Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: NO GI Essentials

Good

I recently purchased this item and watched it right away. First off the price is great, very hard to find a jiu jitsu dvd instructional for 40 dollars from someone who is actually reputable. Secondly Roy Dean always has very professional and insightful instructions to his techniques. I have been training no gi jiu jitsu for almost 5 years and have won a couple competitions so i feel i am qualified to review this DVD. I think No Gi Essentials is focused more towards someone who is just getting into nogi after training Gi jiu jitsu for awhile. He addresses the fundamental holds like underhooks/overhooks head and arm control etc., and discusses some differences to expect when entering the no gi game. After that short section he goes into techniques and setups from various positions such as guard, mount, side control, takedowns, arm drags, kimuras, and chokes. There is also quite an extensive section on leglocks which I loved. Unfortunately I found very little in the way of new techniques, however with that being said, after training for a few years you will usually not see any new techniques. As you progress it becomes less about learning new techniques and more about combining techniques you already know using tried and true set ups. Although I really appreciated the few new set ups I found on this DVD set, and at the price I think it was worth it. If you are new to jiu jitsu in general or just getting started in no gi I think this is a top notch buy. If you have been training nogi for a few years you shouldnt expect much you havent seen but I feel that almost anyone can at least find a couple interesting things in this set. Something worth mentioning is his section on side control escapes. One of my favorite parts of this DVD set, it goes over many many options that all work together and when to use them. There were even a couple I've never seen before and thats saying something. If I had to pick my least favorite spot to be in it'd be in someone's side control so this was a pleasant surprise for me to find some valuable techniques to add to my game. Also as a bonus on the DVD set there is footage of his students at a grappling tournament, a couple students qualifying for their belts and a flow roll. Kind of neat to watch, but then again i like watching that kind of stuff. Bottom line: If you are a new jiu jitsu player this DVD set is worth the money, no question. If you are fairly advanced it is still worth the money but less so. Im hoping in the future Roy comes out with an advanced nogi dvd, because I appreciate the insights he gives on certain positions. If you are on the fence about whether to get it or not...just skip the donuts and coffee for a few days and get this dvd :D

Another excellent product by Sensei Dean. You do need a basic understanding of the fundamentals in order to follow along, however I have been able to perform every technique that is shown in the video in live rolls, so you know this is the real deal.

Roy Dean is a stand up guy. His curriculum is very well put together and he makes it very understandable.

Basic.... but basics are good, not to mention essential. Based on the set up of his gym with the swords, pictures, and art I got the Karate/McDojo vibe from Roy. Once I got past that distraction I was able to focus on the video. Roy does explain things well. The details were great. If you're a beginner or want to rewite the basics this is a great DVD. If you're a competition/high level BJJ practitioner you might want to move on.

The 4 stars is because amazon will not allow you to download the video if you purchased a digital version. GET THE DVD ! The instructions are clear but the video quality is in SD and not HD and it shows somewhat fuzzy. Great for viewing on a laptop but not so great for large screen tv.

These are excellent dvd's which i can incorporate with the GI since i don't do NoGi. The only problem i have is with whoever ships the dvd's. I received the first time it was scratched up the dvd's were not secure and the packaging was thin which i guess thats why the case was cracked also. Anyhow Amazon replaced it but i still received scratched dvd's but not as bad but still scratched which causes the play back to pause or freeze.

Since our jiu jitsu school is still developing and we don't train with a Gi, it was awesome to find a DVD series that showed us the basics and then progressed from that to show more advanced techniques. Roy Dean does a great job of explaining as well as demonstrating exactly where your limbs need to be for the most effective results. This is a must for anyone looking to do No Gi jiu jitsu!