Website Review - JiuJitsu.net ('Trumpet' Dan Lukehart)

Short Review: Carefully structured and professionally presented, JiuJitsu.net offers an innovative approach to structuring an online instructional site. The curriculum is also carefully considered, a guided route which could be especially useful for less experienced grapplers. At $25 a month, pricing is the same as juggernauts like MGinAction: it will be interesting to see if JiuJitsu.net can survive in an increasingly crowded marketplace dominated by big name instructors.

Full Review: I first came across 'Trumpet' Dan Lukehart (he's a music teacher, hence the nickname) back in 2009, when he set up a Gracie Garage. I think I saw it on the list of garages when curiously browsing through the newly launched Gracie University site, but it may also have been from this Sherdog thread

Things have changed a great deal since then. Lukehart has earned his black belt from Ralph Gracie stand-out Beneil Dariush and runs Brea Jiu Jitsu. He's considerably less keen on Gracie University too, a shift in perspective I can understand (I go into lots of depth on the program in my extensive review). Originally Gracie University was supposed to be for people with no access to BJJ, but it has swiftly morphed into a successful means of expanding the Gracie Academy brand, often stepping on the toes of established academies.

Lukehart also has a reputation for creating clear and concise instructional videos. That ties in with my second main memory of Lukehart, which was seeing his excellent series of YouTube videos breaking down and sharing Roger Gracie's game (seeing as that's my own lineage, I was especially interested). He took on Caleb's role as the articulate voice of the BudoVideos commentary team, while continuing to build his school. More recently, Lukehart has stepped into the increasingly crowded online instructional market.

To do so, Lukehart bought the JiuJitsu.net domain, a sensible move for SEO, but presumably not cheap. Previously it featured the services of 'Jiu Joe Jitsu', who looks to have sold self defence DVDs, before selling the URL some time in 2014/2015. At first I had thought it was Gene Simco's infamous old site, Jiu-Jitsu.net, but that has a hyphen (although that url might be available too, as it appears to be down at the moment).

JiuJitsu.net's biggest challenge is probably the competition from numerous big names already on the market. MGinAction is the biggest, with an enormous library and the immense clout of Marcelo Garcia (a legendary competitor, who now appears to be building up his own team of impressively capable students). Among the many other examples, the Mendes Brothers are another huge name, then there's also my personal favourite BJJ Library, headed up by the Ribeiro brothers. Coming from a different angle, you could also turn to the aformentioned Gracie University, successful despite the controversy over online grading and instructor certification.

Most of these sites offer subscription for $25 a month, a price structure Lukehart has followed. He has a few different options, with 6 month and yearly options that bring down that monthly fee. An annual subscription works out at $16.58 a month. To convince potential customers they should plump for JiuJitsu.net, Lukehart needs to offer something different. There are only a handful of people who can compete with the likes of the Ribeiro and Mendes Brothers in terms of accomplishments, so Lukehart has taken another approach. As his website proudly proclaims:

Online Jiu Jitsu Redefined

Break Away From Traditional

JiuJitsu.net leverages the maximum potential of the online medium to provide structure, classification, perspective and problem solving tools never before seen.

Legitimate online jiu jitsu instruction (as opposed to the online equivalent of comic book ads promising to stop those bullies kicking sand in your eye) has been available for about a decade now, pioneered by people like Jean Jacques Machado and Jason Scully. It reached a new level of sophistication with MGinAction, but personally I found that site overwhelming when I tried it on a trial a couple of years ago. JiuJitsu.net takes some of the good ideas from MGinAction, like the ability to flip videos, without adopting the confusing long sequences of technique.

It also looks like the videos Lukehart made available during the period I had access to the site (November 2015) were filmed specifically for the website, rather than class footage. That means that Lukehart always wore a blue gi, while his partner was in a white gi. With class footage, the instructor is grabbing somebody from the class to demonstrate, who may be wearing the same colour gi. With a simple technique that isn't a major problem, but it can become a significant hindrance in something like a complex open guard, where limbs and gi grips twist all over the place.

The layout is interesting, using a method I've not seen on any other instructional sites. In terms of accessing videos, you click through a 'pie' of positions, with each slice expanding into ever increasing levels of specificity. While that's cool, I would have also liked the option to browse through an orthodox list of all available videos (there is a list on the right, but limited to the section you're viewing). That also means I can't judge how many videos the site actually has, though it does at least appear to have a few videos for each of the basic positions (i.e., mount, side control, back, closed guard, half guard, open guard).

You can also switch around the sections on a central dashboard, a simple but nifty touch. The pie chart is accompanied by a 'mind map', where you can go into more detail. It would appear there are various nodes on the mind map that do not lead to a video yet, but presumably will in future. I was testing the site during back month at my school: unfortunately I couldn't find a video on turtle defence, which either indicates it isn't available yet, or it's suitably buried that I can't find it.

Searching 'Turtle' brings up 'Turtle Concepts', which handily sets the mind map to the right point when you click it. From there, you can keep clicking 'back' to get where you want. The 'Progress' in that list on the right had eight videos when Turtle Concepts was selected, while 'Specialize' had another eight, all under a similar title based around a position or area. Each time you select a video in 'Progess', you get different options in 'Specialize', but right now the list doesn't vary all that much due to the small number of videos.

It was very cool how you could link through to examples of the technique done by other people, such as competition footage from Roger Gracie at Metamoris. However, I did wonder if that was going to run into copyright issues, unless JiuJitsu.net has some kind of long-term arrangement with whoever owns that footage. Sites like BJJ Library and MGinAction have lots of material as the featured instructors have vast competitive records and lots of personal footage. If JiuJitsu.net is going to rely on third party material, that might become problematic, unless that is fair use. I don't fully understand the legal side of it.

Back defence starts with a general video on five different sub-types. I was intrigued that Lukehart advocates having his back to the mat as the ideal position. I always look to either get them to one side, or sit up: it's useful to get a different perspective. Lukehart gradually takes you through what he defines as the multiple subpositions of back control, expanding further into related techniques. That also connects through to other positions, such as half guard, enabling you to see the bigger picture.

It's a shame you don't appear to be able to add videos to a playlist, as they tend to be very short. Most of the ones I watched were around 2 minutes. I felt that there were a number of videos that could easily have been combined, but on the other hand, I much prefer too much splitting out than too much combination (as mentioned earlier, a flaw I feel mars MGinAction).

Like most other sites of its kind, JiuJitsu.net offers a free trial. However, unlike most other sites I've seen, there is a clear structured curriculum. While you could probably construct something coherent out of the numerous techniques available on BJJ Library and MGinAction, I'm only aware of Gracie University that has a similar focus on progressing subscribers through a curriculum

JiuJitsu.net isn't offering online rank, fortunately, just structured learning. Interestingly, that structure is adaptable. It is difficult to judge how successful that is at this early stage, but it is a promising concept. I especially liked the 'Try Another Way' feature, appearing in green on the selected video. I'm not sure how well it works across the whole of the site, but testing it with the knee slice, when you click Try Another Way, you get three different options from the same starting position (knee slice to thumb in grip, knee slice to smash pass, knee slice to x pass).

Having long and short formats for each video is another great idea, something I've often wanted with instructionals: a long version to get the details, then short for a refresher. However, quite often nothing comes up on the short version, or when it does, it isn't all that different (e.g., on Knee Slice Concepts, you've got the choice of either around 3 minutes or 2 minutes). I'd prefer something like a 30 second short version, but again, it is early days. You can also flip sides, like with MGinAction.

I also very much liked the marketing: there isn't any attempt to use those horrible '90s templates, sneaky efforts to get your credit card information or pushy advertising copy. I'm not certain yet if JiuJitsu.net will be able to compete with the big beasts presently roaming the online instructional landscapes, but hopefully there is room for innovators like Lukehart to stake out a place for their approach.

Website Review - EstimaInAction (Braulio Estima)

Short Review: In an interesting move, the MGinAction platform has been applied to another high level black belt, this time Braulio Estima. It therefore has the same features as MGinAction, giving you full access to the jiu jitsu of an elite competitor. As with MGinAction, that means you have a range of learning options, such as 'drilling', 'discussion' and 'in action'. The same variety of playback options are present too, including 'mirror image', several speeds and full-screen.

A minor downside is that due to the Gracie Barra uniform rules (listen to Aesopian's balanced podcast on the topic for more information on that), instructor and uke are often wearing the same colour and even the exact same gear, making it harder to distinguish limbs. Also, as with MGinAction, the database is built from class footage, so there are rarely multiple angles. In keeping with its parent site, membership will currently set you back $25, here.

Full Review: This the first time I've seen an instructional model from one BJJ website being applied wholesale to another, which speaks to the success of the MGinAction platform. It would also appear to be administrated and organised by the same team (or at least, part of the same team), given that the person who asked me to do this review did so from an @mginaction.com address. I'm not sure how much collaboration there is between the two sites or what the business arrangement was, but there is no difference in the technology, as far as I can tell.

The main two points of contrast are firstly that EstimaInAction is much newer than Marcelo Garcia's site, meaning it is smaller. Having said that, it is growing fast. At the time of writing, EstimaInAction has roughly 2000 videos in its database: just as with MGinAction, a significant proportion of those are 'in action' clips, rather than full instructional videos. To be specific, as of the 1st March 2015, there were 1960 videos in total, of which 433 were instructional videos (split between 32 'fundamental' and 401 'advanced'), along with 1334 'in action', 182 'sparring', 9 'drills' and 2 'discussion' (for more on what those labels mean, see my MGinAction review). Comparing that to what it looked like on the 2nd February gives you an idea of how the site tends to grow. Back then, there were 30 fundamentals and 348 advanced instructional videos, along with 1194 in action and 162 sparring. The drills and discussion videos haven't changed, 9 and 2 respectively.

The second major difference is that rather than Marcelo Garcia, Braulio Estima guides the viewer through his jiu jitsu game. Right now, it will indeed be Braulio rather than somebody from his teaching staff. All of the videos I watched over the last five weeks have featured Braulio, in contrast to my review of MGinAction. That could indicate that Braulio will continue to lead all the videos, but I would assume it is more likely that as the site expands, other instructors will begin to pop up. That's just an assumption on my part though: it would be interesting to know if MGinAction also began with 100% Marcelo, to build interest in the site.

A third possible difference - though as I haven't looked at MGinAction since 2012, this may no longer be the case - is that EstimaInAction reflects the fact that Braulio's game includes a lot more gi specific material and 'modern' (for want of a better word) guardwork compared to Marcelo Garcia. The complexity of open guard is well represented, ranging from koala guard to galaxy guard. I have little idea what either of those refers to, though I could guess, but regardless it shows you just how much breadth the site can offer. The granularity of the categorisation, as with MGinAction, is considerable.

I should note that I have trained at Braulio's school myself (though quite a few years ago now), so can attest to the excellent instruction available from both the champ himself as well as people not called Braulio Estima. Dónal, the co-founder of my own school, Artemis BJJ, is another Gracie Barra Birmingham product and it's where I first met him. He has had plenty of influence on my game. A lot of the people I remember from 2010 appear in the 2015 video content (generally a belt or two up), though the school itself has changed location since I used to commute over from Leamington Spa.

Incidentally, this is also the first time I've seen an online instructional site from the UK. Hopefully there will be more, given that we're blessed with a number of very high level black belts in this country (along with Braulio, Roger Gracie and his father Mauricio Gomes are arguably the most obvious examples).

February at Artemis BJJ was all about half guard, so that was my focus while testing EstimaInAction. Braulio's approach had an instant impact, as his basic half guard (referred to on the site as 'closed half guard') uses something Braulio calls an arm shield. Rather than the 'paw' method I've used in the past (and it turned out Braulio uses it too, in later videos), you put your hand on your forehead. That creates a tight frame, perfect for diving in low to go for the toe grab sweep and entries into deep half guard.

I was pleased with the results, keeping me safe from cross-facing in the specific sparring sections of class. Even techniques I wouldn't normally adopt had an effect. For example, despite initially thinking it was too complex and awkward for me, I found myself using Braulio's method for the waiter sweep several times during the GrappleThon, demonstrating that the video was sufficiently well taught and clearly explained that it seeped into my game without me realising.

Helpfully when an EstimaInAction video is part of a series, links to the other parts are included in the description at the bottom. Those follow-ups are not always what you might expect, though. The first video I watched was on basic half guard principles, blocking the cross face. It was part one of two, so I expected the second part to be something similarly fundamental. However, part two was in fact a transition into a kneebar, something I'd class as advanced (especially as Braulio mentions this is a dangerous technique that requires control, due to torque on the leg).

That is quite common, but in fairness these videos are under the 'advanced' label. Another example started off with an ankle grab sweep, which switches into that aforementioned waiter sweep from deep half, finishing with a kneebar during part two. Although it didn't always fit with my game, I still like that there was frequently a connected series of videos rather than just one. It's essential to have options if your first attempt doesn't work as you'd hoped. This sequential arrangement is my favourite aspect of the site, I think.

Techniques are often combined, but generally not to the extent that I remember from MGinAction. That is probably due to the way the techniques are split out into parts. When I was testing MGinAction in late 2012, it was all in the one video, leading to mammoth titles like 'Single Leg Takedown, Sit Out vs Sprawl, Whip-Under Sweep from Half Guard, Ankle Pick Sweep from Half Guard'. Several years down the line, it could well be that MGinAction has chopped those up into manageable chunks.

Having said that, there are still some monster video titles on EstimaInAction, even when the videos are split into multiple parts. For example, 'X Pass, Step Around and Backstep Pass & Shin Shield Pass vs Butterfly Guard, Side Control to Back Control — Passing Butterfly Guard Seminar, Part 3/14'. Terminology is another problem, with titles like 'Folding Pass Bait from De La Riva Guard, DLR to Anaconda Guard and Sucuri Sweep, Shin-in Sweep.' I have no idea what a 'Sucuri Sweep' is and I'm not too sure on 'folding pass' either. Of course, that's also a general BJJ problem and therefore impacts all the instructional sites I've tested, including my favourite, BJJ Library.

The same helpful video controls from MGinAction have been carried over to EstimaInAction, with zoom, mirror and several slow motion settings. Less helpfully, both Braulio and his partner often wear the same colour gi or the same rash guard and shorts. This makes it harder to distinguish limb from limb, especially with complex techniques that involve a lot of arm and leg entanglement. As Braulio teaches under the Gracie Barra banner and (AFAIK) implements the full GB rules (although the sparring videos feature at least one non-GB gi), putting severe restrictions on what equipment you can wear. That means that Braulio and his partner sometimes wear not just similar colours, but indistinguishable gear.

I can understand why that has to be the case, given that Braulio is a leading light of Gracie Barra. EstimaInAction also prominently has an "Endorsed by Gracie Barra" logo down the bottom right, so I'm sure GB HQ would be unimpressed if Gracie Barra gear was not on display. There is at least one example of what may be Gracie Barra's strangest rule, which states that even when training nogi you have to wear your belt. However, I only saw that in a single video out of the many I watched, so perhaps that rule has since been sensibly set aside for the purposes of practicality.

The search facility on the right of the screen gives you the option of looking for videos that are gi, nogi or either. It also has an 'opponent' section, where you can choose both belt level and weight: this presumably only applies to the sparring videos. The total number of videos is not yet at the level of MGinAction, so often your search won't return any results. For example, looking at my own purple belt featherweight category, nothing came up. However, black belt featherweight returned 31 in action videos and 3 sparring. The description handily told me the name of the gentleman in the sparring video I watched, Ronnie Mann.

Black belt heavyweight again resulted in 3 (all with the same unnamed opponent, this time), including a 'specific training' example where Braulio worked on side control. Mostly the title just says 'gi training' or 'no gi training'. Unfortunately there is not currently a categorisation for positional sparring, but perhaps that will be added in future. I for one would find it useful to be able to look at, for example, all the specific sparring videos from the back. Adding narration would be especially cool, but that's a tall order considering the number of videos involved.

If the opponent is well-known, they are generally mentioned in the title. Like everyone else, the person I immediately looked for upon discovering this section was Roger Gracie, who I know does train regularly with Braulio. Typing his name into the search box brings up two sparring videos with the legend (at his academy rather than GB Brum), but sadly there is no sound. That's a shame, as they do stop and discuss technique at certain points. I assume they speak to each other in their native Portuguese, but I'd still be interested to hear it, as naturally would anybody who - unlike me - is fluent in the language.

When looking at any video, you will also get 'research suggestions' to the right (there is a 'my research suggestions' link at the top too), which as far as I can tell develops based on the videos you watch. For example, when I did a search for 'tripod sweep' and clicking on an 'in action' tripod sweep from spider guard video, the database also pointed me towards 'foot on the biceps from spider guard', 'sleeve and collar grip from spider guard' and 'Setup_Angled leg lift from spider guard'.

I can click on the 'in action' or instructional selections, or 'view all'. Next to 'in action', I can also 'load to queue'. That means a new window pops up (I can move it around the screen if I want, go to full screen or close it), where all of the short 'in action' videos run one after the other. There's a similar section for 'related material' underneath the research suggestions box. There's a 'MyPage' section as well, where you can organise your favourite EstimaInAction videos into customisable folders for later viewing.

It felt like the difference between 'fundamental' and 'advanced' was clearer on EstimaInAction than MGinAction, at least judging by the videos I watched. Unfortunately (if understandably) there is no option to download the videos, so you have to have an active internet connection: to date, the only instructional site I've seen that offers an inbuilt download option is the Grapplers Guide, much to Jason Scully's credit.

If you like MGinAction, then I'm sure you'll also be happy with EstimaInAction. It's a good move for the MGinAction team, as Braulio's style is quite different to Garcia's, with a lot more gi-specific material for a start (unlike Marcelo, Braulio clearly does not subscribe to the view that his entire game has to be applicable in both gi and nogi). That means the proven MGinAction model can now cater to a broader range of BJJ interests.

So, the plus points of MGinAction pretty much all apply to EstimaInAction, which given the impressive technology are significant. Even though it is comparatively new, the database is still fairly big and expanding rapidly. The 'in action' facility is a great way to get deeper into a technique you're interested in learning, though it is not as useful as MGinAction yet, because frequently a technique you can see in action does not have a corresponding instructional video.

As with any instructional site, you need to decide if you have the time, money and inclination to sign up to a monthly subscription. The main pre-requisites for the site to be of any use are a consistent internet connection and a computer with sufficient specs to run the videos (they worked fine on my laptop from 2008, indicating the site doesn't need a particularly swish computer to work), which most people have. More importantly, you need a willingness to do some serious research into technique, which rather less people possess. For those who do, EstimaInAction will richly reward your attention. You can sign up here, setting you back $25 a month.

Website Review - BJJ Library (Saulo & Xande Ribeiro)

Short Review: Both Xande and Saulo Ribeiro have respected DVD sets on the market, as well as arguably the best instructional book to date, Jiu Jitsu University. BJJ Library follows on directly from that work: video versions of the techniques taught in Jiu Jitsu University currently account for the majority of BJJ Library's content. Due to the youth of BJJ Library the archive is not yet extensive, though new videos are being added every day.

This site is ideal for people who are not looking for the latest flashy acrobatics, but instead want to develop a steady pressure game. Having said that, there are regular guest seminars from current luminaries like Leandro Lo, meaning more ostentatious BJJ will presumably be covered when somebody with that style is brought in to teach. You can sign up for a $25 monthly membership here, with other packages available.

Full Review: When I wrote about online training at the start of 2010, it seemed that the success of Gracie University had prompted many others to follow suit. Almost three years later, MGinAction (which I recently reviewed here) appears to have become the model others are trying to emulate. Cyborg, Paragon, Andre Galvao and the Mendes Brothers have all set up online training sites, among numerous others. Two other major names have entered the fray: Saulo Ribeiro and his brother Xande.


The main factor which will make it difficult for new instructional websites to break into the market is that MGinAction has such a large archive. As a result, the consumer may well think, "well, MGinAction has over 15,000 videos: nobody else comes close." The Mendes brothers can potentially compete, because they are trendy at the moment: not only are both brothers current champions, they are fashionable due to their popularisation of flashy techniques, especially the berimbolo.

BJJ Library has a different appeal. Both Saulo and Xande can boast lots of gold medals from the highest levels of competition. Xande is still active and retains his place in the tournament elite: he will be appearing again at Metamoris in a few weeks. You may well see the name Alexandre Couceiro Ribeiro listed amongst the Mundials medallists a few days before that.

Yet neither is known for their flashy style. Instead, they are valued for the solid substance of their technique and mastery of old school, reliable pressure. That too has an audience, of which I am a part. Personally, I have no desire to learn the details of the berimbolo, beyond a simple defence. I want that old school pressure. Therefore it is the brothers Ribeiro who most peak my interest, not the brothers Mendes.

The Ribeiro brothers' website does not yet have the incredibly rich labelling of MGinAction. In the description of each video there is a part that says 'tags', but for most of them it is blank. Having said that, plenty of thought has clearly gone into the organisation of the material: there are two main configurations to choose from, for a start. When you open the site, the default is the first tab at the top, entitled 'Library'. This shows all the content on BJJ Library, split by position in a menu on the right hand side.

You can also select the 'Curriculum' tab to see the archive broken down in an alternative arrangement. This is exciting if you own Saulo's book, because 'Curriculum' is where you will find videos for each technique featured in Jiu Jitsu University, corresponding to the same chapter and sub-chapter categorisation (with a few other related videos thrown in, such as the seven part '2 on 1 guard' series). Another benefit is that structuring part of BJJ Library as live versions of the book has provided the Ribeiro brothers with the opportunity to revisit those techniques. In the example below, I have clicked through to a video: the listing window remains in place on the right.



For example, my favourite defence to side control is the running escape. I first learned this from Jiu Jitsu Revolution 1, which was then refined by the sequel. Once Jiu Jitsu University came out, that shifted the focus of the escape again, this time emphasising the leg swing to guard. In 2013, there is yet another variation.

Saulo starts off his BJJ Library version with the same method as in the book, pushing off his feet into his training partner then swinging through to guard. There are a a few tweaks, so as I regularly teach this escape, watching that video earlier this week was useful for my most recent lesson. Saulo then does something entirely different, combining the running escape with a more orthodox approach. As soon as he gets his shoulder free, he walks his shoulders back and shrimps out to recover guard.

If it wants to keep up with its rivals, then the vidoes on BJJ Library will need to increase in number at a faster rate. As of Sunday 19th May, BJJ Library has a mere 203 videos, which is up from 192 this Monday. As far as I can tell, all of the videos are presently gi. This does not bother me personally, as I barely train nogi, but many others do: again, they will look to MGinAction, where a large proportion of the database is made up of nogi.

There is the argument of quality over quantity, but that initial proposition facing the customer - choosing between 15,000 videos on MGinAction and 200 on BJJ Library - must be dealt with. One of the unique features BJJ Library can offer to tempt potential subscribers is the Jiu Jitsu University curriculum, which benefits from the immense good will towards the book. Another is BJJ Library's growing range of guest seminars.

The Ribeiro brothers have already brought in some huge names, including Rafael Lovato Jr and Leandro Lo, along with an upcoming Terere session. According to a post by site admin Dave Kim on Sherdog, the intention is to get to a point where the site becomes a 'Netflix for BJJ', with hour long seminars from top level instructors every week. If that will be included in the standard membership it sounds appealing, but if not, the price per seminar will be interesting to see. Budovideos have been offering live seminars with a replay for a while now (although not on a weekly basis): generally they have cost between $10 to $20.

Currently, each seminar on BJJ Library is divided into short videos, which from what I've seen so far are shot as if they were a DVD: the instructor addresses the camera rather than a class, they show each technique from multiple angles and (generally) they wear a different colour gi to the person they are using for the demonstration.

The Lovato Jr series is an intriguing example. He has his own online instructional site, which received some bad press due to marketing practices. Appearing on BJJ Library gives him a chance to present his technique in a more neutral environment, freed from the unpleasant overtones of Lovato Jr's maligned marketing approach. He mentions his website twice, at the start of the first video and the end of the seventh, which is not intrusive (particularly as Lovato Jr's opening 'introduction' video, which is essentially an advert for his website, can be completely ignored because it does not contain any techniques).

Lovato Jr's teaching is excellent. He is a student of the Ribeiro brothers, so it is perhaps unsurprising there was a lot that I could see fitting well into my own game. The pressure passing system is relatively straightforward, with several elements that reminded me of what I've been learning from Dónal in his private lessons on guard passing. Dónal taught me a comparable passing start point to what Lovato Jr calls the 'headquarters' position. There are plenty of similarities between Lovato Jr's 'cross knee pass' and Dónal's 'knee cut', which I look forward to testing out in sparring.

Leandro Lo's introductory video to his seminar does not include any sales pitches (although that's mainly because Lo does not have an instructional site, as far as I'm aware). Lo speaks in Portuguese, but there are subtitles. If like me you're interested in learning Portuguese, that's a cool addition. The last word of the subtitles is occasionally a little obscured by the BJJ Library watermark, but it is just the end of the sentence.

After briefly explaining his background, Lo moves into teaching his variation of the bullfighter pass. I especially liked that at the end of his video, you get to see Lo working through the technique with Saulo and Xande, as they compare notes on how they prefer to apply the bullfighter pass. That's accompanied by a much longer video (almost eighteen minutes) on the same lines, in the BJJ Library section dubbed 'Lifestyle', presented as a 'behind the scenes' perspective on the Lo seminar.


The translation is occasionally somewhat unclear, though that is probably because they are being fairly literal, meaning the phrasing is unusual to English ears. For example, in the above screenshot, where the line is "You know, I open, I try to get some space and then do this, but if he will so strong". Then again, that is mitigated when you consider this is a far less formal situation than instruction, as you're basically watching a bunch of jiu jitsu people sat in a room chatting about technique. That necessarily impacts on the clarity of their language.

Unlike the videos on MGinAction, BJJ Library does not tend to cram a massive chain of techniques into each video. Instead, they are tightly focused, like three variations on the scissor sweep, an explanation of the running escape or how to finish the bow and arrow choke from the back. This is a matter of preference: some may plump for the convoluted combinations on MGinAction. Both make for a perfectly sensible instructional methodology.

The BJJ Library approach is a better fit with my learning style. When there is more than one technique in a video, it is normally different variations. To make a comparison, on BJJ Library, the descriptive nomenclature consists of titles like 'JJU 4-0, 4-1, 4-5, 8-1, 8-2 Side Control Survival & Escape', or 'Scissor Sweep 3 Variations - Low, High, Knee Push'. By contrast, on MGinAction, you can find the monster titles 'Frame Escape vs Underhook and Head Control, Guard Recovery vs Side Control, Bridge Escape vs North South, Guard Recovery vs North South' and '2on1 Control from Butterfly, Cross Arm and Belt Sweep from Butterfly, 2on1 from Butterfly to Back Control, Rear Naked Choke'.

There are similarities to Jiu Jitsu Revolution, in that Saulo still loves to talk. As a result there are several lectures to the camera, such as the video on side control survival and escapes. This combines multiple segments of Jiu Jitsu University, resulting in slightly over eight minutes of instruction. However, the first two and a half minutes are Saulo sat on his own, explicating his theories on side control.

The same thing happens in a video on mount survival, filling three out of the ten minutes. What Saulo says is certainly useful, but if you prefer less exposition in your instructionals, Saulo's loquacious tendencies are worth keeping in mind. Of course, there is plenty of Xande instruction on BJJ Library, giving a certain breadth of teaching style. A small number of non-seminar videos are taught by other staff at the two schools, but unlike MGinAction it is overwhelmingly the star names teaching right now (though in fairness, that is easier to do in 200 videos compared to 15,000).

If you've read my previous reviews of Saulo's material, then you'll know I generally enjoy his lectures: after all, he is responsible for my favourite quote in jiu jitsu, made during Jiu Jitsu Revolution. In regards to BJJ Library, Saulo makes some salient points in his two and a half minute discussion on surviving side control, stating that:

Before you escape, you've got to defend yourself against mount, knee on the belly and any kind of choke or any kind of situation that would make you tap. So, what's the message here? Don't try to escape and get into a worse position. Set yourself and take your time. The cross-side position is about taking your time. We can't have the mentality that is just for tournaments, we've got to escape right away. Man, you already let them pass your guard. You already allowed them to cross-side you. Take your time. You cannot allow something to get worse.

Many of the videos are not simply recordings of Saulo or Xande teaching class. For example, the six minute video based on JJU 36.01 (the bow and arrow choke) features Saulo and his demonstration partner on their own, teaching directly to the camera rather than any students. That can be seen in how the video starts, with the two sat next to each other in classic DVD fashion, followed by a "hey guys, today we're going to show you the bow and arrow choke," finishing with a look at the camera while they wait for the cut. Also in keeping with a DVD, Saulo shows the technique from multiple angles (although unlike a DVD, they are wearing the same colour gi).

Most of the videos I have watched have been from between three minutes to ten minutes in length, which is comparable to the selection I viewed from MGinAction. It is nowhere near as long as the videos from the blue belt stripe 1 guard chapter I bought from Gracie University, but then that's because Gracie University is not a typical subscription site. In fact, I would argue the subscription model fits it poorly, because the videos on Gracie University are very long and infrequent: you can still buy individual videos or chapters, as I did, which makes a lot more sense in the case of Gracie University. The subscription model works best when there are numerous videos appearing each day, as is the case with MGinAction and BJJ Library.

For those who are interested in self defence, there is a section on that too, taught by somebody called Phillip Wyman. I'm not sure if that will prove to be a one-off seminar series, or if the self defence section will be a growing part of the site. I presume the latter: it is not an area of BJJ that interests me from a practical standpoint (I discussed the issue at length during my Gracie Combatives review), but it is another indication that the audience for BJJ Library has some differences to the audiences for the Mendes brothers' site or MGinAction.

Like MGinAction, BJJ Library includes drills. At present, this is a series of sixteen Ginastica Natural warm-ups performed by Xande and Saulo, rather than lots of methods for drilling specific techniques. The latter would be a useful addition and perhaps will be enhanced in future. There are a few videos that include a drilling option to aid the technique: e.g., Saulo demonstrating the hip-bump/sit-up sweep.

Another feature the two sites share in common are sparring videos, which on BJJ Library are grouped under 'Rolling'. Again, I am not certain how much this part of the site is due to grow, as it consists of just one video at present, where Xande spars with Leandro Lo. It is only three minutes and again lacks the exhaustive labelling of MGinAction, so while you get to watch two elite competitors spar, there is not yet detailed tagging to tell you exactly which techniques are being used. What I would most enjoy seeing is some commentary from Xande and Lo discussing the roll afterwards, providing analysis of what they did and what they were looking to achieve. Roy Dean does this on his DVDs (e.g., No Gi Essentials) and it is fantastic: hopefully that format might be considered for BJJ Library in the future.

There is a forum (listed in the tabs on the main screen), which is just a basic vBulletin without a lot of content at the moment. Still, it looks as though the site admin posts on there regularly, meaning you should be able to present feedback and get swift answers to any technical issues with the site or perhaps video requests. On individual videos, as can be seen in the above screen cap, you can leave comments (although I do not know how interactive that will be, in terms of directly communicating with Xande and Saulo).

If I was going to join an online instructional website, my choice would be BJJ Library. However, that's because I'm a fan of Saulo and Xande's teaching and the old school elements of their respective BJJ games. I also thought Jiu Jitsu University was a great book with a brilliant structure, which therefore means I am really pleased to get the chance to see the pictures from the book come to life. The main challenges will be the (currently) small archive and the question of cost.

At the moment, you can sign up here for a monthly membership of $24.99, with the option of three months at $74.99 or a whole year for $249.99. That is comparable with other instructional sites. However, it is being advertised as a limited time offer: should the price significantly increase, that's a potentially dangerous path, as it would mean the MGinAction database - which will remain far more extensive than BJJ Library for the foreseeable future - becomes the cheaper option.

Website Review - MGinAction (Marcelo Garcia)

Short Review: By far the largest database of any online BJJ instructional site currently available, MGinAction gives you full access to the jiu jitsu of an elite competitor. The comprehensive labelling system is impressive, with a range of learning options, such as 'drilling', 'discussion' and 'in action'. There are numerous playback options, including 'mirror image', several speeds and full-screen. However, Garcia will not always be the one teaching, though his assistants are undoubtedly capable. This is also just footage from class, so there are rarely multiple angles and sometimes both demonstrators wear the same colour gi.

I also disliked the way that videos were almost always techniques in long combinations rather than individual moves. While that makes sense in terms of how the technique would be applied in practice, I found it distracting when I was looking for specific details on a specific technique. Still, there is the option of a free week-long trial (which is easy to cancel before you get charged), so it is worth taking a look, here. It will set you back $25 a month at the moment, with annual options that come with various perks (e.g., a week's training at Garcia's academy, if you can make it to New York).

Full Review: Due to another instructional site asking me to review their content, I decided it was about time to collate my notes about MGinAction and put up a review, in order to prepare a comparison. In the case of MGinAction, I'm relying on what I saw over a week during Christmas 2012, when I signed up for the trial (being a BJJ geek, I did not do a whole lot else other than watch MGinAction for those few days). Before getting started, I should therefore note that six months down the line, there will be considerably more videos on the database and other things may potentially have changed as well.

Arguably, the success of MGinAction has prompted an explosion in online BJJ instructional websites, with numerous other elite instructors and competitors following suit (for example, Andre Galvao, the Mendes brothers, Draculino and the Ribeiro brothers, whose site I'll be reviewing next). MGinAction was not the first example of the genre: Jean Jacques Machado has had an online instructional site since around 2006 and the infamous Gene Simco was another early pioneer. Yet it was not until 2009 that the concept of teaching jiu jitsu online went mainstream, with the arrival of Gracie University. Rener and Ryron made a huge splash in the online BJJ community due to their high quality instruction coupled with the still extremely
controversial decision to award belts based purely on video submissions from distance-learning students.


MGinAction (which certainly does not award rank) was unique at the time it was launched, because unlike the earlier examples, it presented the complete game of an active elite level competitor. Marcelo Garcia is regularly described as the best pound for pound grappler in the world, his peers a very select group of people. Another unusual element to MGinAction is the close involvement of co-founder Josh Waitzkin, who combines several disparate achievements: he was a high level chess player, a BJJ black belt, a tai chi push hands champion and the author of The Art of Learning (which I haven't read, as I'm put off anything that smacks of self-help, but the title at least indicates somebody interested in pedagogy, a good trait if you're heading up an online instructional site).

The content of MGinAction consists of videos filmed of Garcia and his instructors teaching classes at his academy. This is as distinct from Gracie University, which records videos specifically for the online public, rather than class recordings. Although given that MGinAction has now been around for several years, the instructors presumably teach with their online audience in mind as well as the students they are teaching in person.

This also means that the videos are not optimised for viewing in the way a DVD would be, or indeed the videos on Gracie University. You do not get multiple angles, the people demonstrating are not always wearing different colour gis (which can make it hard to distinguish which limb becomes to which person) and there is not much in the way of close-ups, although to be fair to MGinAction, they do zoom in every now and then.

Marcelo Garcia fans should also keep in mind that it is not always Garcia himself teaching. Much of the instruction is done by his assistant instructors, who of course are also very capable, but they lack that star power. Sometimes there is an interesting guest instructor (Fabio Gurgel appeared in one of the videos I saw), but unfortunately there was not a specific label for the instructor. That would be useful, as often you may find you prefer a particular instructor's style.

The biggest single advantage of MGinAction is the sheer number of videos. The selection is enormous: during my trial week in December 2012, you could choose from a total of 14,356. There are numerous categories, which can be drilled down in increasing detail. The broadest distinction is between gi and nogi: if like me you are not especially interested in nogi, then it is worth keeping in mind that a large proportion of MGinAction is nogi (which reflects his approach to BJJ). You can also select the position, top or bottom, which subcategory (e.g., sweeps), then the specific technique.

As you can see if you click on the picture near the top of this review, there are yet more sub-divisions available. In the tabs along the main window on the left, there is 'Fundamentals', 'Advanced', 'In Action', 'Sparring', 'Drills' and 'Discussions'. Each time you click on a label for a particular technique or category, the MGinAction database will split the results into those categories (though quite often several of them will have a '0' in brackets, depending on the breadth of your chosen label).

The demarcation between 'fundamentals' and 'advanced' is somewhat unclear, but that's a problem with BJJ in general, not MGinAction specifically. If I take the cross choke from mount as an example, the version I watched under the 'advanced' label used a set-up where you bait them into half guard to finish. The 'fundamental' video to which I compared it started off the same, including the detail on pushing their defending hand underneath your chest, but did not have that bait finish. Presumably there is either somebody making the decision that one technique is advanced, or perhaps something much more straightforward: e.g., the advanced techniques might be the ones filmed in the advanced class as opposed to the fundamentals class.

'In Action', justifying the name of the website itself, is a short clip of the technique being performed by Garcia in sparring. The video will begin a few moments before Garcia actually applies the technique, then stops immediately after he has landed it (meaning each video is just a few seconds long). It is fascinating to watch the same technique being hit over and over again, on a range of belts and sizes. If you are trying to research a particular technique in depth, this is a potentially handy addition to your learning resources. It is also a very impressive exercise in categorisation on the database administrator's part.

'Sparring' is similar in that you get to see techniques in action, but these are longer, wider-ranging videos of several minutes. They also include a few celebrities, as nothing on the mats appears to escape the camera at the Marcelo Garcia Academy (which from a viewer perspective is really cool: I am assuming that visitors who find themselves filmed sign some kind of disclaimer to allow their footage to be used). As with everything else, you can pick out rolls that feature particular techniques by clicking on the one you want listed. Given the dynamic nature of sparring, that means each sparring video has many, many labels.

A 'Drill', as you would expect, is a drill for practicing a particular element of a technique: e.g., countering a double-ankle grab sweep by kicking your leg free and stepping it back. Again, these videos tend to be short, as a drill does not normally take very long. This section is ideal for instructors looking to build a well-structured lesson where everything flows together, moving from the warm-up straight into the techniques. It would also be useful for students with access to an open mat, who want to work on technique rather than just sparring the entire time.

'Discussions' presented perhaps the most intimate look at the academy of all the videos. In the examples I watched, whoever was holding the camera appeared to be wandering around in an open mat setting, where Garcia was sharing some tips with two purple belts. That evolved into a discussion, with several students sitting around Garcia questioning him about the intricacies of a particular technique. I am not sure how useful it is as a learning experience for the viewer, as although Garcia obviously has lots of useful advice, it is largely just him talking, rather than visual demonstrations of what he is saying. Either way, it is a great way to feel that you are right there with Garcia in his school.

There are several helpful playback features on MGinAction. My favourite was the 'mirror image' option, which flips the video, making it easy to work the technique on both sides. There are also more standard controls like adjusting the speed, looping and expanding to full screen. That's in addition to a toolbar which adds in further functionality, including the ability to queue videos into a personal playlist.

Unfortunately there is no option to download the videos, so you have to have an active internet connection: to date, the only instructional site I've seen that offers that option is the Grapplers Guide, much to Jason Scully's credit. As I have a limitation on my downloads and bandwidth (admittedly my fault for getting a very cheap internet package), I can't watch too many streaming videos before I hit my download cap. I also prefer studying a small number of techniques over months or even years, which is why the subscription model is not one that has tempted me so far: I still prefer DVDs. Although I did buy some videos from Gracie University, as they've combined the payment methods by also providing an option to buy individual lessons as well as a subscription model.

Very occasionally, there will be mislabelled videos on MGinAction: for example, 'Guillotine from Side Control, North South Choke from Side Control' popped up under gi but is a nogi video. That long title is typical of MGinAction, where almost all of the videos appear to be extended combinations rather than individual techniques. On the one hand, that is positive and reflects the importance of chaining techniques in your training. On the other, it can be annoying if you are looking for instruction on something specific, then have to dig that out from underneath five other techniques. It may also be irrelevant to what you're looking for: say you want some advice on taking the back from mount, but the video you find only shows you how to do it after you escape side control.

Having said that, if you did a search on 'taking the back' or just clicked the label in question, you will be rewarded with an extensive list where you are sure to (eventually) find what you need. I liked that the titles are thorough, encompassing all the techniques in the video. Although it can look rather clunky on the screen, it tells you exactly what you're going to get when you hit 'play'.

I should note that the actual instruction also tends to be good, with a few 'what if' details, grip variations and little tweaks, such as grabbing their hand and stuffing it under your chest if they try to block your collar choke. I was a bit disappointed that I found it difficult to find videos for maintaining positions, as there wasn't really a label for that. There was a label for grips, but not for simply how to hold a position. I would have found some in-depth discussion on maintaining position useful. If the videos do in fact exist, they were sufficiently buried that I could not find them.

Strangely, some standard techniques did not appear to be on MGinAction: I couldn't find the ezequiel choke from mount. However, I suspect that is an issue of terminology (and possibly spelling: I've seen it written as both ezequiel and ezekiel, among other variants), which when it comes to instructional sites becomes an irritating problem. The only other option is to try and search through every other choke from mount to try and discover whatever Garcia calls it. Other videos I certainly did find and they were also of immediate use to me, such as Garcia's take on the stiff-arm escape (which he calls the 'elbow push') from side control.

If you ever want to cancel your subscription, the process was simple. I did not have to jump through multiple hoops to get to the right screen, as MGinAction is refreshingly free of the obnoxious marketing nonsense that has unfortunately afflicted certain sections of the online BJJ world. All you have to do is select 'cancel subscription' from 'Update Account Information' on 'My Page', which is precisely where you would expect it to be.

For those who want to emulate Marcelo Garcia's game, there is no better resource. The database is huge, there is plenty of detail and you get an unprecedented ability to drill down further, thanks to the 'In Action', 'Sparring' and 'Discussion' clips. The amount of categorisation is amazing, although there is the odd mislabelled video. More angles and making sure the instructor wore a different colour gi to the person on which they're demonstrating would have been helpful, plus there is sometimes an issue with terminology, but that isn't MGinAction's fault.

The big question is whether or not you have the time, money and inclination to sign up to a monthly subscription site. You're going to need decent bandwidth, as there is no option to download the videos (though I'm sure there are programs that will do that for you). You also need to make sure you can dedicate some serious time to exploring the techniques: to make this worth your monthly subscription will necessitate a lot of study. Finally, you need to be a fan of Garcia's approach to BJJ: if you enjoy butterfly guard, x-guard, particular types of choke and nogi, then you'll be very happy.

If you are only interested in refining basic techniques, then you will still probably find much to like on MGinAction (particularly as due to the huge archive you are virtually guaranteed to bring up at least one video related to what you're looking to work on), but other sites could be a better fit. I don't want to have to extract the technique I want to study from a bundle of other techniques and I want to keep things as simple as possible. Hence why I personally was much more excited to get the chance to check out Saulo and Xande Ribeiro's website, BJJ Library (review now up here), but that is just preference.

The MGinAction trial is free and fairly generous (it may have changed since I did it, but I got a whole week), so if nothing else I can recommend trying it out to see if you find it useful. You'll be charged $25 a month, with annual subscription offers too that come with perks, the most exciting of which is the chance to train for a week in person at Garcia's academy (though that does of course require you to make it out to New York).

I should mention that I know of one person where I train who has massively benefitted from MGinAction: the positive impact it has had on Mike's game is obvious whenever you roll with him. I'm hoping he'll stick up his thoughts about MGinAction in a comment to this post, as I know he has been using that site for much longer and in far greater depth than I ever could in just a week.

Update May 2013: Mike has added his lengthy response in the comments to this post, with plenty of useful info. Thanks Mike! :)

Website Review - RioJiuJitsuGuide.com

Short Review: If you're planning to travel to Rio de Janeiro and need help choosing where to train, then the subscriber-only Guidebook section on RioJiuJitsuGuide.com is packed with information intended to aid your decision. There are also free sites out there offering a comparable service, although none are yet as extensive. The question is whether the difference between those free sites and RioJiuJitsuGuide's paid alternative can justify $58.

Full Review: Though there are numerous arguments about the history of Brazilian jiu jitsu, most people would agree that the majority of its early development took place in Rio de Janeiro. This is where Carlos Gracie and his younger brothers founded the Academia Gracie. It is where Carlson and Rolls famously taught in the same building. Gracie Barra began its global journey from here, as did Gracie Humaita. Nova Uniao, combining lineages from both Carlson and Oswaldo Fadda, also began in Rio. For many years, the Mundials were held there too, at the Tijuca Tennis Club.

You could perhaps argue that the centre of BJJ has shifted to the United States, more specifically California: that is where the major championships are now held and where many of the top schools hold court. However, most people you ask would probably still say that Rio is the beating heart of jiu jitsu, with a high concentration of top level schools, an incredible number of advanced black belts all training on the same mats and a rich BJJ history.

So, a trip to Rio is a dream for the many practitioners of BJJ who live thousands of miles away. Over the last few years, with the rapid growth of BJJ, this has become an increasingly well-resourced possibility. Connection Rio is a familiar name within BJJ circles: I myself know quite a few people who have stayed with Dennis Asche and speak highly of the service, such as my regular training partner Dónal here in Bristol. There are now loads of threads, blogs, articles, podcasts and videos discussing training in Rio.

Going to Brazil wasn't something I'd considered in much detail up until now, as I've always been a lot more interested in training in North America rather than South (hence my trip to Texas next month, which will hopefully be the first of many training holidays to the US). As I've more recently begun to pay more attention to the possibility of training in Brazil, it was timely that Aaron Sundquist contacted me about reviewing his site, RioJiuJitsuGuide.com.

RioJiuJitsuGuide.com is intended to help the prospective jiu jitsu traveller to Rio choose the right academy to visit, arming them with directions, prices and even pictures of the entrance. In an interview about the RioJiuJitsuGuide.com, Sundquist proudly told the Fightworks Podcast that his site "was created to fill a massive information gap." That isn't quite true anymore, as a little while before that interview was published, Hywel Teague launched TrainBJJinRio.com, which has much the same goals (interesting, Teague also made the same claim about being the first and only Rio academy guide, here). I will therefore be making several comparisons in the course of this review.

Nevertheless, it is true that before the emergence of these two sites, detailed and accurate information about the available academies in Rio was not easy to find. Both sites offer that information in two forms: free or paid. TrainBJJinRio is currently promising to release The Rio Jiu Jitsu Guide, a hard-copy book. Sundquist's separate site of the same name has an online guidebook, which costs $58 for six months of access. The free material on TrainBJJinRio replicates the paid material on RioJiuJitsuGuide to a certain extent, though at present the number of academies discussed on RioJiuJItsuGuide is much higher.

If you haven't subscribed, you'll know you've hit upon a paid section of RioJiuJitsuGuide.com when it tells you "sorry brother" (which incidentally would be more effective as something gender neutral, like "sorry friend". Women want to learn about training in Rio too, after all). Outside that barrier there are plenty of free resources. RioJiuJitsuGuide.com has many helpful articles on various aspects of training in Rio: the piece on transport looks particularly handy. There are also articles that draw upon the considerable store of data gathered by RioJiuJitsuGuide, such as a discussion of the average cost of training.

RioJiuJitsuGuide currently covers twenty-three academies in Rio. The selling point of the paid Guidebook section is the amount of data Sundquist has collected for each of those twenty-three academies. In the most significant free resource on the site, the 'Rio Jiu Jitsu Ranking' (an 18 page pdf you'll receive if you sign up to the email list), Sundquist makes the following statement:

The Ranking doesn’t try to measure subjective perceptions. It doesn’t care if the instructor is friendly or if the view from the academy is nice. The ranking also doesn’t measure personal preferences. It can’t explain your friend’s allegiance to one academy over another.

But for the first time, there is an objective answer to a very simple question: What are the best Jiu-Jitsu academies in Rio de Janeiro?

For people who want to train in Rio de Janeiro, the Ranking is the best starting point for deciding where to train. For the academies in Rio, it’s a report card on where they stand in relation to the competition. And for others in the Jiu-Jitsu community, the Ranking is a snapshot of the status of Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

The entries in the Guidebook also follow that data-driven perspective. I am not entirely convinced that decisions about where to train are based upon criteria quite that objective. Speaking personally, if I was making a decision about where to train, I would be far more interested in less quantifiable elements like atmosphere, personality (so in my case, I do care if the instructor is friendly) and teaching ability. However, it is reasonable to suggest that a good starting point is to provide an analysis of aspects which CAN be easily measured, like cost, mat space and location.

RioJiuJitsuGuide.com divides up that data into four groups: price, convenience, facilities and competitive performance. This is preceded by a general information section, which includes details on the neighbourhood, address, affiliate reach and whether or not the academy has a website. Usefully, it also tells you the focus of the gym (e.g., MMA and/or jiu jitsu), if it is primarily gi or nogi and perhaps most important, if it accepts foreign students. There are several colour photographs displaying the inside of the academy as well, followed by the names and ranks of the instructors.

Getting into the main data groups, price is a fairly straightforward criteria. For this to be useful, it has to be accurate. Prices change, so Sundquist will need to regularly check the prices of all the academies included on his site. This is one area in which a website can be superior to a hard-copy guidebook, because a website can immediately be updated to reflect the current situation. A hard-copy inevitably becomes dated, which is why there are so many editions of Rough Guide and Lonely Planet.

It is of slight concern that the two websites disagree about how much it costs to train at a couple of the gyms. For example, when I was researching this review a couple of days ago, TrainBJJinRio stated it was R$265 per month to train at Gordo Jiu Jitsu, while JiuJitsuGuide had the price at a considerably more hefty R$330. A smaller gap crops up when RioJiuJitsuGuide stated that de la Riva's academy was R$165 per month, whereas TrainBJJinRio claimed it was R$180. These discrepancies are exceptions rather than the rule, but nevertheless it indicates something has gone awry somewhere in one or both of the sites.

Helpfully the price section on RioJiuJitsuGuide also details whether there is an enrolment fee, if prices for locals and foreigners are different, then finally if it is possible to pay by credit card. Unfortunately, sometimes the answer is simply 'unknown', which is something that needs to be rectified. I would expect to get clarification if I was paying for the information, though I should also note that those unknowns are rare. It would also be useful to have a day and week rate as well, for travellers who are in Rio for a shorter period.

Convenience is an interesting choice for a guide based on hard data. The location of an academy may not be the best indicator of convenience as it depends entirely on where you happen to be staying. It is more useful to know that the academy has good transport connections and numerous sessions each day, and indeed this information is included in RioJiuJitsuGuide's set of criteria. There are entries for the distance from the nearest main northbound and southbound bus stops, along with the nearest metro stop and BikeRio station. In addition, each profile features a map and a streetview of the academy, with the entrance helpfully highlighted.

It looks like the map and academy entrance pictures comes directly from Google Streetview and is then uploaded directly to RioJiuJitsuGuide. So if you click on it, that simply opens up a larger picture. This is helpful to a degree, but a dynamic embedded map would be more useful, as you could then zoom in and out as well as plan directions from wherever it is you're staying. In fairness, there is an embedded map on the main ranking page, just not on the individual profiles.

The best part of the facilities section is that it clearly states how much space there is for rolling, measured by the number of sparring partners that can train at the same time. You're also told essential information such as if there are toilets and showers, as well as if the academy has bothered to provide facilities for female students. If you're interested, there are five that do not, with a further two who think women deserve less space than the men. Unusually, there is also one academy that apparently has no changing facilities at all.

I was not too sure about the competitive performance section, as it is based on an annual average of the last three years of affiliate placements. A school like Gracie Barra scores highly, but clubs which lack numerous affiliates do not. It would seem to make much more sense to list what medals students from that specific school had achieved, and ideally whether or not they were still training there. If a school has twenty medals but they're all from students who have since left or train at other affiliates, that does not tell me much about the current level (though it does tell me that there has been decent instruction at that school at some point).

Of course, it is not easy to get the information about how well each individual school does in competition, because many schools simply enter under the generic team name at big tournaments. It is still of some use to have information about how successful the team is in general, but when considering a specific school, it might be even more helpful to have more local competition results, where it becomes more likely that a school enters under its own name rather than that of the organisation. This is acknowledged in the rankings, so hopefully there will be a method of obtaining more specific and therefore more useful information in the future.

I would have thought that some of the keys to making the Guidebook worth the money is making sure the information stays up to date, expanding the number of academies and also extending the profiles themselves. At present, each profile is mostly just a list of facts and figures. Cold data is something I like: I use spreadsheets for almost everything. However, when reading about a jiu jitsu academy, I don't just want to know objective facts. I also want subjective opinions about the training. I want historical details on the instructor and their team. I want personal anecdotes of training there.

In that light, the most significant difference that struck me between the academy profiles on TrainBJJinRio and RioJiuJitsuGuide.com – aside from that fact that RioJiuJitsuGuide has a lot more of them - is that the former also includes some of those intangible details. For example, when describing the Escola de Jiu Jitsu (which doesn't appear to be in the RioJiuJitsuGuide list), TrainBJJinRio states that the rolling is technical, a reflection of Ze Beleza's status as a 'teacher's teacher' who would benefit any aspiring BJJ instructor. After reading that, I would probably look to head to Ze Beleza's school before any of the others, because TrainBJJinRio's description immediately appeals to me, even if I didn't know anything else about the school.

BJJ has become an international sport. Even though it is still very much a niche activity – most people will still look at you blankly if you say "Brazilian jiu jitsu" or start making 'karate chop' motions – the number of interested people has grown exponentially. That also means there is money to be made even in the incidental elements of training.

RioJiuJitsuGuide is one of the first sites to try and capitalise on jiu jitsu tourism in Brazil: if you are going to Rio and want to train at lots of different academies, then at present RioJiuJitsuGuide.com is the most extensive resource available for finding where they are and whether or not they meet your needs. However, there are free resources catering to that same market, so RioJiuJitsuGuide.com will need to keep expanding and updating in order to secure its position.

Website Review - The Grapplers Guide (Jason Scully)

Short Review: At the time of writing, The Grapplers Guide operates through a fee, $127 for lifetime access. That gets you a huge range of instructional videos, which you can also download, covering numerous techniques and positions, both gi and nogi. There are also competition videos, with insightful commentary, a range of useful articles, plus a mature discussion forum frequented by a helpful membership (there are also various black belts posting on the site).

The profile system, if you like that kind of thing, has the most options out of any I've seen to date, and I am an internet geek, so spend lots of time on forums. If you have plenty of time to look through tonnes of great information and can afford the fee, then The Grapplers Guide is a worthy investment.

Full Review: I was upgraded by the owner to premium membership in June 2008, so as with Roy Dean, the least I can do is provide a review. I first came across the Grapplers Guide when Scully posted about his new site (IIRC, founded in May 2007) over on Bullshido. Since then, the Grapplers Guide has steadily moved over to a pay-to-access model, where your fee gets you a subscription: previously it was an annual cost, then a monthly fee and now a lifetime membership. There are also regular offers on membership, with a variety of discounts, in keeping with the shifts in pricing metrics.

At present, there is a huge contest running (a member benefit Scully sets up intermittently, so this is merely the latest of many previous competitions), where the first place rewards are pretty impressive, netting you over $800 worth of prizes. That includes your choice of gi, cash, grappling shorts, various instructional DVDs, amongst an assortment of other equipment. Second and third prizes aren't bad either, worth $300 and $120 respectively.

Update June 2014: The Grapplers Guide has continued to get better and better. Scully has really beefed up the video section, with a wide range of videos covering numerous positions, especially guard. Since I began teaching in 2011, I've often used Scully's videos as reference material, such as when I taught his version of the half guard staple pass and most recently when I drew upon Scully's approach to the toe grab/old school sweep. The range of videos is comparable to some of the other online instructional sites, like BJJ Library, though Scully doesn't update quite as often (unsurprising, as it is just him working on it, as far as I'm aware).

Update Sep 2016: Since I first wrote this review, there have been lots of updates (around 4,000 new videos, for a start!). I got a long list of them from Scully, so will summarise those here. The layout has changed, with a category tree and clearer subdivisions of the various programs and areas. Scully has also been bringing in guest instructors, including Vlad Koulikov, Reilly Bodycomb, Jared Weiner and 10th planet experts. He has a new flow chart tool, GrappleFlow, with some changes to pricing too. Right now, membership cost is:

- $297 for lifetime membership
- $79 for 4 payment plan

If all that wasn't enough, there are gear discounts too. It's impressive how much Scully continues to work on his site, a lot of these kind of web projects either fizzle out after a few years, or coast along without changing anything. The Grappler's Guide definitely isn't one of those sites.

The big draw of this site is the video section. Both gi and nogi are included, with detailed coverage of techniques, position and grappling drills, both with and without a partner, as well as technique combinations. The section is divided up into articles, which will contain one or more videos. Often Scully has a sequence of videos in a single article, such as the 45 minute 'Dealing With and Breaking Grips' series. In others, it is more specific.

Update May 2020: You also get numerous other instructors on the site, which has been perhaps the biggest change since I first wrote this review. For example, here's the excellent Emily Kwok teaching:



While it is only one part of the site, this is where your money is justified, as Scully covers numerous positions with detailed instruction, both gi and nogi. To compare that with an instructional DVD, like Blue Belt Requirements ($44.95), Roy Dean gives you high quality teaching from an experienced black belt, taking you through the basics, position by position. With The Grapplers Guide, you also have an experienced, technical teacher (Scully is a brown belt at present), but there is a lot more instructional material. It isn't as methodical and immediately applicable to beginners as Dean's DVD, but in terms of sheer quantity of instruction, you get much more for your money from The Grapplers Guide.

Two significant differences are video quality, which you'd expect to be superior on a DVD, along with online content as opposed to physical merchandise. If you buy Blue Belt Requirements, you can then watch it on your DVD plauyer, whereas The Grapplers Guide hosts its videos on the site.

Having said that, if you click the arrow pointing downwards (near the volume control), you can download Grapplers Guide videos onto your computer, yours to keep: personally, I prefer having something I can access through my computer rather than having to bother with a DVD player (though naturally, you can watch DVDs on most computers anyway). This is the biggest plus point of the site for me, as that means I can then review the techniques whenever I want, whether or not I have access to the internet. The videos are all in flv format (same as YouTube and various other sites), which is small and compact, but might have compatibility issues with some media players. Personally I use Winamp, though I'd imagine you can either get codecs for your current player, or download something with inbuilt flv capability.

I especially enjoyed the competition videos with commentary: having that informed perspective massively added to the experience of watching top grapplers compete. Not only does Scully explain the events as they unfold and what the grappler in question is going for, he also carefully edits the video so you can see exactly what he is talking about through slow motion replays. Here's an example of Scully's teaching posted up on the Grapplers Guide YouTube:



You also have an impressive range of options for playing with your profile, if that kind of thing appeals to you. There is the possibility to customise the background, text, colours, borders etc, which also applies across into other areas, like the photo albums section. Interestingly, you can't link to offsite pictures, but have to go through your Grapplers Guide album (which naturally you can also just use as online storage for your photographs). It’s a fairly intuitive system, as once you've uploaded your picture into an album, you can select it from a submenu which pops up in the custom options.

The BBcode is comprehensive, with built-in embedding script for a large number of video sharing sites, as well as iframe support. You can even make a YouTube video into your avatar: I've never seen that anywhere else, so when I first joined as a free member, that really stood out as unusually swish. The video option extends to your profile too, so you can, for example, stick up a recent competition video to show people your abilities.

On top of all of this, The Grapplers Guide has a discussion forum, which is the part that used to be public access in the past. Due to the fee, there is a refreshing absence of trolls (most people, fortunately, aren't willing to pay that much just to fuck around and piss people off), which raises the tone of the site considerably. All of the members are looking to improve their grappling, which leads to informative, helpful threads. The large number of black belt posters also makes a major positive impact on the level of insight, although quite a few of the black belts on the site don't post all that often.

One mitigating circumstance that should be mentioned is Scully recently opened The Grapplers Guide Academy, meaning that not only does he have an online source of instruction, but a physical location where he teaches as well. This must take up a great deal of his time, with the result (I assume) that in the period I've been a premium member so far, there have been less updates than there normally would be.

So keeping that in mind, threads in the 'Questions and Answers Through Video' forum are normally answered quickly and thoroughly. Many of the current videos were generated by questions in that forum. More recently, its been a bit slower, but that's explained by Scully's busy offline life. Not long before I polished off this review, he promptly responded to a PM I sent about a thread I'd put up in that subforum, asking if he had any thoughts (because nobody had responded yet, which is rare in the 'Questions and Answers Through Video' section). Hopefully I'll get to see a video dealing with open guard against a standing opponent in the future, because as anyone who reads my blog regularly will know, that's one of my major problems at the moment.

Speaking of blogs, there is a part of the website you can use for blogging, with the usual vbBulletin options (as far as I'm aware: seen a similar set-up on other forums, like the Heathen Hangout). Much to my pleasure, you again have the option of using iframes in that section, which means I could put up my main blogspot: using RSS or iframes is far preferable to copy and pasting the same thing all over the place.

There is a helpful product review section too, where the mature, thoughtful tone of the site shines through. A few are ones Scully has simply copied over from other sites, especially when you look through older threads, but certainly now they are provided by the Grapplers Guide membership.

My overall impression up to this point is that the wealth of grappling resources available to you on The Grapplers Guide is probably worth your time and money, if you compare it with a DVD set like Saulo Riberio's BJJ Revolution ($130). The Grapplers Guide covers a comparable range of positions and techniques, with a continually expanding resource library. Your fee goes a long way, giving you full access to a large (and increasing) number of detailed instructional videos, along with all the excellent advice spread throughout the forum, the high quality presentation, numerous interactive options and frequent competitions for members. I'm not sure what incentives Scully will develop in order to grow his membership, though he does regularly add more videos and content. It will be interesting to see how this site progresses in coming years.

To finish, here's an advert for The Grapplers Guide Scully has up on YouTube: