DVD Review - Beyond Technique (Nic Gregoriades & Kit Dale)

Short Review: In a praiseworthy attempt to try something different, Dale and Gregoriades have set out to produce an instructional DVD based purely on concepts. They are both articulate teachers and adept in front of a camera. Their choice of examples to illustrate the concepts are also sensible and the editing is skilfully done. Most of the concepts are also solid, like the importance of post, posture and leverage for sweeps.

However, while I respect and support innovation, I remain unconvinced that pure concepts is an effective way to teach BJJ (I should note, each concept on this DVD does have two brief examples). To make an analogy, it feels like trying to learn a language by throwing away your vocabulary books in favour of some pointers on grammar. Having said that, perhaps I just don't have enough words in my personal BJJ dictionary to appreciate those overlying connections. Available here for either $49.99 for a digital download or $59.99 for the DVD.

Long Review: Since I first met him at the Roger Gracie Academy back in 2006, Nic Gregoriades has successfully built a brand identity. Through a combination of podcasts, videos and savvy social media engagement, along with extensive seminar tours, Gregoriades is now a relatively well-known figure in the small BJJ community. In the last year, he has leveraged that growing profile to launch instructional products, beginning with The Black Belt Blueprint, a book I reviewed a few months ago.

Kit Dale has also transformed himself into a brand through clever use of social media, but in a markedly different approach to Gregoriades. Whereas the South African black belt is known for his philosophical and even 'spiritual' angle, Dale has been making a name for himself as a comedian (in the limited sense of the BJJ world, at least). Together with his brother, Dale has unleashed a steady stream of videos from his base in Australia, well-received by his target audience. BJJ comedy is a small field at present and most of Dale's competition isn't to my taste, such as Rhasaan Orange's 'take the mick out of Brazilians' schtick. Admittedly I have followed very little of the videos that make up this nascent BJJ humour scene and none at all of Kit Dale's, until I came to write this review.

Like Orange's material, Dale's comedy stylings aren't to my personal taste either, but they've proved to be a big hit with plenty of others. Due to his adept understanding of the online world (I can think of only one mis-step, when he threw his support behind the TLI-tainted spammy marketing of David Avellan), Dale has considerably enhanced his name, meaning that like Gregoriades, his visibility does not depend on his competition success. To be fair to both of them, especially Dale, their competition success is not negligible, but it would not be enough to make their name. The same is true of several other major BJJ instructional producers, perhaps most notably Roy Dean.

Dale has made regular statements (like this) criticising the orthodox method of teaching and learning in jiu jitsu. Essentially, Dale has led a 'no drilling' campaign. At face value, I and many others would view 'no drilling' in particular as a deeply flawed methodology. However, from what I've read (and this may be a misinterpretation on my part), it isn't really 'no drilling'. More accurately it appears to be 'no dead drilling', a far more sensible position. This is an idea Matt Thornton from Straight Blast Gym popularised under the name 'aliveness' well over a decade ago. I've been a fan of the SBG methodology for a long time and more recently, it has guided my approach to teaching since my first class as an instructor in 2011.

Either way, that 'no drilling' marketing has fed into a new DVD collaboration between Dale and Gregoriades, dovetailing with Gregoriades' efforts to teach concepts. Hence the title of this new release, Beyond Technique. As with The Black Belt Blueprint, that's a laudable idea, but difficult to put into practice. I'm not convinced it is possible to teach purely through concepts with any kind of efficacy: concepts are valuable and were put to good use in Demian Maia's popular set, but that was still a 'traditional' instructional with a catalogue of techniques. Ryan Hall is another example of someone that uses a lot of theory, but not pure theory. Adam Adshead's old DVD is perhaps the closest to Beyond Technique, though again that was still more a collection of techniques, if heavy on the conceptual side.

Beyond Technique seeks to prove the pure conceptual model can work. The idea of an overarching concept that can unlock a large set of techniques is appealing. Like the old saying goes, it's much better to teach someone how to fish than to simply give them a fish. If an instructional can provide the student with broadly applicable concepts that apply to many situations, compared to techniques that might only apply to a handful of scenarios at best, that's clearly valuable. Can it be done, and if so, have Dale and Gregoriades cracked it?

'Teach them to fish' is echoed by the exhortation in the introduction by Gregoriades and Dale, who state, "Your job is to look at our examples and then find examples of your own." Gregoriades then claims that this DVD will 'turbo charge' your jiu jitsu, thanks to that focus on concepts. They are presented as a short-cut to instant improvement: that's a tried-and-tested way of marketing your product to students hungry to progress in anything that takes time and considerable effort to master.

The instruction begins with transitional pressure (two minutes), essentially describing the importance of maintaining pressure as you switch between positions. It immediately highlights a problem I've observed with just about every BJJ DVD I've ever watched: 'talking heads'. In other words, an instructor sits on the floor and lectures to the camera (in this section, that explanation takes up roughly half of the two minutes total of instruction). I can understand why talking heads get used so often, as it's a natural way to teach, but I have always felt it is a waste of the visual medium. The same is true of documentaries on TV, where the camera has an irritating habit of following the presenter around as opposed to focusing on the subject matter. If I have sat down to learn about Artemisia Gentileschi, then I want to see her paintings, not Andrew Graham-Dixon's flowing locks.

Rather than staring at somebody's head, it would be far more useful to have that Gregoriades lecture in voiceover, while some relevant footage plays underneath it. To be fair, this isn't just an issue with Beyond Technique, it happens on virtually every instructional DVD I've watched (e.g., I made a similar criticism of Purple Belt Requirements five years ago). However, it is perhaps more obvious on Beyond Technique, because the conceptual approach leads to a lot more sitting and explaining, compared to a typical BJJ DVD. Gregoriades' teaching style also lends itself to extended soliloquies. After that lecture, the teaching progresses into a couple of examples, showing how the concept can be applied.

Next up is the Fisherman, switching from Gregoriades to Dale: this alternation continues for the rest of the DVD (I should note that for review, I was sent a download link to a video, but the commercial version is additionally sold as a DVD). Dale spends about a minute describing the ideal way to reel your arms back in when your posture has been broken. Gregoriades returns with the Quadrant (longer this time, at around four minutes), a new name for the old concept of the four chair legs. I've most often seen this with the upa/trap and roll, where the students are told they need to control two of the chair legs (i.e., an arm and a leg on the same side), as that makes it very easy to knock the chair over.

Gregoriades expands that idea to multiple positions. He talks about each leg of the table defending a quadrant, so when that table leg is missing, you can then sweep them into that quadrant. After a minute of explanation, Gregoriades illustrates his point with an x guard sweep, noting that when his opponent commits a hand, that opens up a route to sweep them. Similarly if they're in combat base, because they're sitting on a leg, you can push them in the direction of the foot they're sitting on. There's some more talking at the end, where Gregoriades tells you how he came up with the idea.

Dale then takes over with Post, Posture and Leverage (two minutes). Both he and his partner are wearing the same colour gi, making it a bit harder to distinguish limb from limb, but apart from that error, this concept is one of the highlights of the DVD. This follows on from the quadrant, using that concept to feed into sweeps. Like most of the best concepts, it's simple. Wherever you are, Dale argues that if you can get control of their ability to post and control their posture, adding in some leverage will result in a sweep (if you can only get two, that can still function if you have them especially secure). The standard example is from butterfly guard: it can also work when you're in a less advantageous position.

Dale uses his principle to sweep despite his opponent securing double underhooks. He takes away their post by grabbing a wrist, then he uses his legs to break their posture. Finally, the leverage comes from reaching under the leg with his arm and lifting. When it comes to 'broadly applicable' this is tough to beat, as you'll have a wealth of opportunities to practice in a typical sparring round. I can't say thinking 'post, posture, leverage' has notably upped my success rate with sweeps, but it has been a handy goal to keep in mind over the last month or so.

I was much less keen on Gregoriades' next concept, the Porcupine, but that's due to my own personal hang-ups rather than anything ineffective about the idea. In short, Gregoriades advises making yourself 'spiky', so that it becomes painful for your opponent to try and control you. It's a nastier extension of framing your arm into their neck under side control, where if they press forward, they drive your forearm into their own throat. On a production note, there is good use of the zoom here, highlighting important details.

You can create those 'porcupine spines' from various positions, like jamming your forearm into their neck when you're setting up butterfly guard. Even less pleasant, you can dig your elbow into their sternum as they try to apply scarf hold. It certainly works, but I don't want a game that relies in any significant way on pain. Of course, you could argue that the whole point of jiu jitsu is causing pain, in order to make them quit. I'd counter that there is a distinction between 'checkmating' somebody based on leverage and control rather than something like digging your chin into their eye socket (a la Mark Kerr back in the day), but I can see the argument.

Dale and Gregoriades introduce the next concept, nullifying the guard pull (a minute and a half). This is quite specific and like the previous technique, not especially connected to what has gone before. The organisation of Beyond Technique is somewhat scattershot, rather than the cohesive set of techniques you would find in something like Saulo's first set broken down by position, or the meticulously organised Ed Beneville books. On the other hand, it is more difficult to organise concepts than positions, especially if those concepts are broadly applicable and therefore don't fit comfortably into any one box.

Gregoriades then spends four minutes discussing the Corkscrew. Instead of pushing straight out with an arm, he likes to rotate, corkscrewing the arm. For example, corkscrewing when performing a stiff arm escape, or in the opposite direction, rotating your arm as you pull it in towards you. Dale's weight distribution (two minutes) is not on the topic of controlling them in mount or side control, like you might expect, but more about your balance when they have de la Riva. The central idea is adjusting your weight to make it harder for them to sweep you.

Next up is four minutes on another concept I find applicable to my own training (though I'd just refer to it as framing), collapsing and inserting structures. Gregoriades uses the example of shoving his elbows inside his knees, to stop people collapsing them together when in butterfly. The opposite applies too, such as when he is stiff with his arm, then suddenly collapses it in order to move around and pass. There's almost an element of aikido here, using your opponent's pressure against them .

Dale is generally better at coming up with memorable names, though they aren't as descriptive. His double-barrel shotgun (a bit under two minutes) relates to maintaining guard. If you imagine your legs are bullets, don't fire them both at once. If you shoot one bullet, make sure you have another in the chamber. That makes good sense for guard retention, as long as a beginner doesn't misinterpret it as only ever using one leg. A key principle for open guard, I would argue, is making sure you have all of your limbs engaged. You don't want to be in a situation where a foot that could be pushing into their hip, pulling behind their knee or pressing against a biceps is instead just lying on the floor.

The open and closed chain (three minutes) is illustrated by two submission defences. First, hiding your arm in the crook of your other elbow to scupper an armbar. Here the arm is the 'chain' you want to hide: if it is open (as in, not attached), then it's vulnerable. The second example is driving your foot to the floor if they are trying a lower body attack, 'closing' the chain. I'm not sure I fully understood what Gregoriades was trying to explain here, as it seemed to boil down to "hide your limb if they're attacking it." I'm sure that's an over-simplification on my part, but either way, the idea of not exposing your limbs to attack is eminently practical.

Slightly under two minutes follow on removing leverage, exemplified by jamming their hooks in butterfly with your arm. That forces their legs together and negates the sweep. Gregoriades then gets into a principle I recognised from the Dave Jacobs seminar, though Gregoriades has a different name for it, spinal torque (four minutes). This is comparable to what Jacobs calls the 'supine twist'. In short, get their head to face away from their hips, an awkward position that considerably reduces their mobility. The examples are clear and helpful, looking at spinal torque in side control and when passing the quarter guard.

I felt it was a bit of a stretch to call size specific strategy a concept, as to me that's in a different category altogether, tactics. Still, the advice is reasonable, Dale suggesting that against taller people, 'attaching guards' like sitting, de la Riva and x guard are going to be more effective that long range open guards. The reverse is true if you're taller, to make the most of your size advantage. Dale takes the example of passing, saying that a taller person might go for something like the bullfighter, whereas a shorter grappler is better suited to getting in close.

Gregoriades offers up border patrol as his next concept, spending three mnutes discussing how you can treat your torso as a border. To prevent your opponent securing control, block their entry through your borders. Should they manage to slip through, make sure you get something in the way, be that an elbow or a knee (he points back to the 'double barrel shotgun' idea here). If you're the one on top, then you're looking to get past those borders. It reminded me a little of John Palmer's 'control point framework', which I've frequently used since he explained it to me a couple of years ago.

Loading the spring (a bit over two minutes) felt very specific, but that's probably because I mainly associate that kind of tension manipulation with one technique, a bullfighter pass variation where you redirect their leg power out of the way at the moment they push back into you. Dale also takes the example of a scissor sweep as they try to pass your de la Riva, a guard I almost never use so it wasn't as immediately recognisable for me.

Although not ground-breaking, the Pendulum is a powerful concept that applies to lots of different techniques. Gregoriades takes the classic example of using a leg swing to sit-up from guard. He then shows how you can also use your head in a similar way, swinging it through when you're switching from a tripod sweep into a sickle sweep (he calls it the tomahawk) if they step back.

Dale spends a couple of minutes of takedown postures, where again, I'm not sure I understood it fully. The examples included "if they're upright, go for their legs", which again felt more like a tactic to me than a concept, but that's getting into semantics. Gregoriades then comes in with another basic but important concept, hip-centric movement (slightly over two minutes). You might think that would be all about moving your hips side to side in the guard and escapes, but he actually means thrusting them forwards when coming up after sweeps.

The last concept on the set is dubbed the Misdirection, related to grips. This is another old school tip you'll see in numerous other sports, combat sports in particular. If they're looking at your eyes, stare away from what you're actually going to grab/punch/kick. I learned something similar back when I did a stand-up style, in relation to faking them out when punching.

After watching the DVD, I would conclude that concepts are extremely useful, but only if you have the techniques to flesh out a workable frame of reference. Showing a couple of possibilities to illustrate a concept is helpful, but in my view it's not enough to drive the concept home, especially for beginners. I think that Beyond Technique points the way to what could be achieved with a conceptually-drive DVD, but it isn't quite there yet. In my opinion, a better use of concepts would be as a framing device, stringing together a series of techniques.

For example, Gregoriades could have a section on passing introduced with some of the concepts he puts forward here (e.g., removing leverage, transitional pressure, hip-centric movement). He could then progress to detail a series of passes, referring back to those concepts each time, with a summary at the end bringing it all together. There's an element of that in Beyond Technique, but each concept is covered too briefly to really delve into those examples. The somewhat haphazard organisation also takes away from building connections between the concepts, or at least that was my experience.

Now, I understand why this DVD is not laid out like that, as the express purpose is to move away from the orthodox style of teaching, where techniques are broken down step by step. I should also note that there are some techniques to give context, if only brief. Yet after watching the DVD, I'm still of the same opinion I discussed at the start: pure concept lacks a frame of reference. Without a solid and carefully detailed set of techniques to give the concepts substance, they float away.

Of course, I'm speaking as a purple belt and from the perspective of my particular learning style. Others may well disagree with me. Indeed, Matt Jardine has an article in an upcoming issue of Jiu Jitsu Style that talks about concept-led teaching and specifically name-checks Beyond Technique as an exemplar. Seymour also got a lot out of the DVD, so for a different (and brown belt level) opinion, take a look at his review here.

For an instructional that is less than an hour long, the asking price of $49.99 for a digital download (or $59.99 - around £38 - for the DVD) is in my opinion rather high. To draw a comparison, Roy Dean's Blue Belt Requirements is $44.95, which gets you two DVDs (eighty-eight and sixty-nine minutes respectively) crammed with technique. Then again, you could argue that concepts which apply to a broad set of moves are inherently more valuable than individual techniques. I'll be curious to see if I come back to this in future and realise it has grown in usefulness or not.

You can buy Beyond Technique from this squeeze page, which promises 'secrets', which will allegedly "make your jiu jitsu much better, much more quickly than anything else out there." Gregoriades used similar marketing for his last release and Dale has been getting into the '90s style too. I'm not a fan of that kind of marketing, but to each their own. Now, I am a fan of innovation and trying something different: I therefore applaud what Dale and Gregoriades are trying to do with their conceptual approach and I'll be looking with interest to see how they develop that product line further.

DVD Review - Black Belt Requirements (Roy Dean)

Short Review: Five years since Roy Dean began his Requirements series, the black belt edition has arrived. As with his two previous installments, the focus is not technique but concepts, in this case teaching. Dean decides to elucidate his perspective on teaching by building nine chains of technique, coupled with the usual belt demonstrations, rolling analysis and a seminar (for this set, it's a 'judo made easy' session from Dave Camarillo). Also in keeping with its predecessors, this DVD is not for beginners: the technical demonstrations are fast and lead into complex sequences. Available to buy here, or from iTunes here

Full Review: Back in 2008, a little-known black belt under Roy Harris released a DVD detailing the techniques he felt were important for white belts to learn on their journey to blue. The quality of Roy Dean's production stood out, as did his eloquent instruction. I continue to point to that release as the gold standard for beginner DVDs. In the years since, Dean has added to the Requirements series, but he never produced a Blue Belt Requirements 2.0 (though many would be interested in such a DVD, myself included). There was a marked shift from Blue Belt Requirements to Purple Belt Requirements, where the pattern went from in-depth explanations of technique based around some major areas to much swifter demonstrations in a smaller selection of positions. The streamlining of instruction and shift of focus continued into Brown Belt Requirements, a process which has now reached what is presumably its conclusion: Black Belt Requirements.

Dean's marketing blurb for the DVD answers the question most people will immediately ask after seeing that title: "You don’t have to be a black belt to know what it takes to get there." The audience would be rather small if only brown and black belts bought this DVD. The 'requirement' that guides the content of Black Belt Requirements is summarised in the release email Dean sent out shortly before his DVD hit the shelves: "this project is about sharing the art, and the lessons are for everyone. The true black belt requirement is the ability to teach, which keeps the art alive."

At present, there are still numerous BJJ instructors who are not yet black belts (I'm one example, as I run a class but I'm only a purple belt). This situation is likely to change once BJJ reaches saturation, but that won't happen for at least a few more years, perhaps decades. It may even continue indefinitely, given that belts in jiu jitsu take a long time to achieve, meaning that some lower belts already feel they possess sufficient knowledge to provide worthwhile instruction to students.

Based on that release email, I was expecting a lesson plan, perhaps with some advice about how to teach, example warm-ups, maybe some discussion of methodology. Instead, the DVD is much like its two predecessors in the series: if you don't already know how to teach, then this DVD is not going to provide you with that ability. That's not to say it won't offer up some possibilities, but with the exception of the opening 'welcome', that theme is more of a subtext than a driving force.

Since Purple Belt Requirements, there has been a division between the technical meat of the set, belt demonstrations then some kind of seminar. Purple Belt Requirements did that over two discs, while Brown Belt Requirements spread it across three (and unusually, the 'seminar' was a very interesting dissection by Roy Harris of a failed brown belt test). Black Belt Requirements follows suit, with the first disc full of instruction, the second running through a couple of belt demonstrations and rolling analysis, before finishing with a seminar on the final disc.
___________________________

Disc One starts off with Dean's trademark Welcome (03:28 mins), where he states that "A true black belt can keep the art alive by sharing it. Teaching is a skill, and now I'd like to show you one method, one way." This is packed with lots of sensible advice, along with Dean's typical philosophical musing. I especially liked that the discussion was conducted entirely via voiceover. While listening to Dean's thoughts on teaching, you get to watch some smooth jiu jitsu, as opposed to a talking head.

The instruction is heavily focused on offence and submissions. There is almost nothing in the way of escapes, transitions or maintaining position. Although that has all been covered in previous DVDs, I still would have found it interesting to see a black belt perspective on those topics, as they are generally less well-represented on the instructional market than attacks. Of course, submissions are important, seen by many as the essence of BJJ. Also, if you subscribe to the progression laid out in Saulo's Jiu Jitsu University, then this DVD makes perfect sense: Saulo also focuses on submissions in his 'black belt' chapter.

Dean's format for this opening disc is nine sequences, where first a couple of techniques are shown in isolation, then variations and what ifs, until Dean can build up a flowing combination. That fits with another quote from the 'Welcome' section, where Dean describes his teaching methodology as "take a technique, then place techniques in relation to it. When each puzzle piece fits perfectly, it becomes a picture, an integrated whole."

It's also familiar from the Roy Dean seminars I've attended, where he teaches a huge number of techniques. For this DVD, that 'integrated whole' is shared with the viewer at an even faster pace than the last DVD, stripping the instruction down to an efficient core. In other words, this acts as a quick refresher for a black belt considering what techniques they might want to teach in a particular lesson.

Each technique is taught by Roy Dean in a black gi, while his demonstration partner wears a white gi. There is not a huge amount of detail, with Dean following his own advice from his introduction to not overteach. You will sometimes get more than one angle, but it depends on the technique. Dean will run through it again a few times at the end full speed, sometimes just once if it is sufficiently simple.

Stand Up (07:13 mins) starts off with the entirety of the sequence at full speed, succeeded by a concise explanation of each component: the same pattern recurs in later chapters. The first stand-up technique is a grip break into kouchi gake (one minute), which is basically a trip straight into half guard. Just under another minute is spent on an inside grip break drill, before looking into the ankle prop for forty seconds and an ankle pick for another fifty seconds. Next up is another forty seconds on the inside trip, where again you're stepping into them and tripping.

The inside trip dominates the rest of the segment, with several variations. Dean spends thirty seconds on how to move from an inside trip to a low elbow single, where he uses elbow pressure for the takedown. He then demonstrates an inside trip to hopping uchimata for forty seconds, which follows on smoothly from the previous technique, as does the inside trip to uchimata tai otoshi (thirty seconds). The section finishes with an inside trip to ankle pick, returning to that earlier piece of the puzzle for just over a minute.

I was excited at the prospect of the tripod sweep (07:37 mins), as that is one of my favourite options from open guard. As it turns out, the content is geared towards what happens immediately after the sweep rather than the sweep itself. After the fifty-five second chapter summary, Dean covers the basic tripod sweep into knee slide in fifty seconds. He then takes thirty seconds to offer an alternative, going from a tripod sweep into a leg drag pass, an increasingly popular method of passing the guard.

Forty more seconds looks at the classic tripod to sickle sweep combination, moving directly into an armbar. Interestingly, that is followed by almost a minute on countering a tripod sweep, which is essentially cross-grip, step back and pass. There is some debate about whether it is better to show both sides of a technique, so that each person has something specific to work in sparring, or to teach one side at a time so you have a chance to work the mechanics against somebody who doesn't necessarily know the defence. Dean does not go into the counter to the counter, but that's understandable, as it would be a long road to step onto.

Dean takes a bit more time over the tripod sweep to wrist wrap (which I know as the gift wrap), spending a little under two minutes. There are numerous submissions from that position, which Dean covers, before finishing up with a similar two minutes or so on options after you establish the gift wrap from closed guard. This does rather veer from the 'tripod sweep' topic, as he gets to the gift wrap from a flower sweep this time.

Collar Chokes (07:53 mins) opens with slightly over a minute on the fundamental 'palm up palm up' choke. Dean shows it no frills, then two quick options: the super deep 'Relson choke' grip I've been using since Dean showed it on Brown Belt Requirements, along with straightening your arms if you're not deep enough, as that shoots your hands into place. Another minute and a bit shows how you can threaten the choke to set up a scissor sweep, before Dean demonstrates what he calls the 'fist choke'.

This is unusual, though it has some similarities to the Relson choke. Like that choke, you're reaching to the other collar and pulling to cinch up the submission. This time, the pressure on the other artery come from driving your knuckles directly into the neck. Pulling on the collar and locking your legs in position gives you the leverage. That then progresses to fifty seconds on flowing from the fist choke into a wing sweep, where you're flipping them over with one leg (Marcelo calls this the 'cross arm and belt sweep').

The baseball bat choke has had a resurgence of interest recently, thanks to Magrid Hage's success with that technique. Over the course of a minute and a half, Dean shows the version which Hage has used to impressive effect, where it is secured as they pass your guard. When they duck their head, you establish your grip, then spin in the midst of their pass. You can also roll them over to finish from the top. A minute's worth of another baseball bat choke closes the section, this time from standing. After establishing grips, Dean uses it to throw his partner, then finishes on the ground.

Along with tripod sweeps, I was also particularly looking forward to top side attacks (09:41mins). Of all the sequences, this was probably my favourite, but that is most likely because it is the closest fit to the techniques I've been working on recently (e.g., my last private with Dónal). Many of these will be familiar to you if you have watched earlier installments in the Requirements series. It's also worth noting that some of them rely on specific gi grips, so will not be applicable without the gi.

Kesa Gatame to straight armbar opens the segment, where you step over the arm then use your bottom leg for leverage, followed after thirty seconds by the americana from kesa gatame. This is the same technique as Renzo's old DVD from 1994, which receives fifty seconds of attention. Sticking with the kesa gatame theme (although this is now kuzure kesa gatame, gripping the far armpit rather than under the head), Roy Dean moves on to one of my favourite techniques from side control, the step over triangle.

When I use this, it is normally from standard side control, but scarf hold makes more sense. In that position you already have the arm controlled, something tougher to achieve from side control. This position warrants multiple angles, which Dean uses efficiently on this DVD. The additional perspectives only crop up when they are actually needed, rather than applied to every technique.

A rapid thirty seconds covers what Dean refers to as the 'white belt kesa gatame armbar', consisting of a guard pass, switch to kesa, armbar attempt and finally an americana. This is contrasted with a little over twenty seconds for the black belt version, which looks much the same except that the joins are less obvious. Here, the pass is directly into kesa, anticipating the turn of the arm right into an americana. I watched this chapter first, so thought that this division between 'white belt' and 'black belt' versions of a technique would be a recurring theme, but aside from the exploration of the kimura on disc two, this is the only time it occurs.

Sticking with kuzure kesa gatame, Dean steps over the head for a straight armbar, taking less than thirty seconds to teach it. If they push into your bicep, then as Dean demonstrates for the following forty seconds, their arm is already extended putting them right into an armbar. You can also use that motion of stepping over their head to put on a choke, which again takes about forty seconds of instruction, or use the gi tail grip for a more powerful version (another thirty seconds).

If when you go for the choke and they push into your leg, this may mean that their outstretched arm enables you to grab their wrist and roll your hips back over, moving into an americana. Dean shows you how in thirty seconds, before progressing to the usual lockflow of americana to straight armbar into the kimura. This takes Dean over a minute, as he also includes a nifty option of stepping over their head when you apply the kimura if they try to roll you over. That means you can apply a kimura and a triangle simultaneously. The last technique (roughly a minute) adds on a switch to a far side armbar if you miss the kimura.

The backstep (06:42 mins) merges passing and transitions with attacking, a smooth display epitomising Roy Dean's beautifully flowing jiu jitsu. From reverse knee on belly, Dean backsteps and rolls into a triangle (forty seconds), then shows the same motion into an armbar (forty seconds again). Next, Dean demonstrates how to pass the guard into a similar 'backstep armlock', which can also switch into a triangle (yet again, forty seconds).

If they are blocking your hip when you try to pass, you can then use a grip around their leg to pull their thigh towards you, backstepping in the other direction (fifty seconds). The backstep also functions as a method of countering the scissor sweep straight into a guard pass, shown in thirty seconds. A similar option works for beating the butterfly guard, a motion Dónal has been drilling in his classes over the last month (just under a minute).

Even if you're almost swept, Dean explains in thirty seconds how it is never too late to backstep. To finish, there is forty seconds of countering the de la Riva guard by backstepping, then sitting on your opponent. Staying below their knee, that sets you up for dropping back into a kneebar.

Dean sticks with his submissions focus with the straight armlock (07:59 mins), building from thirty seconds on the very basic spinning armlock from mount. By that, Dean means the armbar from mount where your opponent foolishly pushes straight up into your chest, presenting you with an obvious armbar. That's then joined by a minute-long 'fast' version, off an americana.

You can also step over for an armlock from knee on belly (thirty seconds), as well as switching sides with your spinning armlock (thirty seconds again). Thirty more seconds looks into recovering if they pull their arm free, before another thirty seconds examines jumping right from a figure four grip into an armbar, plus forty seconds on the same jump but with leg pressure.

If you are having trouble finishing the armlock, Dean has a variation where you stick your leg through and triangle them when they roll (forty seconds). A more aggressive option is to smack their grip open by pushing on the elbow (thirty seconds), followed by thirty seconds on the 'Camarillo leg push'. Grab their leg, they roll slightly, then extend your legs to get the position you want. Finally, Dean spends forty seconds on another armlock switch, which can also be finished with a triangle.

The americana (08:29 mins) confusingly repeats the instruction we've just seen, with fifty more seconds of the spinning armlock from mount. The reason Dean gives is that he feels this is a good place to start teaching the americana. That progresses into the standard americana from mount for forty seconds. After being armlocked with the previous technique, Dean's thinking is that they will keep their elbows in, leading into the americana.

From a mounted americana, you can dismount to side control by backstepping when they straighten their arm (slightly over a minute). From there the same bent arm lockflow from earlier presents itself. Several repetitions from top side attacks feature next, with the step over choke (thirty seconds), step over choke to americana (forty seconds) and americana from kesagatame (fifty seconds). Although this fits into the next technique, I would have thought it more useful to choose a different selection. On the other hand, you could argue it makes sense from the perspective of creating a sequence of moves to teach.

Dean gets back on track with fifty seconds of an americana reversal from bottom. Now you're the one being treated to an americana, but using a stiff arm escape, you can reverse them into an americana of your own (forty seconds), holding onto their wrist as you perform that stiff arm escape. Should they resist, you can roll back the other way for an americana from the bottom position, bridging to finish it from the top if that doesn't work either. The last option is a recounter, where Dean uses his final minute to explain how the person being reversed in the previous technique can switch into an armlock.

An armdrag/2 on 1 (09:57 minutes) is a versatile technique. It can be done from standing to move into a rear naked choke, which Dean says he likes teaching to beginners (slightly over a minute). It can also be done from kneeling, again into a rear naked choke (forty seconds). From butterfly guard, Dean takes forty seconds to show how you can take the back, then another minute to go from butterfly into a rolling choke followed by thirty seconds for a rolling armlock.

Butterfly guard armdrags can also yield a calf crush, but be careful with this one as it can cause serious damage. After a minute on that, there is thirty seconds on a hook sweep before around a minute covering some further pointers on taking the back with the armdrag from butterfl. Next up is what Dean calls the 'butterfly 2 on 1', a position from which he then demonstrates a triangle for thirty seconds.

A wristlock flows into a rather flashy 'inside kimura' for another minute, where you're essentially getting a figure four grip and flipping them to the side. You can then finish with a kimura on the near arm rather than the usual far arm, keeping your head on their shoulder for control. The closing forty seconds cover the 'kimura roll', where from the same position you swivel underneath to then apply that same near side kimura.

Dean's closing section for the first disc is probably his favourite submission (judging by previous DVDs and his long legs), the triangle choke: it's also the biggest chapter, clocking in at just over eleven and a half minutes. A minute on the simple wrist push set up kicks off proceedings, then forty seconds on a classic set-up from spider guard. What Dean calls the 'knee push triangle' is another standard entry, where you do a scissor sweep motion over their arm to lock in the triangle (thirty five seconds).

Dean breaks his established pattern with forty seconds on the over under entry concept,
He makes an interesting comparison to passing the guard here. As Dean explains, both involve going either over or under to enter the technique. With passing you're circumventing the legs, with a triangle you're getting past the arms.

Next is a minute and a half described as 'balance break to arm extension'. By that, Dean means attempting a sit-up sweep, which makes them post their arm, in turn making them vulnerable to a triangle. Something similar can be done from the neck tie, as Dean explains for another minute, before a quick twenty seconds on how you can knock them to one side when they put their knee in your tailbone. Once again, you are baiting them to post their arm, to create a triangle opportunity.

Should your triangle fail, there is always the armbar. To quote Dean: "the armlock is a necessary follow-up to the triangle: you have to know this, you have to share this." This is also from the hip bump, followed by another variation where you spin out for the armbar, taught in slightly over a minute. If they posture up, you can push up off your hands to knock them backwards, finishing your triangle from the top (forty seconds).

The other classic combination with a triangle is an omoplata, shown by Dean over the next forty seconds, before a little under two minutes demonstrating the reverse triangle into various other armlock variations. That finishes both the triangle section and the first disc of this three disc set.
___________________________

The second disc begins with rolling analysis. It's relatively short at eighteen minutes, but that's long enough to cover plenty of different scenarios. Unlike earlier Requirements, there is only one roll here, between Roy Dean and a student he has taken from white to brown belt, Donald Bowerman. Slow-motion features when Dean wants to emphasise a particular technique or transition, narrated in a conversational style. For example, Dean will make comments like "he's really been holding on to grips recently."

I think this would be more engaging if there was less of a skill gap: for example, two of Dean's brown belt or purple belt students rolling together. Having said that, Bowerman does occasionally get into a dominant position, which generates more interesting commentary. Something else which I feel would improve the value of this section is if the other person involved in the roll was also present on the commentary. However, I can imagine this could be difficult to set up, as it would need to be not long after the roll for maximum relevancy and would also depend on the other person's public speaking skills.

In keeping with the other DVDs created by Roy Dean, the belt demonstrations included are available on YouTube as well: the DVD provides a boost in audio and video quality. The two included on Black Belt Requirements are Thompson Brown (17:46 minutes) and Higinbotham Purple (18:04 minutes). Byron Higinbotham looks especially impressive in his demonstration, perhaps due to an extensive background in martial arts prior to Brazilian jiu jitsu: he runs an RDA affiliate in Southern Oregon. If like me you've watched all of the prior DVDs from Roy Dean, you might be wondering why Jimmy DaSilva is not on here doing a black belt demonstration, given that his brown belt demo was on YouTube back in 2009. Judging by Google, it would appear he remains a brown belt but no longer trains at RDA, having set up on his own.

Gracie Worlds 2013 (04:33 minutes) is footage from a submission only tournament, vigorously promoted by Rose Gracie. Unlike true submission only, the Gracie Worlds has a time limit, but nevertheless you can't win without a submission (if nobody gets a submission within the time limit, you're both out). These videos would have been greatly improved by commentary, perhaps with the person in question talking about their experience at the tournament, what they like to do, how it relates to competition and so forth. Still, competition footage is a valuable addition to any instructional, especially if it includes techniques taught elsewhere on the DVD.

Byron Higinbotham opens this section, listed as the champion even before things get started, which changes your view of the fights. It rather looked like he was fighting a brown belt, but that could have just been a strange shade of purple. The video quality is not up to the same standard of production as the rest of the DVD, but that is understandable: presumably it is off a lower grade camera given it was filmed at a tournament. I was not certain which was Higinbotham, as neither of the competitors were wearing RDA patches on their gi. Personally I dislike wearing patches, but watching this fight helps to explain why they're useful on a competition gi for identification purposes.

The remaining two minutes is spent on Donald Bowerman, who is introduced as the Brown Belt Division Champion. Unlike Higinbotham, he has a great big RDA patch on the back of his gi. Bowerman is shown in two fights, something that may indicate he only had to fight twice to win the division (if so, that could mean Higinbotham only had to fight once) or that these were the fights selected as most interesting for the DVD.

The second disc of Black Belt Requirements closes with another video already released on YouTube, White to Black - Kimura (05:59 mins), appropriately monochrome. This video builds on the first disc in that it is another sequence of moves based around a certain group of techniques, but demonstrated with even greater speed and efficiency than before. Dean narrates the application of a kimura in voiceover, with a musical backing track. He explains the two grips, then notes that you have to be ready for them to try and pull their arm free, switching into a sit-up sweep.

The classic lockflow from side control is demonstrated next, then a few counters to the kimura which lead into submissions of your own. Dean also includes lots of smooth transitions, noting that "the darker your belt colour becomes the better you get at setting people up." Lots of other submission opportunities pop up, with a particularly useful sequence of techniques when they try and grab their belt to stop the kimura. You can wristlock that arm or indeed their other arm, with some attacks that require you to break their grip and others that don't.
___________________________

Rather than Roy Dean, it is another black belt taking centre stage on the third disc of Black Belt Requirements: Dave Camarillo. He is well known as an ex-Ralph Gracie student with superlative judo, making him a fitting candidate for the subject of this disc, a seminar entitled Judo Made Easy (45:45 mins). Camarillo breaks down what is going to be covered in the seminar, noting the importance of timing, which is much harder when standing due to the increased mobility.

He spends a minute demonstrating ukemi, showing how the typical breakfalling at the start of a BJJ class is not done the same as judo. To properly break a fall, your leg is outstretched rather than curled inwards. The reason you often curl your leg in the context of a jiu jitsu warm-up is because that makes it easier to get up and breakfall again, but it is less effective at dispersing your impact on the ground. That's followed by another minute of breakfalling, this time sideways, enabling Camarillo to fit in a footsweep motion as well.

Rounding off the 'warm-up' type section, Camarillo quickly runs through standing up in base (twenty seconds), then progresses to gripping. He talks for a little under two minutes about the importance of posture and intercepting the grip, then a further minute and a half of grip fighting. Getting more specific, Camarillo explains the inside grip, also providing a simple drill where you're both looking for that inside grip (two minutes and forty seconds).

Benefitting from the aforementioned increased mobility when you're on your feet, he next shows how to move your partner around from the grip fight for two minutes. That combines with his next drill, this time for practicing the foot sweep. The power is in the small toe scraping the mat, according to Camarillo: the camera zooms in to his feet to make this point clear. Two and bit minutes later, he can move into the application, for which it becomes a two person drill for another minute, then a further thirty seconds of the same thing but with both performing the foot sweep motion.

Getting on to the actual technique, he spends five minutes running through the throw. Camarillo notes that if you miss with this takedown, it is relatively easy to just put your foot back down and try something else. He also emphasises being on the balls of your feet, stepping in and turning them around.

Camarillo spends another four minutes demonstrating a similar throw, sasai tsurikomi ashi. It looks much like the trip from earlier, but now they are being spun over their shin rather than their foot. Camarillo's judo is very quick, so the slow-motion repetition is a welcome inclusion. He also uses a few different grips, noting that this can be done nogi as well, or even in MMA.

The next throw is harai goshi, described by Camarillo as one of his personal favourites. He prefers it to seoi-nage, as he finds a lot of people end up falling backwards when they turn in for the throw, because it is too easy to counter. Camarillo therefore proposes harai-goshi instead, as well as using a teaching method contrary to most I've seen. Rather than breaking down how to step in and turn, Camarillo has his partner walk behind him first. That puts them in position for the throw. It seems somewhat counter-intuitive, but makes sense when he later combines it with several other throws.

Three and a half minutes later, Camarillo then combines sasai (he shortens it, so I'll do the same) with a forward throw. By 'forward throw', he means a group of takedowns that includes harai-goshi, as well as seoi-nage among various others. If you attempt the sasai and they step over your leg, that puts them right into place for the harai goshi. Just like the drill, they have effectively walked behind you.

The next eight minutes or so are spent on getting them to stumble, bringing in footsweeps as well. The footsweep is inside, which can therefore be followed up by a throw which is outside. That progresses to another six minutes of transitioning from the throw into an armbar, keeping your far hand on their far collar to push down on their shoulder, while your near hand pulls up on their near arm. Grab the seam near their armpit and press in with your hand, to take out any slack. They should now find it tough to shrimp away.

For the last three minutes, some Roy Dean music fills the speakers as you're treated to Camarillo playing with Dean's students in drilling and randori. His throws all look effortless: if you want to inspire yourself to train more judo, this could be a good motivator (unless you've already been completely put off judo by injuries, like me: I'm beyond help at this point ;D).

The finishing touch to the DVD is Camarillo Sandan, four minutes of Camarillo throwing people around, presumably for a judo grading. First it's done slow motion (manually, rather than slowed down through editing), before going full speed. What I liked best was not the throws, however: it was the 'TRAIN WITH EVERYONE!' message in big letters at the start, an excellent slogan given the politics that often plague BJJ.

If you liked Brown Belt Requirements and didn't mind the rapid pace, then this new set should appeal to you. However, if you're one of those still holding out for a similarly measured and detailed instructional to Blue Belt Requirements, this isn't it (the closest is probably the DVD I would point to as Dean's other stand-out work, No Gi Essentials). Black Belt Requirements is also not going to show you how to teach. It is probably best suited to people who are already teaching and looking for some more ideas, mainly in terms of which techniques they can combine together. Available to buy here, or from iTunes here

DVD Review - 50 Common Mistakes To Avoid In BJJ (Adam Adshead)

Short Review: In this set, Adam Adshead looks to teach concepts and principles through the structural overlay of 'common mistakes'. Though it would benefit from more angles, the material is well taught and broadly applicable, best suited to white belts and fairly new blues. The majority sticks with fundamentals, particularly closed guard, the back and side control, with nothing especially fancy that is liable to confuse beginners. It's currently available for £29, once you dig past the various Lloyd Irvin style 'special offers' and 'limited time only'.

Full Review: Like the subject of my last review, Adam Adshead (who I had the pleasure of meeting last year) is also a brown belt and therefore brings up the same questions. With so many high level black belts releasing instructionals, a brown belt needs to offer something special, or at least unusual. Adshead has managed the latter, as 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ takes a conceptual approach (which is fitting given that Adshead, an ex-music journalist, once wrote a blog called Conceptual BJJ, sadly now defunct).

Again like Faggella, Adshead has also decided upon the Lloyd Irvin business approach, with the standard squeeze page slathered in italics, testimonials, different colour fonts, large arrows, 'limited time' offers and even nagging messages asking you to sign up to email lists. That is not something commonly seen in the UK and it's a marketing strategy I strongly dislike, but I can't deny its record of success [Update Aug 2013: Since the start of this year, there have been numerous other reasons to avoid that marketing approach regardless of any perceived efficacy, given the disturbing revelations which have emerged about TLI, which is the BJJ team most associated with the style]. Perhaps as a brown belt it is necessary to use those kind of tools to sell a DVD, as you can't afford to be too picky with your marketing.

The main comparison to 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ that springs to mind is Demian Maia's Science of Jiu Jitsu, which also sought to tackle the instructional challenge through principles and concepts rather than the typical catalogue of techniques. The entirety of Adshead's DVD is in the gi (though much of the advice would be true for nogi as well), with Adshead in black easily distinguishable from his uke in white.

Adshead is a native English speaker, which automatically gives him an advantage over instructionals headed by a Brazilian, as English is their second language at best. On the other hand, Adshead has a regional English accent. Speaking personally, I found that refreshing to hear on a BJJ instructional, but as Cheryl Cole knows to her cost, Americans sometimes struggle with the exceptional variety of pronunciation to be found back in the Old Country. It is therefore possible some non-UK English speakers may have difficulty with Adshead's Northern lilt, especially as he is quite softly spoken.

The structural choice indicated by the title is interesting. At times I wondered if it could have gone further, such as grouping several of the mistakes under "don't play flat on your back" (there are at least three that could fit within that category). At others, it felt like the mistakes were too specific to fit within the purview of 'common'. However, in general I think the idea was a good one and worked well. It is far easier to keep in mind broad concepts as opposed to the intricate details of single techniques, particularly as a concept can apply to a range of situations rather than "if they do this, you do that" responses.

Adshead kicks off with a quick introduction to his DVD, noting that it is intended for both beginning and advanced students, as well as instructors looking to improve their teaching. Adshead has also adopted a useful element of previous instructionals, adding a number to the corner of the screen: I'm not sure who first came up with that innovation, but it is one I mainly associate with World Martial Arts releases (e.g., Saulo Ribeiro's excellent first set).

As per the DVD title, there are fifty mistakes, each of which takes roughly two minutes to describe. The full name of the mistake appears in text at the start, which is handy. 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ is spread across two DVDs, though as they are quite short at fifty-two minutes and forty-three minutes respectively, I wonder if they could have been squashed onto one.

50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ occasionally suffers from a very common issue in instructional DVDs: extended lectures delivered by somebody sat down in front of the camera. The majority of instructional DVDs still follow the "point a camera at me while I talk through the technique" method. This isn't necessarily a bad option, but it frequently means that when the instructor wants to discuss a technique in more detail, they'll end up stopping their physical demonstration and delivering a static lecture.

There are two far superior options. The first is to make sure you have a good lapel mic, then give the same talk but continue to actively demonstrate while you're talking. The second is to mix in some footage with voiceover, if you can't give the same lecture while demonstrating: this is something Roy Dean has done on several of his DVDs. However, I would assume that requires a greater investment in editing equipment and the like, which is presumably why it isn't more common.

Another slight flaw is the lack of multiple angles for each mistake, which again could be a question of cost. To refer to Roy Dean a second time, his Blue Belt Requirements is the gold standard for this, with every technique demonstrated from at least four angles. It could be argued that sometimes numerous angles and slow motion replays are redundant, but occasionally an alternate angle is essential to highlight grips, leg position, direction of rotation and so on.
______________________

The first few of Adshead's eponymous mistakes are the most conceptual, in that they apply to a broader variety of positions. Adshead discusses weight distribution, not letting your opponent settle or secure strong grips, along with common errors for breaking grips and the dangers of over-reaching (e.g., when trying to pass or looking to escape). After that, the DVD falls into a pattern of grouping several mistakes from the same position, though the number of mistakes varies.

That grouping starts with three mistakes related to maintaining your closed guard, such as letting your opponent open your guard on their own terms, followed by a brief note on staying off your back in butterfly guard. Adshead then moves on to three mistakes from half-guard, before getting into some submissions from the guard.

I found myself querying the thirteenth mistake, which was pulling the head to finish the triangle. I don't think that can legitimately be called a mistake, as in certain situations pulling the head will indeed finish the triangle. It is also something many instructors include when teaching the triangle as a key detail. Most importantly, de-emphasising pulling on the head potentially might confuse beginners into thinking that posture control is not important.

Having said all that, Adshead acknowledges that if you've set up everything correctly pulling on the head can complete the submission, so it is mainly a matter of phrasing rather than teaching. Yanking on the head with all your strength is certainly something beginners should avoid, as that is liable to injure your training partners. I'm not sure I could claim it will actually prevent you from finishing a triangle, but it will almost certainly make you very unpopular in class.

The triangle is then joined by the kimura and the armbar. Adshead has an interesting tip on the latter, which reminds me of certain details on the triangle. Rather than finishing the armbar with both your feet pointing in the same direction, Adshead recommends angling the leg by the head outwards. This is both reminiscent of Mike Fowler angling the leg for the triangle (to tighten it up) and Ryan Hall's advice on gripping higher on the head when controlling posture, as that provides much better leverage. In Adshead's armbar, you're controlling their posture with that leg rather than your hands.

Unusually, Adshead also includes a brabo choke. Relative to the triangle, armbar and kimura, I wouldn't class the brabo choke as a common technique, particularly from the closed guard in the gi. Nevertheless, it's good advice, which then moves on to the much more common cross choke from guard.

Next up is passing, which comprises five mistakes (although two of them are oddly categorised as 'closed guard top' rather than simply 'passing' or 'passing closed guard'). I can cite a personal example here of how the DVD can be useful for instructors: thanks to watching 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ prior to a class, I found it easier to recognise the mistake a white belt was making when sparring me. I could therefore tell him that, as Adshead advises, he needed to stop trying to fight my legs with just his arms when attempting to pass. The first DVD then closes with three mistakes from the feet, discussing pulling open guard along with double and single legs.

The second DVD of 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ opens with five mistakes from side control, the last of which brought to mind a Caio Terra point about closed guard. Terra notes that when you're in somebody's closed guard, you should stay on your toes, rather than resting on your insteps. This makes sense in terms of mobility and being able to drive your weight forward, though personally I tend to worry about my toes getting twisted as a result. The advice also applies from side control, as Adshead demonstrates in mistake number thirty.

His focus then switches to escapes, with five suggestions on improving your ability to free yourself from side control. In mistake thirty-four, Adshead refers to 'twister side control', a term I've only heard from Eddie Bravo. I would call what Adshead does here reverse scarf hold, but then as I've discussed before, terminology in BJJ is extremely varied, with numerous names for the same technique.

It's back to a couple of submissions after that, with some good basic points on the americana and far side armbar from side control, before moving into three mistakes from mount (including an escape). There is then a long succession of mistakes from the back, taking in both standard back control (what the IBJJF classes as a 'back grab') and the turtle.

The forty-third mistake on proper grips for the seatbelt/harness caught my eye, because this is another point of divergence among instructors. Adshead prefers the John Will method, where the hand you have by their armpit protects the hand of the arm you've brought over their shoulder. Will's reasoning makes sense, as he argues that this means when somebody pulls off that covering hand, you can simply bring your shoulder arm up to their neck to initiate your choke.

Adshead then progresses to the clock choke to begin his discussion of the turtle. It's followed by four other mistakes when attacking that position: leaving your far arm in, not putting your weight on them and finally not moving around the front. If you do move around the front, you're liable to get taken down, as your legs are then in range of their grips. That's closed off by some details on escaping the turtle by rolling back into guard.

The last mistake, somewhat strangely, is how to maintain knee ride. This would have made much more sense earlier on, grouped with the material on side control. It's sensible advice, but I was confused as to why it was separated out until the end. The DVD closes with a message from Adshead, thanking his instructors and noting that you can contact him with any feedback. That was a nice touch, as it helps personalise the material (though the Lloyd Irvin marketing unfortunately does the opposite).

50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ is listed on the website at £39, which for less than two hours is a little expensive. By comparison, Roy Dean's DVD sets are normally $45 (£28), like the excellent No Gi Essentials. In classic Lloyd Irvin style, Adshead's set is currently available for a more reasonable £29...but for "a limited time only!" Anyone who has seen products sold using the Irvin model will be very familiar with umpteen "buy now before the price goes up!" and "but wait! You also get all this, at £x value!" provisos.

Marketing aside, Adshead's material is good, so white and blue belts shouldn't be disappointed. I would say that 50 Common Mistakes to Avoid in BJJ is generally suitable for beginners, with a few tips that could also help blue belts.

DVD Review - Brown Belt Requirements (Roy Dean)

Short Review: If you're an experienced purple belt, there is now a DVD set aimed directly at you, with the intention of suggesting some ideas to help you develop into a brown belt. As in Purple Belt Requirements, a concept lies at the heart of the DVD, but this time it is pressure and efficiency rather than combinations (though combinations are still very much in evidence). The gap between teacher and student has shrunk, so that the instruction is more like a discussion amongst peers than a lesson delivered to schoolchildren. The assumption is not only that you know the basics, but that you have an established game which you understand very well. There is a good reason why this is called Brown Belt Requirements, so I would recommend you don't tackle its contents until you're at the right level. Available to buy here, or from iTunes here and your Android device here.

Full Review: When Dean released Purple Belt Requirements almost three years ago, it was one of the very few DVDs that looked beyond the early stages of BJJ. The list of DVDs aimed at intermediate and advanced students is not very long: the vast majority of instructionals cater for white and blue belts. This makes sense, as that corresponds to the demographics of jiu jitsu. It takes a long time to move through the belts, so proportionally white and blue belts make up the largest slice of the audience.

However, as the sport continues to grow, there is an increasing number of advanced practitioners. You'll occasionally read on forums that 'purple is the new blue', an indication of the incredible expansion BJJ has undergone, particularly in the United States. Yet purple is also seen as the first 'teaching' belt. In other words, this is when you're supposed to have reached a certain level of maturity in BJJ. At the elite level, purple belts are supremely skilled: for example, competitors like the Miyao brothers and Keenan Cornelius, more than capable of holding their own with the average black belt.

If purple opens the doors to teaching, then a brown is essentially a junior black belt. It is not unheard of for brown belts to defeat black belts at the highest levels of competition: to take the one example from recent years, Rodolfo Vieira smashed his way through the 2009 World Pro trials at brown belt, claiming numerous black belt scalps and the nickname 'Caçador dos Faixas Pretas' ("black belt hunter"). Several female world champions in the combined brown/black division gained their title while still brown belts, like Lana Stefanac, who won double gold in 2009.

That means the instructional level of Brown Belt Requirements needs to be quite different from almost every other DVD set. In fact, the only real comparison is Dean's own Purple Belt Requirements. By this point, the practitioner is not normally looking to add a vast array of techniques to their arsenal. A purple belt is likely to already have a considerable store of knowledge. Therefore a DVD aimed at that market needs to do more than simply show them a few more moves.
___________________________________

Brown Belt Requirements is split across three DVDs along with (as far as I'm aware, uniquely) an audio disc containing some of Dean's musical output (he has previously released a four CD collection, Arc and Shadow). I briefly reviewed an early version of the first disc, Pressure and Options (an hour and twenty-eight minutes), back in January of this year. I described that unfinished version as progressing to the undergraduate level of jiu jitsu, with a sense that you were sat with several other senior belts engaged in an exploratory technical exchange. I also thought it followed the same style as Purple Belt Requirements. There had been a dramatic shift between Blue Belt Requirements and Purple Belt Requirements, which is far less pronounced in the progression to Brown Belt Requirements. I felt that this new DVD retains the conceptual nature of the previous release, except the focus is a little different and instructional detail is trimmed down even further.

The finalised DVD version begins with a lecture on becoming a brown belt, in a similar vein to its excellent counterpart in Purple Belt Requirements, except that this new offering has a heightened sense of style. For example, Dean plays around with his voice, throwing in lots of echo. It's followed by a technical overview, running through numerous techniques, again to a soundtrack. I would assume this is a précis of everything taught on the DVD, though I can't be certain it's completely comprehensive.

The orthodox introduction to the set is titled 'creating opportunity', which was closer to what I've come to expect. In Purple Belt Requirements, the key was combinations. For brown belt, Dean instead emphasises pressure from the top and bottom, which in turn means this is the belt where you become adept at submissions. Due to that pressure, you create opportunities, as per the title.

Appropriately, the next section goes right into that very topic: pressure (around four minutes). First Dean runs through a few options from side control, showing how you can make some adjustments to not only increase the pressure, but potentially even elicit a tap. There are then several subdivisions of pressure, beginning with shoulder pressure. Most people reading this will be familiar with the cross-face and 'shoulder of justice'.

Dean suggests ramping up the force by reaching right over to their armpit. If they bridge into you, then that helps to set up your cross-face. You can also try slapping your hand in between their shoulder blades, for greater control. He then switches to pressure from the guard, demonstrating that as they try to pass, if you can get the underhook and bump, it's possible to obtain what he calls the 'low waist position', a different kind of pressure that begins from guard and ends in side control. Finally, there is pressure from simultaneous pulling and pushing while still in the guard.

This leads into leg locks, which remain an area I avoid as much as possible. However, as has always been the case with the Roy Harris lineage, leg locks are an integral part of the system, something Dean emphasises for brown belts. In 'strategic overview' (techniques with a voiceover, which I much prefer to talking heads), he notes that it is foolish to ignore 50% of the body, along with stating that lower body submissions can be a great equaliser for size and strength. I'm still solidly in the "too dangerous" camp, but perhaps I'll change my opinion in future.

Dean spends roughly six minutes on straight footlocks, rolling toe holds, calf cranks and that old bugbear, heel hooks. The section on leg entanglement was particularly interesting, where Dean uses what looks reminiscent of a lockdown to prevent his opponent from rolling out of a heel hook. As one of the major reasons I don't use leg locks is that I'm terrified my partner would roll the wrong way to escape and mess up their knee, perhaps this is one way of alleviating that concern.

The disc continues with top game and bottom game, where again there is a 'strategic overview' to kick things off. Dean is fond of using the metaphor of BJJ as a debate, which he extends here. For example, "Brown belt is not about learning new words, it's about adding conviction to your argument." He progresses to a rapid sequence from low mount, switching from an americana to a footlock into a triangle then an armbar. The instruction is very fast (that complex combination is explained in only three minutes), even compared to Purple Belt Requirements, which is a clear indicator of the high level practitioners this DVD is aimed towards.

Top game follows, starting with 'low mount attacks', an ideal sequence for me as that's my preferred mount. A minute on 'deconstructing the choke' comes up next, then a three minute sequence with a multitude of knee-on-belly armlocks. 'Failed kimura options' caught my attention, as that's a common problem. Dean suggests a wristlock on their other hand, recovering side control, or unusually, a scissor choke on the neck. That's a submission I first saw in Gracie Jiu Jitsu Basics and had discounted, until I saw another Roy Harris black belt, Sheila Bird, using it effectively in an MMA fight. It still isn't something I'd be likely to try, but it is clearly a more potent attack than I'd assumed.

Three more minutes examine the figure 4 position and the numerous attacks it provides, before a minute on what Dean dubs 'reverse knee on belly'. That opens up a transition similar to the switch from mount to side control Geeza taught recently, and fits in perfectly with Roy Dean's remarkably smooth BJJ game. Dean then moves into two minutes of knee on belly chokes, again packing lots of options into a short space of time. That starts with a methodical run-through of each choke, accompanied by a second demonstration zoomed in, to highlight the hand positioning.

Dean's discussion of 'tail chokes' (by which he means using the bottom of the gi lapel) is slightly longer, at five minutes. He emphasises that once you have that grip, don't let go of the 'tail': even if your partner gets to their knees, it's still a good launching point for your offence. Their applicability in a situation when your opponent is being overly defensive looked to be useful too, as that happens frequently from mount. Like in previous sets, Dean also notes how you can use this attack to generate a reaction, which will then lead into another choke.

Another two minutes are spent on reverse sidemount (which looks similar to what I'd call reverse scarf hold), including a gorgeous back take. The section closes with a few minutes on positional transitions with pressure, revisiting one of the DVD's main themes. For example, when switching from side control into a north south kimura, you can get your arm deep into their armpit using two pressures simultaneously.

The sit out kimura closes off the segment on top game. That features a rare return to the basics, as Dean swiftly summarises how to use the wrestler's sit out, before adding something more offensive. As you'd expect, there is then a corresponding segment on the bottom game. Dean's introduction is based around the concept of simplicity. In the progression from purple to brown, Dean found that he simplified his techniques, trimming down the store of knowledge he had built up over the years to the essential movements.

Fittingly, the first technique covered (in less than two minutes) is one of the most basic: a cross-choke from guard. However, this variation, referred to as the 'Relson choke', is slightly different. You start by coming up on your elbow to reach in as far as possible, so that your hand slides all the way around the back of their collar to the other side of their neck. Lift with your forearm to help insert your second hand, but note that it won't need to be as deep as usual.

The elevator sweep takes up the next couple of minutes, from several situations, before three minutes on an overhook series. This has some similarities to the overhook attacks in Purple Belt Requirements, discussing the central attacks from that grip: choke, triangle and omoplata, along with some sweeps. There's a useful tip on kicking the legs forward to knock them to the ground for the omoplata, rather than trying to wriggle yourself into position by scooting sideways.

'Play your corner' is a more conceptual three minutes, talking about how to get into a better position to start your attack, angling off, then attempting to generate certain reactions to go for the submissions you want. That's followed by a couple of sweeps (about a minute on each). The first starts from side control when you haven't quite managed to get your leg free. The second is essentially the scissor sweep but from spider guard, using the bicep rather than your shin on their stomach.

As this is a brown belt DVD, the bicep slicer isn't out of place, though given that Dean has long included heel hooks on his DVDs, the specific IBJJF restrictions have never been all that much of a concern. This set-up is from the spider guard, using the lasso, which can also flow into sweeps or you can swivel into a triangle. Finally, Dean makes a few points on adjusting the armbar from the triangle, similar to 'play your corner' from a few minutes ago.

Before kicking off his next major segment on passing the guard (which takes about ten minutes), Dean talks about becoming 'a perfect student'. Interestingly, the emphasis appeared to be that you had to reach a certain base level of isometric strength, flexibility and balance. This message of 'mastering the physical' arguably contrasts a little with one of my favourite Roy Dean metaphors, from Blue Belt Requirements: you don't need a bigger gas tank, just better fuel economy.

The balance part applies directly to passing the guard, where I often struggle. There's a smooth scissor sweep counter to start, using a backstep to switch direction and negate the sweep. Passing under the leg with a crushing grip on the collar moves right into a clock choke, should they try to roll out to relieve the discomfort. That includes what I know as the Felipe Souza version of the choke, bracing an elbow against their head.

Passing the z-guard differs depending on if their ankles are crossed or not. If they are, Dean shows how you can wrap up their legs and sprawl to break it open. If they are not, then swivel your lower leg to bring your ankle through. The same body part is key for the 'ankle flare', by which Dean means getting that ankle over their shin as soon as you can get their knee to the floor.

Sprawling on their knee is another helpful concept, before Dean gets on to a technique the DVD titles as 'toriani', again incorporating a backstep. This pass is probably one of the better examples of how confused BJJ terminology can get. I would call it the bullfighter pass, but I've seen it called all sorts of names: the toreador, toreandor, toreando, toreana, toreado...the list goes on. Google Translate tells me the Portuguese for bullfighter is 'toureiro', which like all the others will also bring up videos of the bullfighter pass. Dean completes his passing segment with the x-pass, involving a leg drag to go straight to the back.

The final chapter of the DVD is on counters and escapes. The 'strategic overview' makes several excellent points:

Escapes must be done in combination. [...] You should now be leading the movement with beginners, and encourage them to attempt submissions on you. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. [...] Occasional failure is the price of progress. On the road to brown belt, you've already tapped a thousand times, so don't let one more bother you.

Dean then takes a minute to demonstrate a 'roll reversal', which is what he calls grabbing their arm when in turtle then rolling to take the top position. To help that roll, he suggests you should kick your leg back on the side you want to roll, as that will make it easier to spin through. Otherwise, you'll be fighting against your own base. Dean also includes the classic judo approach after having rolled them: finishing with a waki gatame.

Several flowing armlock escapes take up the next minute and a half, looking to roll backwards and spin into the top position. That's followed by counters to the kneebar and ankle lock, then slightly longer on escaping side control. Dean starts with a Demian Maia style bicep bump into their head, using timing and momentum to roll the opponent. The key is to get them to commit to pushing back, as that gives you the force you need to bring them over the top. There's also a nifty wristlock you can land after tangling their arm with your legs.

Coverage of mount escapes is again about a minute and a half, making some advances on the principle of trapping and rolling. Dean prefers to go directly into a footlock, a tactic you'll see on previous DVDs as well as many of the belt demonstrations. The counter to scarf hold again reminded me of Maia, as that works by pushing on their elbow just before they can secure the position, sliding out to take the back. Dean's guard pass counter uses the same principle. Another artistic piece, 'Expressing the Technique' rounds off the DVD, which as far as I can tell is the same footage from the opening lecture.
___________________________________

Brown Belt Requirements's second disc echoes one of my favourite parts of the previous Purple Belts Requirements: sparring footage with commentary, denoted by its title, rolling and evaluation.The first half is made up of three 'rolling' sections, 'Naples Seminar', 'Naples Analysis' and 'TJ and Brendan'.

The 'Naples Seminar' section felt somewhat redundant, as it is the same footage as in 'Naples Analysis'. The difference is that the latter has commentary, along with slow motion replays for techniques and movements Dean particularly wants to emphasise. I presume the intention is that you could watch the Naples Seminar to arrive at your own conclusions, then compare that with the commentary. However, you could just turn the sound off for that: I would have preferred the option of perhaps two audio tracks, one with commentary and one without, but then I'm guessing that might be either difficult or expensive to do.

Either way, the seminar itself features Dean rolling nogi against several students. They are mostly big, strong white belts, clinging on tightly as big, strong white belts tend to do (though there was at least one blue belt). Dean isn't exactly small – he's over six foot – but he is lean rather than beefy. So, there is an element of seeing how a smaller, experienced grappler should tackle muscular noobs. As Dean says, he feels that part of being a brown belt is possessing the ability to deal with a room full of beginners. The sparring also included one woman, which is good to see.

'TJ & Brendan' refers to a purple and a blue belt respectively, meaning that the commentary provides more advanced analysis this time. If you've been following Roy Dean's work, then you'll be very familiar with TJ Brodeur: he has been the main uke for many years now. The most useful aspect here is that you get to see lots of the techniques from the first DVD in action.

The second half of the DVD surprised me, as it wasn't what I was expecting. The clue is in the title, Brown Belt Evaluation, split into two parts, 'The Challenge' and 'The Evaluation'. At first, you assume this is another belt demonstration, with somebody going for their brown belt. The techniques all look smooth, the demands on stamina are significant and it's all brought together by Dean's trademark musical stylings. However, from what I can gather this was not an actual test, but rather a method of ascertaining how much more needed to be done.

That leads into 'The Evaluation', which for me was the highlight of the whole set. The purpose of the preceding exertion appears to have been to judge what still needed to be done to reach that brown belt level. Throughout the test, Roy Dean and his teacher Roy Harris have been watching and taking notes. The evaluation is Harris' chance to run through those notes, saying exactly what he wants to see by the time of the real demonstration in December.

Harris is famously analytical, to an almost obsessive degree (a huge plus point in my book, as I love over-analysing! ;D), meaning that he can break down the task into clearly stated points. That begins with a discussion of the areas he felt were lacking, which progresses to his proposed solutions. It's a tough proposition: for example, Harris wants to see not only combinations of one or two moves, but all the way up to five. He also expects there to be a constant threat of attack, particularly from the guard, something I personally find very difficult as I have an extremely passive game.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes or so, Harris dissects the candidate's guard, side control and mount. He doesn't just talk about it, but also grabs an uke to demonstrate. This is what I love about jiu jitsu. On the one hand it's a very cerebral sport which lends itself to thorough theoretical examinations, while on the other it is also a physical exercise that requires practical demonstration and pressure testing against resistance. I hope that for Black Belt Requirements, there will be lots more commentary and evaluation, as it's a wonderful addition to an instructional DVD.
___________________________________

The third DVD is where you'll find the belt demonstrations, something that has come to be an expected part of any Roy Dean Media production. As ever, you can find them all on YouTube, but that can't compete with the quality of a DVD version. They are also all demonstrations to earn a purple belt: I would assume that's because there haven't been enough brown belt demonstrations yet (the only one I can remember seeing is Jimmy Da Silva, though I would assume there have been at least one or two others since then).

Whenever I watch a Roy Dean belt demonstration, my first thought is always "wow, I definitely wouldn't be ready for a [insert colour] belt if I trained there!" That's especially true with the purple belt demonstrations, as the rapid combinations, smooth transitions and of course leg locks are all well beyond me. You'll notice similarities between all of the demonstrations, so it would be possible for a senior student to pick up plenty of details simply by viewing this third DVD of the set.

Along the same lines, my second thought is that I would love to see a DVD from Roy Dean that simply went through all the techniques expected for one of these tests: perhaps an accompanying "Curriculum" series to complement the Requirements releases. Although I assume that given the considerable variety on display as Dean's DVDs have evolved, he might well find a mere explanation of a curriculum a bit dull at this point, though I'm sure it would sell well.

The third DVD finishes with some trailers. It is followed not by a DVD, but an audio CD of ambient electronica. If you like the soundtrack to Dean's work, then you should enjoy the tracks. Several of them are quite long, one going to sixteen minutes. Dean mentions in his blurb for the DVD that you could listen to the music while rolling, which would make the length understandable. I'd say that the music is closest to my favourite of Dean's four albums in his last musical release, Second Sound, rather than the harder edged End of Days. Having said that, there is a hint of industrial on certain tracks, like 'Systems Degree', but only briefly.

I had a feeling about this DVD set which crystallised upon a second viewing: it isn't just meant for purple belts, but more specifically, experienced purple belts. I still count myself as a very mediocre purple. I can't pass the guard. I almost never submit anybody. I haven't got a clue about footlocks. So, this DVD is not intended for people like me. All the way through, Dean talks about how by this stage, you already know your game, you're already good, it is a matter of becoming efficient and exerting your will. Therefore if you're not at that level, it would be advisable to leave off buying this set until you reach it. Available to buy here, or from iTunes here