whats up everyone! first post on the board.
I have studied both in a great BJJ school and with the GC DVDs and i prefer the dvds for many reasons.
First of all I'm poor lol. I paid about $150 (w/shipping or whatever) for the set of dvds that i can watch every single day if I want to, forever. I was paying $160/month at the one and only local BJJ school and could only go 3 times/week for 1 to 2 hours. NOT in my budget.
Secondly it's AAALLLLLLL about the curriculum of the way the course is laid out. with the reflex development drills and fight simulation drills. I got the chance to REALLY feel how each technique was supposed to work in conjunction with the other techniques at a slow, controlled pace. Instead of in a traditional school, you just jump in at the deep end without any knowledge of BJJ and learn some form of a mount control, or a lapel choke, or an armbar...practice it with a partner 4 or 5 times a side....then move on to the next technique.....then live sparring..... BBUUUUTTT.....at that point you don't even know how to GET to mount....or counter sleeve control....or pass the guard....so everything you just spent the last hour learning and drilling a few times goes flying right out the window and you don't even get to use it!!
Also: I HATE competition! I am not at all a competitive person. I have quit jobs because of coworkers trying to compete against me/each other. I see no point in it. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, including myself, by winning some stupid competition. Most BJJ schools are competition focused and as such, are full of competitive people with competitive personalities and i usually don't get along with people like that. No offense to all of you competitors on the board. I respect you guys, it's just not for me.
lastly. the Gracies honestly don't give a crap about belts or ranking. They don't really mean anything to them. GU is meant for self-defense. There's no belts for self-defense. That's the way it should be. It's not about what color belt you are it's about learning to defend yourself. A GU blue belt is nowhere close to a competition BJJ blue belt! BUT, it's not meant for winning touneys. It's about being patient, remaining safe from punches, letting your opponent exhaust all of their energy and then attack.
If I was in a streetfight with an amazing wrestler his grappling experience wouldn't even matter because it's not a GRAPPLING match. it's a street fight. he's not gonna try to pin me. he's gonna end up in my guard and start trying to smash my face in!! just like any other brawler. At which point I remain patient, do what i've learned to avoid the punches and wait for him to tire before attacking. I wouldn't even try to waste my own energy trying to bump or sweep him because i already know he'd be a stronger grappler than me...so why go against his strength?
Which is another great thing about BJJ. when it comes down to it. It's ALL a chess match. It's all about strategy.
I like your breakdown and how you define the diffrence betweek a competition blue belt, and a self defence blue belt. although it must be hard to work without training partners.
without a training partner it's basically worthless. After all to earn your blue belt you have to videotape 5 separate qualification drills with a partner including a live rolling demonstration with your partner acting as the "bad guy" They have sample tests of people that have passed and failed on the site. If you can find 1 or more training partners that are all dedicated to learning the techniques together and learning them as perfectly as possible before moving on, it's great. I learned 3 times as much in about 3 days as i did in 6 months at a school.
Here's an example of a the way the curriculum works
Lesson One - Trap and Roll escape. 3 variations -standard, headlock, punch block.
once you become comfortable with doing the movements (with a person) you do the Reflex Development Drills (RDDs) against a resisting opponent with increasing levels of resistance (light, medium, full resistance). These are solid gold because it gives you a chance to really make the technique yours, and understand when it will work and why, and when it won't work and why. Then you move on.
lesson two - Amaricana armlock - Basic application, standard variation, headlock variation.
Get comfortable, do the RDDs
lesson three - Positional Control (mount) - 4 slices: hips and hands, anchor and base, low swim, high swim.
Get comfortable, do the RDDs
NOW things get even more fun with the Fight Simulation Drill!!! This is where you take everything you've learned and put it all together with one another!!!
The sequence goes like this:
Start mounted~Trap and roll escape(one of the variations)~to mount, Positional Control, Americana Armlock finish.
Now do it again with every combination of each of the variations of each move!!
As the curriculum goes along the Fight simulation Drills get longer and more complex and repeat almost all of the techniques you've previously learned.
Here's a FSD from about the middle of the curriculum:
Clinch a striking opponent ~ Body fold takedown ~ Positional Control (Side Mount) ~ Guard Prevention ~ Take the back ~ Fall off the back and end up in guard ~ Punch Block Series Stages 1-2-1 ~ Finish with Triangle Choke - Gian Killer Variation.
Sorry that was so long hahaha
Im aware of the system, the problem is when you fight someone else who knows what there doing on the ground...Things dont always go according to plan and getting that Americana is much harder than it seems. Personally one of my biggest philosophy's about training is the importance of mat time. In my classes we typically roll 50-60 out of 90 minutes of class, focus on 1 or 2 techniques, drilling them and then positional sparring and then rolling. With out the sensitivity, timing, mat sense, and overall Feel of BJJ then you could know 9 million techniques and there worthless. People always ask me the quickest way to improve their jits, and without a doubt in my mind its mat time. Mat time is the key to success, owning every single instructional video ever made and watching them 10 times each will not replace the hours on the mat you could have spent while you were watching those videos....Just my humble opinion.
I put up a huge long review of the DVDs (which have the same material as the website) a while ago (full version here), but in short:
If you're looking for a basic self defence course and don't care about belts, then Gracie Combatives would be an excellent choice. The instruction is superb, with an unprecedented level of detail, sometimes taking over thirty minutes exploring a single technique. This is an impressive production, right down to the smooth camera transitions from overhead shots into zooms and multiple angles. Even for those who are already training at a BJJ school and aren't interested in self-defence, several of the lessons are so good you'll still find them beneficial.
However, the online blue belt test detailed on the last DVD remains controversial, as does some of the philosophy put forward in the course. For example, Rener Gracie states that there is no need to cross-train striking, a highly debateable question when it comes to self-defence. Geoff Thompson, a very respected self defence instructor, would almost certainly disagree. So, take the theory and marketing with a pinch of salt, but if you want self defence with top notch instruction, you won't be disappointed.
I am a member of that too. I find it nice. I though do have a school and just use it to refresh my skills at home at to get tested by the actual Gracie's, instead of other people. I feel if you get a good rank with that, it is better than a descent rank in a regular school thats not taught by someone with notable skills. (NAGA recomended, or in UFC, or someone that has notable acomplishments.)
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