It is of no surprise to anyone that I am a big fan of the value laden products that Japanese companies continually release.  Therefore, it isn’t a very big shocker that BJJ Spirits vol. 4 is currently my favorite new jiu-jitsu instructional, magazine, and tournament DVD all wrapped up in one.  This product is currently the best value for jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling fans everywhere.

Content wise, this book is my favorite of the series.  It focuses mainly on the half-guard and the techniques are incredible.  I have to hand it to the producers, they got two of the best modern half-guard specialists in Celso Vinicius and Sergio Moraes (uses more of an open half game) as well as the father of the half-guard, Roberto “Gordo” Correa, to teach techniques.  Beyond this, this issue is full of star level instruction.  Leo Vieira, De la Riva, the Mendes brothers, Bruno Frazatto, Dai Yohioka, Robert Drysdale, Yusukei Honma, and Eduardo Telles, all showcase their techniques along side interview.  Unfortunately, the interview is only in Japanese, so this may put a damper on this for some.

Over to the video, the DVD is just as incredible and it is my favorite for three main elements.  Although I love to see the techniques of the above fighters in motion, this DVD is amazing for its extras (this is saying a lot because there is a lot of great technique on this disc).  First of all, it includes a few tournaments including the complete Copa Hong Kong.  This is the tournament where Telles and Andre Galvao met in the finals.  It has three full Telles and Galvao fights (including their final).  I couldn’t believe they packed the entire event onto the DVD!  Secondly, I loved the behind the scenes footage of Ramon Lemos’ academy in Sao Paulo.  There is some incredible footage of the Mendes brothers and Bruno Frazatto training together that should not be missed.  No wonder those guys are considered prodigies!  Finally, their is a tournament of Leo Vieira rolling with four different guys during an exhibition.  He rolls with a white, blue, and purple belt after first taking on JP Kuraoka, who is one of my favorite Japanese black belt competitors.  The way Leo moves is jaw dropping, in fact, Andre Galvao was over when I watched it and he could not believe some of the techniques that Leo pulls out of nowhere.  We were both completely dumbfounded.  Watch it for yourself!

Comparatively, this product does very well against the recent Fighting Spirits books BJJ Spirits vol. 3 and Submission Spirits vol. 2.  All three are very good values, BJJ 3 focuses on Japanese fighters and includes a really cool round robin judo v. bjj tournament while Sub 2 has a great tournament with Dave Camarillo and Romulo Barral taking over.  Of course, at 20 bucks I think all of these are easy pick ups, but if you can only buy one, I would still go with BJJ Spirits vol. 4.  It is incredible.

As for the quality, all of these products have earned their reputation.  The video instruction and technique is top notch and is easily competitive with the best on market.  The video is clean and the editing is solid.  Of course, the magazines are beautiful, with a rich color palette and imaginative layouts.

Who shouldn’t buy this?  All of the text is in Japanese, so if this is a problem, you may want to steer clear.  However, I do not speak any Japanese and I thought that the whole DVD/book was easy to follow with the obvious exception of the interview section.  Plus on the DVDs, the instructors speak their native languages, so this may be easier to understand for some.

Personally, I love all of these books, but BJJ Spirits vol. 4 is easily my favorite.  It is value laden and packed with everything a jiu-jitsu lover would want.  Great fights, amazing instruction, and inside access to interesting academies.

Happy Training,

Kevin

DVD expected October 15th!

For the first time in BJJ Worlds history this release features professional play-by-play commentary by black belts Shawn Williams and Sean Flanery. Listening to their commentary will increase your understanding of the art while they break down the moves and strategies of the top competitors in the world. In addition to commentary, Shawn Williams gets on the mat and shows you in detail how to do some of the most exciting moves of the finals. This is a first in the BJJ world and will make this the most exciting and educational Worlds DVD ever!

The Smashing Machine is a fascinating documentary that takes viewers inside the world of no-holds-barred fighting in the late 90s. It shows the raw details in and outside the ring through the eyes of Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr and his friend/opponent Mark “The Hammer” Coleman. Through their stories, viewers get a glimpse at the bright side of MMA when a fighter is at the top of the food chain as well as the dark side, where drug addiction and failure threaten to ruin not only a fighter’s career but also his personal life.

On a production level, this film offers quality camera work and audio. Interviews and candid video are strewn together in a cohesive and interesting storyline. The director/editors didn’t hold anything back when including material in the film so viewers have a very authentic perspective of what it is like to be a professional fighter. This is a real behind-the-scenes look at fighting, unlike the contrived and dramatic Ultimate Fighter television series. The DVD itself also has a lot of special features including deleted scenes, filmmaker commentary and the biography Fight Day, a film that features Renzo Gracie.

The MMA aficionado will enjoy this film because it offers rare fight and training footage. It shows how hard one must train to keep up with the competition and even has cameos of Bas Ruten and Renzo Gracie. As they experience all this, viewers essentially get to watch a train wreck: Kerr’s glory when he is at the top of his game is the peak of elation while drug dependency and relationship troubles edge him closer to self-destruction. While it covers a period of MMA almost ten years ago, this film remains relevant because it touches on the public perception of no-holds-barred fighting and discusses the difficulty this sport has had breaking into the mainstream.

Even the non-MMA lover can appreciate this film because it delves much deeper into the personal battles of an individual, rather than focusing on fighting alone. At times, viewers will feel excited, depressed, and sympathetic all at once. The Smashing Machine is a humanistic story in which anyone can relate. The audience watches as Mark Kerr works through personal problems that many have faced: a family that doesn’t support his career, an unhealthy relationship with his girlfriend, drug and alcohol use, balancing friendship with work, and all the small issues that come along with these. Pressures from media, fighting organizations, friends and family all add up to an explosive story of life and love in this thrilling display of filmmaking.

Would I recommend this DVD? Yes!!!! I recommend this documentary to anyone who has even the slightest interest in no-holds-barred fighting or MMA. All 92 minutes of this film are engrossing and effective. While grandma might find the fighting scenes to be graphic and disturbing, most of the audience will find this film worthwhile and entertaining.

Happy training!
Kevin

And so it begins…
When the first annual No Gi World Jiu Jitsu Championships landed in downtown Carson, California’s Cal State Dominguez gymnasium, it brought a monster with it. A monster called Monson.

The two disc DVD collection you now hold in your hand is a piece of history; an eye witness account of this inaugural event being born. Get ready to be taken down, and swept into submission by more then 6 ½ hours of No Gi mat-action and EXCLUSIVE interviews conducted by the staff of Gracie Magazine.

Super Heavyweight controversy! Absolute redemption! Watch all the drama, and get inside all the conflict of this epic contest the way only a Cryo Productions DVD release can bring it.
Featuring master Jiu Jitsu players Bill Cooper, Pablo Popovitch, Fabio Leopoldo, Wilson Reis, Rubens Charles, Naoya Uematsu, Christiano Lazarini, Vinicius Pezao, Bruno Paulista, Jeff Glover, Daniel Moreas…and the “Snowman” himself, Jeff Monson!

And so it will go on…

Click here to purchase

Featured matches include

Disc 1
Black Belt

Open Round 1
Daniel Agular vs Matheas Costa
Bill Cooper vs Wellington Dias
Cristiano Lazzarini vs Leonardo Gomes
Fabio Leopoldo vs Wilson Reis
Lucas Leite vs Roberto Abreu
Rubens Charles vs Naoya Uematsu
Roberto Camargo vs Wagner Rocha

Open Quarter Finals
Bill Cooper vs Wilson Reis
Jeff Monson vs Daniel Agular
Rubens Charles vs Roberto Camargo

Semi Finals
Bill Cooper vs Cristiano Lazzarini
Roberto Camargo vs Jeff Monson

Finals
Bill Cooper vs Jeff Monson

Black Belt Finals

Super Feather
Samuel Braya vs Caio Terra

Feather
Rubens Charles vs Shane Rice

Light
Jeff GLover vs Daniel Agular

Middle
Daniel Moraes vs Pablo Popovitch

Medium Heavy
Marcel Louzada vs Luke Stewart

Heavy
Fabio Leopoldo vs Roberto Camargo

Super Heavy
Crisitano Lazzarini vs Vinicius Magalhaes

Super Super Heavy
Bruno Rodrigues vs Jeff Monson

Women’s Feather
Bianca Barreto vs Felicia Oh

Women’s Middle
Hannette Stack vs Emily Kwok

Disc 2
Best Matches Black

Johnny Ramierez vs Fernando Spadaccia Neto
Joseph Capizzi vs Caio Terra
Caio Terra vs Leandro Escobar
Diego Moraes vs Wilson Reis
Rubens Charles vs Renan Borges
Rubens Charles vs Magno Gama
Shane Rice vs Diego Moraes
Phillipe Della Monica vs Daniel Agular
Jeff Glover vs Jao Sabrinho
Jeff Glover vs Joao Silva
Bill Cooper vs Christian Uflacker
Rodrigo Texeira vs Lucas Leite
Bill Cooper vs Daniel Moraes
Lucas Leita vs Pablo Popovitch
Marcel Louzada vs Tony Eduardo Lima
Alexandre Ferreira vs Fabio Leopoldo
Maetheus Costa vs Roberto Camargo
Vinicius Meghaleas vs Roberto Abreu
Bruno Rodrigues vs Ricardo Barros
Jeff Monson vs Jose Mario Esifha

Best Matches Brown

Kim terra vs Kahili Moreland
Denny Propokos vs Joel Tudor
Clark Gracie vs Pablo Alves
Clark Gracie vs Sean Apperson

Best Match Purple
John Blaylock vs Chris Holdsworth
Chris Holdsworth vs Ted Vida
Ryan Hall vs James O’Connor
Ryan Hall vs John Carson
Joseph Guiterrez vs Vinicius Agudo
Kayron Gracie vs Joseph Guiterrez
Giacomo Zanini vs Jason Selva

Bonus post fight interview courtesy of Graciemag.com
Pablo Popovitch
Marcel Louzada
Samuel Braya
Kayron Gracie
Vinicius Magalhaes
Roberto Camargo
Bruno Rodrigues
Bill Cooper
Jeff Monson

Attack of the Killer Butterfly & The Human Crucifix!
This is a preview of the upcoming Jiu Jitsu Theater Double Feature 3 disc DVD set featuring Nino Schembri, available soon at www.Budovideos.com

Attack of the Killer Butterfly & The Human Crucifix!
Two Movies, One Admission, Multiple Submissions!