connell's much more extensive training in that style is the central basis for her credibility as the author of an instructional grappling manual with a self defence focus. She is a 5th dan with well over a decade of experience in Japanese jiu jitsu. According to this site, Can-Ryu claims to descend from 'Kosen Judo', a common claim outside of BJJ. However, Kosen Judo is not a style, it is a rule-set practiced by several educational institutions in Japan: as far as I’m aware, you cannot learn 'Kosen Judo', in the same way you can’t learn K-1 or UFC. A more reasonable source for Can-ryu is Mikonosuke Kawaishii, who is referenced in that article as somebody who taught judo in France from 1935 onwards. By 1957, he had moved away from judo, calling what he taught 'Kawaishii Jiu Jitsu' instead.

Kawaishii Jiu Jitsu was apparently also available in the Netherlands, where Henk Jenssen learned the style. By 1958, Jenssen was teaching this form of jiu jitsu in Toronto at Frank Hatashita's club. One of Hatashita's judo students, Ronald Forrester, joined Jenssen's class and eventually became the head instructor in 1962. The article credits him with introducing striking and free sparring into the curriculum (if there was no free sparring until that time, then Kawaishii Jiu Jitsu must have diverged significantly from judo over the years), which ended up becoming known as the 'Canadian Jiu Jitsu System'.

It is here that Can-Ryu emerges, thanks to one of Forrester's students, Georges Sylvain. He opened his Sylvain Jiu Jitsu school in 1963, eventually coming up with the name 'Can-ryu Jiu Jitsu'. He was fond of pressure-points, generally seen as a very dubious area of martial arts, thanks to the exploits of figures like George Dillman. This site offers a longer biography of Sylvain. At the time it was written, Sylvain apparently had 15 years experience in the police force, as well as a background in full contact karate during the late '60s (very different from the average karate of today, which has been diluted largely due to commercial reasons). He also trained the well-known kickboxer Jean-Yves Theriault.

Can-ryu receives mixed reports on the internet. This Bullshido thread indicates that Can-ryu is entirely compliant, which would therefore cast serious doubt over its usefulness to anyone looking to improve their grappling. However, that is just one school of Can-ryu: since Sylvain’s day, the organisation has spread throughout Canada and split several times. O'Connell also told me that some Can-ryu schools do incorporate more competitive sparring into their training, though it is not full-contact in the sense of the typical BJJ, MMA or judo academy.

This all may go some way towards explaining why rather than the grappling techniques you might expect, O'Connell's new book frequently includes strikes to what she calls ‘vital targets’: eye gouging, biting, ‘finger whipping’ the groin, pinching and even squeezing ‘love handles’. As Gerard Gordeau demonstrated in his MMA fights with Royce Gracie and then Yuki Nakai, eye gouging and biting are not fight enders. He lost on both occasions despite blinding Nakai in one eye and leaving teeth marks on Gracie's ear.

O'Connell does not tell you to rely on such tactics, instead urging the reader to "keep in mind that attacks to vital targets that only cause pain [...] may not be enough against a pain-resistant attacker (i.e., somone who is drunk, high, enraged, etc)." She also recommends using the training methodologies of BJJ and other full contact grappling styles to improve your abilities on the ground, as well as the option of using 'weapons of opportunity' to try and even the odds.

Another significant drawback to eye gouges, groin strikes and the like is that due to the potential injury, they cannot be effectively practiced against resistance (unless you have training partners who, like Nakai, can handle being blinded). This means that it essentially becomes a matter of live action role play. Hence why O'Connell has to tell the reader to "be sure to play fair and respond appropriately to strikes that would have been effectively applied had your partner used full power."

This relates to a quote from Matt Thornton, who has written extensively and eloquently on the topic of ‘street’ versus ‘sport’ for many years. For example, in this series of articles from the SBGi website:

The street vs sport, BJJ has rules, grappling should include biting, hair pulling, etc, is a straw man. It's a tired and meaningless debate. It’s also the excuse that every master of DEAD martial arts from the traditional schools uses to explain his arts non effectiveness in a full contact environment. So anyone seeking to use this argument should be wary.

Let me be as clear as possible. I will borrow some of Dan Inosanto's terminology here, and yes Mr Inosanto is a black belt with the Machados, whom I consider some of the best GRAPPLING coaches in the world. (Try biting Rigan sometime, I worked it with him once and it sucks!).

You need to make a distinction between a "delivery system" and a sporting application of an art. As an example we will use a man I admire very much, Renzo Gracie. Renzo could see a bite, a foul tactic, a version of an armlock, from Silat, or White Crane, or Yellow Monkey Fever, etc etc, and probably be able to INTEGRATE and apply that move very quickly. Why? Because he already has such a strong base on the ground. He understands the positions, and he has a great delivery system. Compare that with say an Aikido stylist. He may see the same application for a bite, or a choke, etc, but never be able to effectively use it. Especially against a wrestler or another groundfighter. Why? Because he doesn't have that delivery system.

Given her background in a non-competitive style like Can-ryu, it is unsurprising that O'Connell goes on to make that distinction between ‘sport’ and ‘self defence’. O’Connell uses this argument to distinguish her training and her book from BJJ, a style she feels is designed for competition. That is an understandable assumption to make, as competition is very popular in BJJ. It also is not strictly true, as O'Connell acknowledges by mentioning BJJ's origins in the 1920s. Like most martial arts, BJJ was initially designed for self defence, following the same stiff, compliant drills as aikido and innumerable ‘traditional’ jiu jitsu styles. Competition against full resistance, pioneered by the vale tudo matches of the Gracie family, is what advanced BJJ beyond those dead patterns and made it effective in environments like the early Gracie Challenge matches, vale tudo and more recently mixed martial arts.

Self defence has continued to be a major aspect of BJJ in the present day, though not at every school. In keeping with O'Connell's argument, there are those within BJJ who feel that the style of BJJ used in competition has become too far removed from reality. They are therefore seeking to turn the art back to its original purpose (notably, they are almost all heavily focused on techniques, rather than the other, arguably more essential factors of self defence discussed by Miller). ‘Self defence’ is the founding principle of the Gracie Combatives program. It is a matter of pride for Relson Gracie and his black belts. Royce and Rickson Gracie both insist that black belts have a firm grasp of their self defence syllabus. It is also a central part of the curriculum at the largest organisation in BJJ, Gracie Barra.

Given everything I've said above, I had my reservations about a book on grappling by somebody who does not appear to have done a great deal of it herself. That said, O'Connell does have a number of positive aspects to her book. She attempts to provide some statistical background to grappling from a law enforcement perspective, listing her sources. She also discusses the legal ramifications, wisely avoiding giving legal advice herself and instead directs the reader towards relevant legislation, split by country.

Something else in favour of When The Fight Goes To The Ground is that there is an accompanying DVD, though this is definitely a proper book rather than the mooks (a cross between a magazine and a book especially popular in Japan, sometimes packaged with a DVD) I've reviewed in the past. The book itself is smaller by comparison to the typical BJJ instructional book, but has the same glossy paper with full colour photographs. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to distinguish legs, as both O'Connell and her training partner wear black trousers.

O'Connell's opening introduction on the DVD cuts to clips rather than staying entirely focused on a talking head, which I liked. However, that talking head returned to introduce every technique, which wasn't necessary. I think it would have been more effective for her to make the same speech as a voiceover (which she does on occasion with other segments, but rarely), especially given that in most of the techniques there was no accompanying instructional audio anyway. The clips are all short, presumably because the DVD is intended as a visual aid for the book rather than a stand-alone instructional.

The technical content of the book starts with a discussion of what O'Connell calls 'body shifting', by which she means motions like shrimping and bridging, as well as keeping your legs in front of your attacker. There is a brief note at the end on adapting the techniques for law enforcement, which makes sense given the focus of the book. The chapter also includes a discussion of control on top, covering the major positions.

At this point, she gives the unusual advice to keep your hips higher than your chest when holding side control. In my experience, that actually makes it easier to escape the position due to the reduction in pressure. I always try to keep my hips as low as possible in side control to maximise my weight, though you could argue that in a self defence encounter the attacker probably isn't going to be trying to recover guard.

I'd also disagree with O'Connell that having both legs out means you can't control the hips. Sprawling back with both legs again helps to sink your hips and increase the pressure, which is why a number of BJJ instructors prefer it. To block their hips when using that side control variation, you would either use a hand by the near hip, or drop your own hip into theirs.

After the aforementioned discussion on strikes to 'vital targets', O'Connell progresses to breakfalls. As she notes, this is a paramount skill for general safety whether or not you train martial arts, as knowing how to fall can save you injury in numerous situations. I was surprised that O'Connell did not discuss what is called the 'technical stand-up' in BJJ, though it is used in the course of the DVD (but not described).

Strikes from the ground are examined in the next chapter, which has some similarities with the Gracie Barra Fundamentals curriculum, particularly kicking their leg while you are still on the ground. In the BJJ classes I've been to, that kick is used to create distance, after which you get to your feet using the technical stand-up. O'Connell (using a voiceover on the DVD), does this with a thai pad, but doesn't then move on to standing back up. Perhaps that is implicit, as she talks earlier about creating distance and returning to an upright position.

To defend from the ground O'Connell shows a technique which looks a bit like the basic double ankle grab sweep. O'Connell suggests either kicking into their groin and continuing to push to knock them over, or using your knee if you have longer legs. She also has some ideas on how you might try to block a kick to your head with your arms, then grab their leg and knock them over. It is very common for O'Connell to follow up with a strike, usually an elbow into the leg.

O'Connell's seventh chapter covers mount defence. She mainly uses the trap and roll, but on the DVD does not highlight the need to secure their wrist. Instead, she controls their elbow with both arms, which has the disadvantage of the attacker potentially being able to base out with their hand. She is perhaps aiming to do something similar to Roy Dean on Blue Belt Requirements, but it's an atypical grip.

Having said that, she does grip the wrist during her video demonstration of defending against a 'ground and pound', but this appears to be incidental as she again does not mention controlling the wrist in her written description. Instead, she advises that you control one of their arms at the elbow, "hugging it strongly to your hip". It is also difficult to see whether she traps the leg in the DVD, as it is only covered from a front angle. However, that detail is mentioned in the book. There is also some brief description of what looks like the elbow escape, but O'Connell's version relies more on strikes to try and make space rather than leverage.

Defending from the guard involves a lot of biting and growling (O'Connell feels that has psychological advantages). There is also a moment that reminded me of the punch block series from Gracie Combatives, but only stage three, rather than the set-up and details on keeping the opponent tight when in guard to prevent punches. The scissor sweep O'Connell uses here is a little difficult to see, because both she and her partner are wearing black trousers. That's a recurring problem throughout the book and especially the DVD: in instructional material, it is important that one person wears something light and the other something dark to make it easy to distinguish between them.

O'Connell also has techniques for escaping the back, which again features biting the wrist and growling, along with elbows to the groin. This also combines with some defences against headlocks, which would normally be grouped under side control: O'Connell shows how that might be applied from a face down position. Interestingly, she includes an unorthodox scenario where you're belly down and they are kneeling behind you.

Side control escapes have long been a favourite of mine, so I was intrigued how O'Connell would deal with that area of grappling. She starts off with scarf hold, then moves on to standard side control. Like O'Connell's elbow escape, she relies on strikes to open up space rather than leverage, in this case a shot to the groin. The attacker has one knee in and their hips high, which provides the opportunity to do so: as mentioned earlier, side control is more effective when the hips are low. O'Connell then immediately tries to kick her attacker away.

If both knees are in, O'Connell again tries to strike to make space. She then goes for an escape that is comparable to Roy Dean's spin out, which would be difficult to achieve without creating quite a lot of room first. Instead of spinning, she just reaches underneath to grab their far side and bridges, aiming to slip out that way. I would have expected the more typical bridging, framing and shrimping escapes, which tend to be the first options taught to beginner students.

There is then a section on how to defend against somebody controlling you from the guard, which is not something most people would expect in a self defence encounter. This doesn't involve a lot of finesse: to escape a closed guard if you have your head free, O'Connell recommends elbowing them then getting up. If they have pulled you down, she attacks the eyes and then does the same escape.

Against a skilled grappler, this is unlikely to succeed (as demonstrated in those early UFCs, where Royce Gracie was able to easily control his opponents off his back and avoid strikes). I'm also not sure if anybody other than an experienced grappler would try and use closed guard: O'Connell argues that the increasingly mainstream nature of the UFC might tempt even untrained attackers to give it a try.

The next few chapters cover submissions and their defences, divided into 'neck restraints' and 'joint locks'. First up is the triangle from guard (combining it with an armbar), then a triangle from mount, rolling back into a triangle from guard. She also covers the guillotine and finally a rear naked choke. In regards to joint locks, O'Connell chooses the armbar, kimura and americana, followed by some lower body attacks (sensibly warning about the dangers involved when training heel hooks). It's interesting that she uses BJJ terminology: nobody outside of BJJ or MMA would use 'kimura' or 'americana' to describe keylocks.

Two of the other variables that can be an element of self defence are weapons and multiple attackers. This is where some martial artists leap off into potentially dangerous realms of fantasy, including BJJ practitioners. In Royce Gracie’s book on self defence, he demonstrated both gun and knife disarms. I generally take any weapons disarms with a huge pinch of salt: I strongly doubt that I can react faster than a bullet or a knife if somebody has a weapon pressed against my ribs, particularly as the initiative is with the attacker. If I was going to train in weapons, I would look to something like the Dog Brothers. They try to apply the same training methodology of aliveness to weapons, in massive contrast to pretty much everybody else.

O’Connell does include some sections on defending against weapons on the ground, as well as multiple attackers, but she makes the key point that even if you become highly proficient at unarmed weapons defence, it is still something you should avoid relying upon. Here's what Matt Thornton has to say about weapons:

I do not dismiss the danger of blades. In fact I know just how dangerous they can be, and so does every other SBG Instructor. They are part of the curriculum, and they are addressed. But, I am very wary of people who talk about cutting arteries, and stabbing people in the guard, etc. Many times (not always) these people tend to be the kids that got picked on in school, lack a certain sense of self esteem, etc. I believe that people like this can be greatly helped through SPORTS. Whether it's boxing, wrestling, BJJ, Judo, NHB, etc. This type of athletic event can help someone like this gain real self esteem. But too often, instead of going down that route they I see them being drawn into the "streetfighting/ tactical" stuff. And I think this usually just increases their paranoia and fear, and eventually leads to anger.

This is why I think the sports paradigm is much healthier. The weaker members of our society are the ones that can use sports to improve their life the most. True self defense skills like awareness, maturity, lack of substance abuse, firearms, pepper spray, etc, can always be added. And should always be added. But the scared kids that get picked on are best helped through sports, and they are the ones I enjoy teaching the most because I have seen such a productive and great change that sports can bring to them

The last part of the book is on multiple attackers. Like weapons, it is incredibly difficult to muster any kind of adequate preparation for this scenario. O'Connell acknowledges this difficulty, describing the likely affects, such as tunnel vision and adrenaline. She closes off her book and DVD with a quick drill you could try, where two people hold pads to simulate multiple attackers (but again, as O'Connell states, it is really, really hard to come up with anything realistic).

O'Connell writes that in terms of her audience, she has three groups in mind: BJJ students interested in self defence, 'traditional' martial artists (which tends to refer to training methodology rather than age, given that wrestling and muay thai are millenia and centuries old respectively but not normally included in that group) intrigued by grappling and police officers. The first group is probably not going to be all that tempted by When The Fight Goes To The Ground, both because of O'Connell's lack of credentials in full-contact grappling and due to the market position of Gracie Combatives, which has been heavily publicised in the BJJ community since its release in 2009.

TMA students are a more likely target, although personally I would suggest that the best material for a student of something like aikido, JJJ or karate who wants to cross-train in something like BJJ is by Roy Dean, a judo, aikido, JJJ and BJJ black belt (specifically, his DVDs Art of the Wristlock and The White Belt Bible). Police officers would probably turn to Gracie Combatives as well, though the Gracie Academy has developed programs specifically for law enforcement (though I'm not sure if that is available on DVD).

When The Fight Goes To The Ground does have the advantage of being cheaper, at $12 rather than the $45 you would pay for Roy Dean's DVDs or the $119 it costs for Gracie Combatives (though both of those options are significantly longer than O'Connell's alternative). It might also appeal to those who prefer the quick reference of a book rather than having to load up a DVD. It would also of course be a useful supplement for any Can-ryu student looking to brush up on the groundfighting portion of their curriculum. Available to buy here (and in the UK, here)

Book Review - Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques (Marcelo Garcia, Marshal D. Carper & Glen Cordoza)

Thanks to Seymour for sending this book on to me for review: if for some reason you don't already know who he is, be sure to check out his awesome site, Meerkatsu

Short Review:This is a book aimed at competitors, presenting a methodical breakdown of Garcia's tactics for a jiu jitsu match. You'll learn takedowns, counters and re-counters, along with a well-structured path to certain submissions, particularly attacks from the back. Although Garcia makes a point of working on techniques that don't require strength, he does expect you to have speed, athleticism and aggression.

The selection of techniques reflects that ethos: Marcelo Garcia may be known for his big smile, but there is nothing friendly about attacks like the 'throat crush'. He also isn't directing his tips at beginners: after all, this is advanced jiu jitsu, so if you don't already have the basics, spend some more time developing your BJJ before you pick this up. Available to buy here (or in the US, here and here).

Full Review: When you ask people in BJJ who is the best grappler on the planet, two names will normally come up: Roger Gracie and Marcelo Garcia (though there is an increasing number who might say Rodolfo Vieira too). However, I haven't generally paid much attention to Garcia's output up until now, because I assumed his instructionals were too advanced for me. Garcia is an incredibly talented competitor with a knack for creativity. I'm an unfit hobbyist purple belt who still struggles to pass the guard.

It is therefore a little ironic that I find myself reviewing Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Techniques: I was concerned that I'd soon be lost in a sea of tangled legs and backflipping Brazilians. Fortunately, aside from a couple of more acrobatic techniques, this book doesn't expect you to be one of the Miyao brothers. Nevertheless, it is not intended for beginners, as in keeping with some other top instructionals that give you a personal take on BJJ (e.g., Saulo Ribeiro's fantastic first DVD set), you're expected to already know the basics. Like Saulo, Garcia offers some ideas to build on those basics, as well as a few alternatives, based on his personal game. There is also no discussion of escapes here: the only defence consists of counters meant to help you stay on the attack.

When I opened up Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Techniques, another Saulo product sprang to mind: Jiu Jitsu University. That's probably unsurprising, as Saulo's book was also by Victory Belt. They've gone for a similar layout here, with large pictures (normally six to a page at most), but it doesn't feel cramped. Most techniques will be presented from two angles, running simultaneously down the page, sometimes bolstered by a third angle presented within a smaller inset box. Occasionally there will also be a helpful close up, for such details as grips.

The book is arranged into six main sections: arm drags, establishing back control, submissions from back control, takedowns, attacking the guard and submissions. Garcia doesn't spend as much time as you might expect on options from the guard, instead referring the reader back to his previous book, The X Guard. I haven't read it, as I hardly ever use butterfly guard and never use x-guard, but given how often he directs you to go read The X Guard for more details, it doesn't sound like he is repeating any material from there.

Each of those main sections is subdivided into different colours at the edge of the page, with a main colour for the section above it. That's a format Victory Belt has used in the past, which helps your navigation through the book. For example, in attacking the guard, you start in the green 'breaking the closed guard', move through purple 'passing the closed guard', which shifts into yellow 'half guard passes' before becoming brown 'butterfly guard passes'.

Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques is introduced by former chess champion and current Marcelo Garcia black belt, Josh Waitzkin. The rest of the book is co-written by Glen Cordoza, a veteran of numerous Victory Belt releases, and The Cauliflower Chronicles author, purple belt Marshal D. Carper. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Waitzkin spends most of his introduction telling the reader how amazing Garcia is, which has some justification given his multiple world titles.

Waitzkin takes that further, however, with various stories that make Garcia sound like a superhero: he is able to masterfully pull off techniques he's never practiced before, he never gets caught in the same thing twice and he intuitively felt when he was in the best location for his new gym immediately upon walking through the door. He even almost leaps a tall building in a single bound, with a story about jumping across an eight foot expanse of water from a standing start.

Despite the gushing, it's an interesting introduction, providing you with insight into a great competitor. For example, there is an answer to a question you might well ask of somebody who has an extremely in-depth website detailing his every strategy for the world to see: aren't you worried your opponents are going to study your game? Apparently not. Garcia responds "If someone studies my game they will be entering my game. And I know it better than they ever will."

The discussion of MGinAction.com does not stop there, remaining a major presence in the book. Boxes entitled 'helpful hints' keep popping up through the text, which are little more than advertisements for the website. For example "For an efficient way to study the content, go to the 'InAction' tab and click on 'Load to Queue'" on p131. The extreme is reached with a two page MGinAction user-guide running through the key features on pp20-21. Although there is a seven day free trial available, the constant attempts to push you towards the website are a bit irksome

Update May 2013: I have since taken advantage of that free trial myself, resulting in this review of MGinAction.

Getting into the technique, Garcia kicks off with the armdrag (forty-six pages). Again like Jiu Jitsu University, there is a detailed introduction, where Garcia describes how the arm drag fits into his tournament strategy. Despite the fact I'm not a competitor, this made for interesting reading. The whole book follows that systematised approach with everything slotting together, including options for when you run into problems and common counters.

The arm drag starts with a variation for the gi, though Garcia notes he prefers nogi grips. He then stands up and demonstrates several methods of baiting wrist control: there is plenty of technique from the feet in Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques, another reason why this should appeal to competitors. That takes him right to the back.

If he can't manage to get the back from standing, or his opponent is simply much better standing than Garcia, there is also the option of arm dragging from a sitting position. This is the first of many techniques where Garcia puts his aggressive tactics into practice. He believes strongly that you need to always be on the attack, rather than playing a reactive, defensive game.

For his near grip arm drag, he scoots forward to get the arm, then launches himself backward to set up the transition to the back. After a few options for merging the arm drag with wrestling takedowns like the single leg and leg trip, Garcia combines his desire to constantly attack with a burst of athleticism. He literally jumps onto his opponent's back. The section then closes with a useful series entitled 'failed arm drag', where Garcia demonstrates how to follow up your technique if things go wrong, shifting into a double or single leg takedown.

[For more on Garcia's arm drag, here is a behind the scenes video from the Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques photoshoot, uploaded by co-author Marshal Carper]

Having got behind his opponent, Garcia spends the next section on establishing back control (sixty-eight pages). Interestingly, Garcia's attacking style means that he highlights the importance of the seat belt grip as opposed to hooking with the feet: he's willing to go on the offensive with one hook, or no hooks at all. As Garcia demonstrates later, his preferred submissions from the back are more reliant on your arms than your legs. In fact, Garcia actually says he prefers to have one hook rather than two, which is another reminder Garcia's book is not meant for white belts. You need to be very comfortable with the basics of back control to play a single hook game:

Regardless of the specifics, you always need to be prepared to go back to your techniques for establishing the second hook if necessary. With that said, the second hook is not necessarily vital in terms of control and finishing. The more I play the back position, the more I find myself preferring to attack with the seat belt and one hook, leaving my other leg free to stifle my opponent's counters by hooking his legs or by trapping his arms. This is an advanced way of approaching back control, and it hinges on your proficiency with the seatbelt.

Once again, the action starts from the feet, with Garcia standing behind his partner, arms wrapped around their waist. The first few techniques cover breaking wrist control, before Garcia gets acrobatic again. He leaps onto their back (whether or not they are leaning forwards) with either a jump or what he calls a 'crab ride'. A major advantage of being a seasoned and well-known competitor is that you can give specific examples where you've used a technique successfully. For the crab-ride, Garcia points to his ADCC 2005 victory over the much larger Ricco Rodriguez, where he used the crab-ride to collapse Rodriguez's base.

[For more on the crab ride, take a look at this blog post by Carper, which includes behind the scenes video from the Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques photoshoot]

Having finally got them onto the mat, there is still plenty of work to be done. Securing that second hook (for those of us who aren't yet comfortable with relying on just the one) can be a real pain, so Garcia has a number of options, along with counters to common escapes. There are also lots of techniques for getting to the back off your opponent's single leg, when they try to escape side control and finally from a butterfly sweep. Almost half of the book is dedicated to reaching the back and then choking your opponent out. So, if you're a senior blue or purple looking to improve that part of your game, Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques is sure to help.

My favourite section is probably the third, submissions from back control (twenty-eight pages). That's because Garcia hones in on just two techniques, both of which I regularly use (or rather, try to use) in sparring: the rear naked choke followed by the bow and arrow choke. Garcia's introduction echoes his major rival for the title of 'world's best grappler', Roger Gracie. Like Roger's cross-collar choke from mount, everybody knows about the Garcia RNC, but he still makes it work at the highest level. I especially liked his answer to the unspoken question: what's the secret?

The truth is that there is no magic secret to being successful with the rear naked choke. No sleight of hand or ancient ki technique. Jiu-jitsu is not a mystical art. There are no hidden moves. You already know why I have been so successful with the rear naked choke. It is the same reason any grappler is good with any submission: practice.

Garcia insists that if at any point you see their neck is exposed, you should immediately go for the RNC. It doesn't matter if you have your hooks in or not: if you can get your arm in place, attack. This contradicts the 'position before submission' principle, as Garcia acknowledges, but he has empirical evidence that the RNC is an exception. In the 2003 ADCC, Garcia credits that almost catch-as-catch-can spin on the RNC for his victory over Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro. Having shrugged off Garcia's hook, Shaolin thought he was about to escape, but instead got choked unconscious.



If you've watched Garcia's DVD instructionals, much of this will look familiar, but it is very useful to have it all laid out methodically in a book. The anatomy of the choke is explained in detail, followed by some variations on the finish, along with three different options for trapping their arms with your legs (including one I haven't seen before, where you almost put them in a kimura as well as trapping the arm). That's a great strategy if you can get it, as then they only have one arm left to defend against both of yours.

Should the RNC be unavailable, Garcia suggests you try the reliable bow and arrow choke instead. As he puts it, "if I begin to feel that I am not going to be able to finish the submission, I can usually return to back control with little difficulty." That's as opposed to something like an armbar from the back, which has a much greater risk of losing position if you can't land the submission.

Takedowns (thirty-eight pages) comes next, with a heavy focus on wrestling. Garcia's thinking on this is in keeping with what I've heard from other instructors I respect, like Jude Samuel: judo isn't as applicable to nogi, whereas wrestling functions well whether or not there is fabric to grab. Garcia also feels that learning how to incorporate judo takes much longer than adding wrestling, so he'd have to take too much time away from his core, jiu jitsu.

[Garcia talks more about why he chose wrestling over judo in another behind the scenes video, here]

Garcia's preference is the single leg, but he notes that you should always drive deep enough for the double. That way, if you miss the double, the single is still there. Normally a good opponent will sprawl, so Garcia includes advice on countering that defence. He then moves on to a discussion of the clinch, switching to a rash guard and shorts to make those grips clearer.

Previously, he was in a white gi, whereas his partner Henrique wore blue. In this brief nogi sequence, they confusingly wear the same outfit, which makes it more difficult to distinguish limbs and hands. There is a slight difference in that Marcelo's rash guard has long sleeves and Henrique's does not, but it would have been better if they'd made a clearer distinction, as with the gi techniques.

Although he is famous for his x-guard and butterfly, Garcia notes that he always wants to be in the top position. To get there, you must first be confident attacking the guard (sixty-five pages): given his views on aggression, I'm sure it is no accident Garcia went with 'attacking' rather than 'passing'. He also writes that "rather than cover a bunch of techniques you already know, I included my method [...] My goal is not to reteach basic techniques but rather to help you see jiu-jitsu the way that I do". Again, Beginners don't already know those foundational techniques, so shouldn't be reading this book.

The guard break he starts with appears at first to be a basic standing one, but there is a clear danger of being swept. Interestingly, Garcia does not control a sleeve to prevent them grabbing his foot: "I do not waste time hunting for grips. I press my hands against Henrique's chest and lift my hips to jump to my feet." So in that sense, it's actually more advanced. Developing the sensitivity, base and timing to pull this off without getting knocked to the mat is difficult.

Garcia has a number of tips on how to avoid the sweep, along with a couple of variations, such as stepping on their bicep. He also deals with the common problem of your partner following you up as you stand. For all of these guard breaks, Garcia ends up in the same position, jamming one knee to the mat with his same side hand, while the other pushes into their hip.

That sets up his passing series, which will appeal to anyone who likes to pass by driving the knee through. There isn't anything especially fancy here, sticking with a fairly orthodox open guard and half guard. That's in contrast to the comprehensive approach of Jiu Jitsu University, which was stuffed with a considerable variety of guards, each with its own section on passing.

The only guard that is singled out like that here is butterfly guard. Reading this section also made me realise why I almost never use butterfly: Garcia points out that "unlike the closed guard or half guard, in the butterfly guard, your opponent is not trying to hold you in place." Holding them in place is exactly what I want to do, hence why I gravitate more towards half guard, spider guard and closed guard. A similar dynamism is present in the passing, such as the flashy 'tornado pass' where Garcia flips over their knees.

Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques closes with a sixth chapter on submissions (sixty-six pages). His opening statement is interesting:

Sadly, many grapplers railroad themselves into only attacking with a handful of the traditional submissions. The fundamental techniques are fundamental for a reason, and they should not be abandoned, but too many submission opportunities are overlooked. Those are valuable chances to win the fight, chances that should not be ignored.

Rather than review the submissions you likely already know or have seen in other books, I have collected an assortment of my favorite moves that may seem unorthodox but are still effective and useful. [...] In showing you these attacks, my goal is to expand the way you think about jiu-jitsu.

That's all well and good if you're Marcelo Garcia and you're already a master of the fundamentals. However, it's a potentially dangerous mindset if you're a fresh young white belt, who might take it as a license to spend all their time working on low percentage techniques. I'm much more comfortable with the Roger Gracie style of fundamentals above all else.

I was surprised to find that Garcia's first technique was the 'throat crush', which sounds brutish and crude. The submission works by crushing the windpipe, which is not something I ever want to do to my training partners. Having said that, I'm sure it's effective. Garcia uses it as a way to set up the guillotine, something for which he's become increasingly famous in recent years. That submission is explored in depth, with four ways of getting a guillotine as a counter to the single leg, plus some other set-ups, like a mounted guillotine off baiting the underhook during a pass.

Garcia is also known for the north-south choke, which he calls "one of my all-time favourite submissions." If you watch the ADCC 2007, you can see this working at the highest level: Garcia finishes both Mario Miranda and Pablo Popovitch with the north-south choke (check it out here). There's a good explanation of it in the book, although this is another technique that takes sensitivity to pull off, particularly in the gi. Garcia recommends you practice the north-south choke nogi first, as it's easier without the added friction of the gi.

The armbar from mount is covered in detail, followed by a few omoplata applications. Garcia shows how you can land it from butterfly guard, off your opponent's sprawl and when countering armbar and side control escapes. Even better, Garcia hones in on specific defences to the omoplata, like the forward roll and the bridge, as well as how to break their grip when they try to prevent your finish.

Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques is made for experienced competitors who want to gain a greater understanding of Marcelo Garcia's tournament strategy. It is also of benefit to hobbyists like me who are working on developing their ability to get to the back and apply a choke. Here's another behind-the-scenes video from co-author Marshal Carper, where Garcia talks about that preference for attacking the back:



There used to be a trend of instructionals throwing out the term 'advanced', like the old releases by Pedro Carvalho, but the content didn't justify the adjective. Times have changed, so if you're a beginner, you would be much better served by books like Jiu Jitsu University, or DVDs like Blue Belt Requirements. For everyone else, Marcelo Garcia's new release is available to buy here (or in the US, here and here).

Book Review - Essential BJJ (Marc Walder)

Short Review: This is a relatively compact and well illustrated introduction to BJJ, with details on all the basic techniques a beginner will need in the early stages of their training. Walder packs in plenty of large, clear photographs, coupled with sensible advice on how to approach training and execute specific techniques. Available to buy here (or in the US, here).

Full Review: Last Christmas, one of the numerous BJJ books I received was by an instructor based here in the UK. Walder is a pioneer in British BJJ, and among the first Brits to venture abroad to learn from the Gracies (I think Rick Young was the very first, in 1989). His offering appeared a few years after Ricardo Da Silva's book (BJJ: A Training Manual, which I reviewed earlier), its format closer to the typically bigger dimensions of most BJJ manuals, meaning that unlike Silva's book, you would struggle to fit this in your pocket.

Having said that, it is still smaller than the average BJJ book, because Walder is economical with photographs. There are plenty of them, attractively laid out and large, with details highlighted on certain techniques (e.g., trapping their lower leg with your foot for the bridge and roll). In contrast to every other instructional book I’ve read up to this point, the pictures are not set into squares: instead, each photo is carefully fitted within a sequence, so that heads, knees and arms are slotted under backs, as well as around the text. That is possible because they’ve all been cropped, so only the demonstrating figures remain, rather than the usual superfluous background of a gym and mats.

A minor flaw was that Walder and his uke didn’t stick to the same gi for the whole book: most of it is spent with Walder in a dark brown gi, but towards the end he switches to white, while his partner has a couple of different colours (presumably because the photographs were shot over a long period). I much prefer Beneville’s consistent, neat approach, which is one person in white and the other in blue for the entire book. Helpfully, that also means Beneville can refer to people simply as ‘white’ and ‘blue’.

In his opening section, Walder makes the important point that “simply reading this book is not enough, as knowing and doing are totally different concepts.” As he goes on to say, “to become proficient in BJJ and have a true understanding of how each technique works, it is necessary to couple your mental knowledge with physical action.” I also liked his emphasis on staying relaxed and focusing on technique, which is something I very much strive to do in training.

Walder also finds time to sketch out the history, though less successfully than Da Silva and Semple, and not up to the benchmark standard (judo quibbles aside) of John Danaher’s work in Mastering Jujitsu. The dubious myth about jiu jitsu originating 'with the monks in India' is repeated, granting jiu jitsu an unlikely five thousand year lineage. Still, this is a widespread version of BJJ's past, which you'll see on any number of club websites, so it does have plenty of precedent. The old story about Helio being so sickly and frail that he had to learn BJJ in a purely visual fashion also pops up, but that’s understandable given Walder’s time at the Gracie Academy in Torrance.

I preferred Walder's glossary, a great idea I haven't seen in any other BJJ book (though of course I don't own them all, so it may well be more common than I imagine). BJJ terminology is rather fluid, and it also has to cope with an extremely intricate set of techniques: hence why I made sure to include my own glossary back when I first began writing a BJJ blog. Walder has a few strange ones, like the description of ‘cage fighting’ as a ‘UFC event’, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Walder titles his work Essential BJJ, which indicates that it is going to be a review of the fundamentals. He does a good job on that score, presenting an overview of how to approach training, safety, belt ranks and the basic positions of BJJ in his first chapter, before gradually progressing to the essential building blocks of BJJ. Judging by what Meg writes on her blog (she’s a purple belt under Walder), self defence is important in Walder’s organisation, so it is unsurprising that he includes the headlock in his summary of BJJ positions.

The next chapter, 'Basic Movements', is excellent for beginners. After covering standing up in base, Walder runs through bridging and shrimping, first solo, then with a partner, before demonstrating how those two motions work in combination, with the example of the elbow escape from mount. Both the photography and the accompanying text is clear and concise.

The one part I didn’t like is when Walder's roots under Rorion make themselves felt, when he gets to guard passing. Walder decides to include the Gracie Gift pass without warning about the danger of the triangle, just like Rorion's discredited explanation on Gracie Jiu Jitsu Basics. As Roy Dean showed in No Gi Essentials, it isn't difficult to correct that error by hiding the elbow, but this key detail is missing from Walder's description. Extending the arm like that makes you vulnerable to a triangle, especially if you're a beginner.

Having said that, Walder does note “the basic pass you learn in this book will not be the final one you end up using, but you have to have a starting point.” That indicates the thinking is to introduce the technique, then bring in fine details later in class. It is also followed by a much safer standing pass, tucking the elbow inside your knee.

Walder moves on to a chapter entitled ‘Maintaining the Top Position’, which continues the progression from passing the guard into side control. Walder begins with the kimura and americana (which he refers to as a keylock) from side control, before progressing to an armlock. Having covered three submissions, it is time to move to mount. Usefully, the accompanying pictures are from an overhead perspective, which makes the transition much easier to see: Walder also makes sure to show both the step over and knee slide methods.

You might think it would finish there, but living up to the chapter title, Walder provides comprehensive coverage of potential ‘what if’ scenarios, running through five common situations that can occur when in mount. Although the mount is arguably the most dominant position in BJJ, it can be tough to stay there, especially as a beginner. The instruction here will definitely help those new to the sport develop their top game.

For some reason, the previous pattern of relatively short, focused sections is disrupted by the next chapter, ‘Attack and Defence’. Instead, Walder groups a whole range of positions into a single chapter, with attacks and defences from guard, side control and mount, before finishing up with some takedowns. It does have subheadings, but I would have preferred it if the careful organisation seen earlier in the book had continued.

Still, the content remains good, with three attacks from the mount, followed by two defences from under side control. This slots together with the transitions to mount Walder demonstrated earlier, as they act as counters to first the step over, then the knee slide. The first of those is among my favourite side control escapes, which I was originally taught by Tran back at RGA HQ: Walder does it a little differently, having his arm already high up into the armpit, ready to roll to the top.

From there Walder progresses through guard, describing the classic attack sequence of kimura, guillotine and sit-up sweep. He follows up with another standard series, this time from the collar and elbow grip, detailing the armbar, cross choke, triangle (interestingly, and again like Rorion, this is shown as a counter to the Gracie Gift pass demonstrated earlier) and finally scissor and push sweeps. The chapter then switches to headlock escapes, before finishing with two basic takedowns, the hip throw and the double leg.

In Walder’s concluding segment, he notes the importance of repetition, and also developing leverage. As in the introduction, he emphasises that above all, it should be fun: that’s easy to forget, but it’s essential that you do actually enjoy what you’re doing, rather than it being something to suffer through. There’s also a brief little segment on Walder’s own history in the sport: those personal biographies in BJJ books are always interesting to read (and sometimes downright hilarious, like the bizarre offering included in Bravo’s Mastering the Rubber Guard).

Though there are a couple of minor details I disliked, Essential BJJ would be a good choice for any beginners looking for a solid instructional book on basic BJJ. Walder examines all the core techniques you could want at the early stages of your training, and also lays out some useful theoretical principles, like the fundamental importance of staying relaxed and focusing on technique above strength. Available to buy here (or in the US, here).

Book Review - BJJ: A Training Manual (Ricardo Da Silva & Ed Semple)

Short Review: As far as I'm aware, this is the only BJJ instructional book on the market which will fit in your coat pocket. It is also one of the very few by a BJJ instructor based in the UK, with an interesting take on BJJ history from a Sports Science PhD. The technical explanations rely heavily on text, rather than the exhaustive photography of a series like Ed Beneville. In many respects, this is a book reminiscent of Mastering Jujitsu, so fans of Renzo's book might well enjoy this too. Available to buy here.

Full Review: Last year, I spent a few months training under Ricardo at Nova Força in Surrey. While checking out his old website, I saw this book linked down the bottom left as 'our training manual'. It's written by Ricardo and Ed Semple, the owner of the sadly defunct Sleeping Storm Dojo, Nova Força's old home.

What got me interested in actually buying it was one of those Amazon 'look inside' previews, because that provided an opportunity to look at the opening section on BJJ history. As books on BJJ history are rare, I immediately became keen to pick this up.

BJJ: A Training Manual was one of the various books under the tree at Christmas last year. The history isn't quite as extensive as I'd hoped, but nevertheless it does provide a different perspective. Semple has a PhD in Sports Science, which he brings to bear in discussions throughout the book. He also has a black belt in judo, as well as training (at least at the time) under Ricardo in BJJ.

Nevertheless, it would appear that Semple (who I assume is the main writer here, with Ricardo providing technical input, but I could be wrong) is not afraid to criticise judo. I was surprised to see him say on page ten that "at this time [1900] judo had virtually no ground fighting techniques." While that is commonly stated in histories of BJJ, the denigration of judo groundwork is often a point of contention for judoka: I need only look at the comments to my own history post for some examples.

Semple views BJJ as a means to return judo to 'the streets'. He also attributes Maeda with the progression often claimed by Helio, saying that "Maeda refined the judo skills he had learnt so that he would win fights against opponents of all styles, sizes and abilities. Being relatively small, he knew that it was on the floor that he would dominate and win." Semple also emphasises the central importance of competition to BJJ, noting on page thirteen that:

What defined both Maeda and the Gracie family, and therefore their skill as fighters, was their willingness to fight anyone from any background. They believed absolutely in their skill and technique and thus they had the confidence and skill to take on and defeat anyone and everyone. Gracie jiu-jitsu schools throughout their history have issued a challenge to fighters from all styles and schools to come and fight them without rules. It is in these no-rules fights, or what were to become known as vale tudo (Portuguese for 'anything goes') fights, that the Gracie family and their students would evaluate, refine and develop the techniques. The family had little time for stylized patterns of practice or complex technical movements that helped a student to gain a higher belt or grade, they had one interest and one only – the development and execution of techniques that would defeat their opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible in the arena.

The question of size is another interesting point raised by Semple's history. As I've discussed recently, there is a long-standing myth that Helio was much smaller than those who came before him, necessitating a radically new approach to the techniques he learned. I remain dubious, and if Semple's statistics are accurate, that only strengthens my opinion.

Semple writes on page thirteen that "Carlos Gracie was a similar fighter to Maeda because, like him, he was relatively small at 61kg (135lb)." If Carlos was only 61kg, then it seems highly unlikely that Helio would require a different methodology, because both men clearly would not be able to rely on strength and size. I was surprised to see Semple go on to say that Carlson was also small, stating on page fourteen:

Carlson was also relatively small at 72.4kg (160lb), but he is acknowledged as one of the best Gracie fighters ever and as having had a huge influence on the technical development of Gracie jiu-jitsu. He altered many of the techniques his uncles had taught him because of his small stature and relative weakness and was to refine and develop many of these techniques so that they became even les reliant on strength and conditioning. He is quoted as saying that he could not get out of certain of the positions that he had been taught by his uncles so he had to invent new techniques to help him to escape from them.

Then again, that is also a little confusing. If Carlson was bigger than both his father and uncle, why would he need to modify their techniques to work for a smaller fighter? Either way, I thought this was intriguing, given that I've always imagined Carlson was a relatively large man, seeing how he is regarded as responsible for reaffirming the importance of athleticism in BJJ (something Semple discusses later). I guess the pictures of him in later life, where he certainly doesn't look small, give a misleading impression of his build in the early years. I've seen a few earlier pictures, like around the time Carlson fought Santana the first time, but assumed he bulked up shortly after that point.

Semple acknowledges the importance of judo, saying on page fifteen that "the influence of judo on Brazilian jiu-jitsu is immense and a fundamental part of whence it originates." However, he also states on page seventeen that BJJ has "a more sophisticated ground game," while judo has "become less and less effective on the ground," as a result of competition rules. In judo, "this formality, the restrictive rules and the move to emphasise stand-up techniques has diluted its effectiveness in the mixed martial arts," according to Semple, By contrast, "Brazilian jiu-jitsu has developed into an art that defines effective ground fighting and, as a result, is an essential part of mixed martial arts competition."

It is a comparatively brief history, but certainly more extensive than most other BJJ books, with the exception of Mastering Jujitsu, still the best combination of history with technique. I enjoyed Semple's unusual viewpoint, and for me it was the selling point of the book (which is also relatively inexpensive).

There are a few problems that run throughout the text, which appear to be down to printing errors. For example, there are no apostrophes. Instead, the text just has a space. The same thing happens with special charaters, like on 'Mata Leão'. In other places, letters are bunched together, though this was fairly infrequent.

As the book is text-heavy, that makes those lapses in formatting more noticeable. Rather than mainly describing techniques through illustrations, Semple and Da Silva prefer to explain each move step-by-step in large chunks of prose. There are photographs as well, but nothing like as many as, say, Ed Beneville's densely packed volumes. This has its advantages: BJJ: A Training Manual is much smaller than the other instructional books I own, meaning that it is the only one which I could easily carry in my bag on the train, or even a coat pocket.

The authors cover off a number of basic drills in the first chapter, like shrimping, but generally just a couple of pictures. As before, it mainly relies on text. The chapter also begins another general trend, which is the importance of physical conditioning and taking care of your body. Unlike many instructionals, such as No Gi Essentials, Semple and Da Silva advocate bridging off your head, like a wrestler. This is because it is a great exercise for strengthening your neck: the authors emphasise that BJJ is designed for practical fighting, so you need to be in shape.

Indeed, the authors then go further: BJJ is for fighting everyone: "Many of the techniques you will learn have not just been developed so that you can fight other Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters, but so that such fighters are also effective against other styles." That leads into the next chapter, on takedowns, as you need to get your opponent to the ground. All the usual techniques are discussed, such as the double-leg, along with defences like the sprawl.

Chapter Four explores the guard, starting with 'basic guard' (which is what I would call closed guard). Butterfly guard follows, as does spider guard, then submissions. Semple and Da Silva run through the classic trio of armbar, triangle and omoplata, choosing to demonstrate the triangle off spider guard.

I found their description of the other fundamental submission, a cross choke, a little confusing. This is because it contradicts what I've learned in class. Here's how the book describes it:

Place your hand palm up underneath the collar of his gi and drive the hand as deep as possible. It is important that your hand is on the opposite side of your partner's neck so that your arm crosses his body. Your fingers are inside the collar of the gi but your thumb is outside the collar. This gives you a good grip. You then do exactly the same with the other hand on the other side of your partner's body. Make sure that you have a really deep grip and then simply pull down on his gi and open your elbows outwards. This will pull his head forwards toward you and drive the blade of your forearms against his neck. This will cut off his air supply and will force him to submit.

The specific part I'm referring to is flaring the elbows to complete the choke. I had thought that was a mistake, as it makes it easier to defend the submission: you simply wrap over the arms and drive them together, which blocks the choke. That is why I have normally seen instructors emphasise twisting your grips to block off their arteries, which is more difficult to defend.

Chapter Five moves on to the half guard, first showing how to get up on your side from the bottom. On top, Da Silva and Semple plump for the shoulder pressure pass, before explaining two submissions, a kimura from underneath and an arm triangle on top. Passing the guard is up next, and unfortunately it kicks off with a pet hate of mine.

Page sixty-four suggests digging your elbows into your partners' inner thighs to force their guard open, basically using brute force and pain compliance. It is a legitimate technique, but I personally dislike it: I find Saulo's technical approach much more appealing. However, digging the elbows in seems to fit with the tough, no-nonsense attitude of Semple and Da Silva's book.

Da Silva and Semple follow with a far more pleasant alternative from standing, where you control their arm before you get your feet, then push on their knee to open the guard. The chapter closes with an open guard pass, pushing the opponent's feet to their head and passing around their legs.

The focus then shifts to a chapter on side control, covering both the basics of the position and a few submission attacks. As is common with numerous other instructionals, knee-on-belly and north-south are treated as subsets of side control, with several arm bars from each of those positions.

Semple makes the statement on page seventy-three that "Brazilian jiu-jitsu has evolved into a much more complex and comprehensive fighting art on the floor than judo has." Again, as Semple is a black belt in judo himself, it is interesting that he feels it necessary to make this criticism (though it is one many BJJers would agree with). However, as the next chapter on the mount demonstrates, Semple and Da Silva are not blind to BJJ's flaws. The most glaring of these is striking, something for which a BJJ fighter is ill-equipped. As they go on to state, "the complete fighter must be able to fight standing up as well as on the floor."

Chapter Eight covers the mount and its submissions: the authors decided to take the armbar and a cross choke. Chapter Nine is similarly straightforward, demonstrating how to take the back, then secure a rear naked choke. That leads into two other powerful submissions from the back, the bow and arrow choke, then finally an armbar.

After all those finishing holds, Semple and Da Silva emphasise in the next chapter that submissions aren't everything. Instead, they cover sweeps, which also provides them with the opportunity to make an essential point about attitude in training:

Do not think that you always have to finish and submit your partner during practice. This can be counter-productive, especially if your partner is less skilled than you and therefore relatively easy to finish. One of the best drills you can do in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is to fight but with no finishing techniques, so that you and your partner and constantly fighting and striving for better positions from which to control one another.

That fits in perfectly with the philosophy I have always tried to follow in BJJ, as exemplified by my favourite thread of all time. As gratifying as tapping people can be, it does not necessarily result in a fulfilling or worthwhile training experience, especially if it becomes your only goal in class.

The chapter kicks off with the 'hugging sweep', which is a variation on the flower sweep. The motion is the same, but the difference appears to be in the control: their arm is across their body, clamped in place by reaching around their back and pulling them close. This is also how I first learned the flower sweep at RGA: Kev's more recent class made the technique seem far less complex.

Semple and Da Silva continue with a flower sweep off an armbar, before completing that segment with a basic sweep from butterfly guard. The final technique is unusual, even though it is normally the first sweep you learn: the ankle grab. The surprise element is that the authors do not suggest you push on the hips or into the stomach. Instead, they open their legs wide and press just above the knees.

Escapes are covered next, with a selection of defences to the triangle and armbar, then trap and roll from mount, brought to a close by tips on freeing yourself from back mount. There are also two important theoretical points, at the stard and end of the chapter. First, the authors comment that:

in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as in any other sport, you need to have some humility and not be too self-important to be submitted by your partners. Of course, nobody wants to be submitted, but you must put yourself in difficult situations to develop the skills necessary to cope with them.

Second, Da Silva and Semple make a recommendation I think is essential to keep in mind, and it is something I try to do after every spar: ask questions. While it can occasionally feel a bit awkward, especially if you're a beginner, getting feedback from sparring partners is hugely beneficial.

The last two chapters are entirely different, as they do not discuss technique. Instead, they focus on nutrition and the correct approach to training. Chapter Twelve is called 'Eat Like A BJJ Fighter', breaking down the main constituents of a good BJJ diet, like water, carbohydrates, protein and so on. There was also a potentially useful point on eating a small, protein rich meal, if your class times mean you always end up coming home late.

Chapter Thirteen is similarly entitled 'Train Like A BJJ Fighter', and begins with another interesting point: according to the authors, health and fitness are not the same thing. Health is judged by indicators like cholesterol, diet and blood pressure. Semple writes that, by contrast, "fitness tests will look at how quickly you can run or what weight you can lift." That leads into the point that even if you may gain fitness from BJJ, "only a healthy lifestyle will help you to stay healthy."

The focus in that closing chapter in on fitness, so the authors discuss class elements like the warm-up, drilling, sparring, and the all-important warm-down, something far too many classes forget to include. From both a personal and historical perspective, this part of the book was also notable for the pictures. The old dojo at Sleeping Storm is no more, but many of the people you'll see in these pictures, including the one near the start of the review, are still training with Ricardo at Nova Força. I'm guessing that the final picture, which is captioned 'the founders of Brazilian jiu jitsu UK', refers to the club, rather than the advent of the sport in this country (as that title would rightly fall to someone like Maurição Gomes or Chen Morales, or perhaps Arlans Siqueira).

This is a short, easily portable book, with the relatively unique selling point of coming from a UK BJJ instructor, who also happens to have been one of the first in the country. There are details on history, diet and training approach, along with plenty of basic techniques, explained thoroughly through text, with a few accompanying photos. If you liked Mastering Jujitsu, you may well like this too. Available to buy here.

Book Review - Passing the Guard (Ed Beneville & Tim Cartmell)

Short Review: Everything you could ever want to know about passing the guard is covered in this book. Opening the guard from standing or kneeling, dealing with grips, countering submissions, beating the lockdown, solo drills and of course a huge number of different passes are all included. As this is by Ed Beneville, that is all described in copious detail, well-illustrated by masses of clear photographs and helpful accompanying text.

Beneville's first volume is justly regarded as one of the best BJJ instructional books on the market, and with this second edition, it is now even better: available to buy here.

Full Review: Passing the Guard was originally written in 2001 and released a year later, to widespread acclaim. Top BJJ blogger Aesopian has referred to it as his "favourite BJJ book of all time", typical of the high praise Beneville's first publication received (another high profile BJJ blogger, Val Worthington, also has a connection to the book, in that she was involved in the editing process).

I was keen to get hold of this back when I initially started buying instructionals, but by that point, it had become a rare prize, with the accompanying inflated price tag. It was already a brilliant book when first released in 2002, when the authors Ed Beneville and Tim Cartmell were both still purple belts. They have each since received their black belt, so you can imagine just how much more information they are able to offer now.

Beneville began revising his modern classic some time ago: I've been eagerly waiting for the second edition. It finally hit the shelves earlier this year, expanded with new photography and the helpful flow-charts first seen in Strategic Guard (which in turn may well have taken its cue from Mastering the Rubber Guard). Like previous volumes, those flow-charts appear at the end of every chapter, concisely summarising the preceding contents and the various connections between each technique and situation.

The authors make the important note that "this book is not a substitute for training, nor for the feedback of someone who knows what he is talking about." This should always be kept in mind when reading or watching instructional material: your instructor is always the best person to talk to if you are having technical problems in class. Another essential point is that you shouldn't give up on techniques just because you can't immediately get them to work. As Beneville puts it, "all of the techniques in this book work, but none of them work when poorly executed."

For those who haven't read any of Beneville's books before (I review the other two here and here), he has developed an excellent format. Firstly, the photography is clear, with one guy always wearing a blue gi while the other wears white. This is a big help for the textual descriptions, as Beneville can just write 'blue' or 'white' to refer to each person, rather than confusing the issue by using their name (as Saulo does in his book), or something like "person on top".

Secondly, there are a number of simple symbols added to the pictures to show the direction of flow, emphasise details or show a tangential option. This is the same system as in the other two books, and is explained at the beginning of Passing the Guard. Each chapter also includes an insightful introduction, running through central principles, along with things like competition strategy.

As with every instructional BJJ book I've ever read, the first chapter is my favourite, which is unsurprising given I'm mainly interested in the absolute fundamentals. This is especially true of guard passing, because as I've mentioned many times in the blog, that is by far the weakest part of my game.

Chapter one is entitled basics (25 pages), at first emphasising two key factors, balance and sensitivity. Beneville moves on to posture and base, which interestingly appears to have a sequence of photographs from his competition history to illustrate a point. I'm not sure if Beneville is the first to include what is effectively competition footage in a book, but that has always been the mark of a good instructional video, so adding it to the book medium is an innovative step forward.

However, the opening chapter also brought up one of the few elements I dislike about Beneville's book series, which is the inclusion of what I would call 'dirty' moves. Beneville often puts forward somewhat disreputable techniques as a viable option, which in this case is the method of digging your elbow into your partner to open the guard. Even worse, he continues with a detailed exploration of the 'can-opener', a form of neck crank.

While both can undoubtedly be an effective method of beginning your pass, I don't feel comfortable hurting my training partners. I also don't want to rely on overcoming somebody's pain threshold. I much prefer Saulo Ribeiro's approach, where he talks about treating your training partners like they're "your best friend," always relying on smooth technique rather than crude pain compliance.

[Update: Tim Cartmell, the co-author, provides his reasoning for including those techniques here]

The next chapter is all about passing from the knees (76 pages). Beneville spends a lot of time going over the smash pass, with variations and counters, such as what to do if they try to stiff-arm you. That flows into coverage of the 'scissor guard', which is useful: at least in my experience, it's very common you'll find they manage to get a knee in as you're looking to pass, which is what this segment aims to overcome. Common passes like the double underhooks also crop up, along with some potential problems, like how to prevent your partner from rolling out into the turtle position.

Standing passes (52 pages) is less geared towards specific techniques, instead focusing on how to deal with what your opponent is attempting to accomplish. For example, while the previous chapter included sections like 'cross knee pass', 'scissors pass #4' and 'double underhooks pass', chapter three has subtitles like 'freeing the arms' and 'feet on the hips', along with plenty of detail on 'standing and opening'.

Presumably that is because if you're able to open the guard from standing, you may well transition into a pass from the knees. I prefer the approach in the third chapter, as it is probably a better mindset to react to a particular situation, rather than insist on going for a certain technique no matter what your partner is doing. In other words, taking what they give you.

Chapter four on defences and counters (48 pages) follows in a similar vein. When standing, the big worry is getting swept, whereas on your knees, you're in danger from submissions. Beneville and Cartmell run through defences to all the common attacks, like armbars, cross-chokes and triangles, as well as typical grips, like an overwrap on the arm or a hold on your gi trousers. Those standing sweeps are covered too, along with some further responses to particular situations, like the de la Riva hook.

This chapter also has a far higher proportion of pictures from the original edition of Passing the Guard, so presumably that also means it hasn't been altered as much as the previous segments. Like in earlier Beneville releases and in Saulo's book, possible mistakes are also described. That threw up some submissions that looked like fun: for example, the 'leg strangle', where you simply secure a collar grip, then throw your leg over your head and push.

Half guard (30 pages) again began with an excellent treatment of the basics, as is true for all the chapters in this book. For half guard, that is how to flatten your opponent on their back, which is naturally then followed by several passes. As in previous chapters, methods of dealing with what your partner is doing to prevent your technique pops up too.

The most interesting example of that is several pages on countering the lockdown. Beneville had earlier shown some familiarity with techniques popularised by 10th Planet JJ, which is clearly something he has been aware of for many years: the pictures for the first lockdown escape are from the original edition back in 2001.

That begins with the 'Indian death lock', which I've seen discussed before, and presumably isn't all that high percentage (Beneville mentions "this one is painful for both players, but it is worse for the guy on the bottom.") However, there are new methods for the second edition, which look less risky, with both early and late defences.

Beneville also includes submissions from the top, with chokes, armlocks and kneebars. Half guard is a position in which both participants have various attacks open to them, so it makes sense to include them in a book on guard passing. As Beneville notes on the chapter flowchart, "your chances of successfully applying one increase if your opponent is concerned with you passing his guard."

Less common is trying attacks from inside the guard (16 pages), as detailed in chapter six. Generally this isn't too effective, especially as your primary aim should be passing the guard, but there are several possible submissions. The ezekiel choke can work, or potentially a neck crank against butterfly guard. Again, that is normally illegal, not to mention dangerous. It's also a rather dick move to pull against training partners.

In his defence, Beneville does put up a big red warning on the same page (p235, if you would like to judge the legitimacy of the technique yourself), stating:

Be extra cautious with any submissions involving the spinal column! The potential for serious injury must be taken seriously. It is one thing to hyper extend an elbow and quite another to damage the spine!

If this was a book about self-defence, I could understand the inclusion of neck cranks. Yet that isn't the impression I get from the introduction, where Beneville says "the rules and strategies discussed throughout the book were written with Brazilian jiu jitsu sport competition in mind." Even if neck cranks are 'part of the art', I'd rather they hadn't been included here. I would hate to think white belts are reading that section in Passing the Guard, slipping over the warning, and then seriously injuring their classmates in sparring.

However, such attacks in the guard tend to be rare: the higher percentage option is to go for leglocks, which make up the majority of this segment. If you have the original edition of Passing the Guard, this chapter will probably look very familiar. Every technique, except for the toe hold at the end (which incidentally also gets a warning), uses pictures from the first release, so I assume it hasn't been significantly changed for 2009.

Along with neck cranks, this section also includes another example of Beneville's occasional tendency to cover especially dangerous techniques, triangle leg control. This is currently outlawed from BJJ competition. Presumably the reason Beneville shows a banned technique is because it was covered in the previous edition. As Beneville explains:

Since the first edition of this book was published, this version of the ankle lock has been banned from many BJJ competitions. This is considered reaping the outside of the knee and apparently that is too dangerous. You cannot wrap your outside leg over and across your opponent's leg from this position. This technique is effective, however, and it is part of the art.

Chapter seven also focuses on submissions, this time from the turtle position (44 pages). This reminded me of what I'd seen at the Roy Dean seminar, with lots of rolling attacks, in-depth discussion of the clock choke and details on the crucifix. Finally, Beneville closes the book with a brief chapter on solo drills (12 pages), designed to help you practice the sometimes difficult motions required for certain passes (e.g., head springs and modified cartwheels).

My reservations about neck cranks aside (a very small proportion of the book), I can see why Aesopian rates Passing the Guard: it is comprehensive, clear and concise, reaching the same high standard as all of Ed Beneville's publications. Everything you could want to know about passing the guard is covered, from breaking the guard to dealing with grips and submission attempts, along with the actual pass itself. If you manage to absorb everything in Beneville's three volume series, you will be incredibly effective at attacking and using the guard.

That is a big 'if', however. There is a great deal to take in, so it's unlikely you'll improve from simply reading Passing the Guard from cover to cover. A book like Jiu Jitsu University is easily comprehensible, as the techniques are basic, explained slowly, from the perspective of an overview.

Beneville, on the other hand, leaves nothing out, so it can be an overwhelming experience reading his work. I have had his other two books for almost two years now, and barely scratched the surface of what they have to offer. To benefit, you'll need to invest considerable time and effort into a small number of techniques, attempting to use them in sparring over the course of weeks, months and years. Available to buy here.