Carlos Machado recently released his new set after receiving a lot of hype, but how does it stack up to other well liked sets like Saulo Ribeiro’s Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 1? After many long nights watching and rewatching both sets, I think its time to find out.

First off, let’s get into what makes Saulo’s Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 1 a great set. From beginning to end, there is one thing that Saulo nails and that is detail. He spends an indordinate amount of time on every technique and the viewer actually gains something very special when they watch Saulo - they begin to believe that they are seeing the “secrets” of BJJ. This is due in part to Saulo’s style - he tells you why he is doing everything right and others have it all wrong. His is not a set of alternative styles, but in defense of Saulo he does a great job of explaining why his way is the right way. If this is starting to sound negative towards Revolution 1, do not misunderstand, this is a great set; it is only that Saulo can be a little preachy. That being said, Saulo does earn this right - after all, what he says and how he teaches makes a lot of sense.

If Jiu-Jitsu Revolution gives you some easy answers for common jiu-jitsu problems, Infinite Jiu-Jitsu gets you working again. This is because Infinite Jiu-Jitsu is based off one thing - real resistance. With every new set of techniques, Carlos shows how to put the movements together in sparring (which is probably at medium energy) where he channels the sparring towards the techniques he just taught against real resistance. Beyond Saulo, this leaves the viewer with an idea of the timing and pressure involved to really pull off any given technique. More importantly, Carlos answers the question every jiu-jitsu practioner comes across at some point, that is, “why doesn’t this (insert technique) work when my opponent is resisting or fighting back?” The answer is in the details of how you combat resistance with leverage.

Similar to Saulo’s Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 1, Carlos does not skimp on detail. Carlos explains everything and shows you some very logical springboards to take you over the hurdles created by resistance. An example that I enjoyed is when Carlos describes the basic foot on the hip open guard. Often times, when playing this guard, the opponent fights the sleeve pull and maintains some semblance of posture. Carlos defeats this with a basic tenet of jiu-jitsu - hip movement and shifting. Watching how Carlos broke down his opponent’s posture with shakes and hip escapes immediately turned a light on with me. This is the beauty of Carlos’ set, you really feel like you are getting some of those key details that allow all of the “old school” jiu-jitsu teachers to still dominate after all these years. This is “old school”, but I do not think too many advanced practitioners know this much about their basic techniques.

Now its time for the other side of the coin. What is stopping Infinite Jiu-Jitsu from achieving absolute greatness is its horrible organization, high price point, and DVD-R format. Whereas Saulo puts everything into a nice framework of technique by position, Carlos is all over the place. The instruction is always world class, but it would have been a lot better if it felt more coherent. At times, Carlos jumps from guard passer to pass preventer to attacks from the crucifix. This organization does hinder the DVD set at times and does make the viewer have to work a little harder to absorb different things. In Carlos’ defense, the menus are labeled as are most techniques and this at least assists in the searching of techniques; it just would have been better if it followed a more coherent structure like Jiu-Jitsu Revolution. The high price point and DVD-R format are the other two negatives and they are grouped together symbiotically. Basically, a high price or DVD-R format are both livable when independent of eachother, but when in conjunction it begs the question, “am I getting a cheap product/ripped off?” This is where the injustice lies in this set, the content is great as is the production. I think its worth the money and I am just puzzled as to why Carlos’ producers skimped on not putting these on pressed DVDs. It is just an oddity.

Why did I get this? I believed the hype when I saw some of the Infinite Jiu-Jitsu clips from his website and I will buy any DVD that shows how to beat a smart or resisting opponent. The time of presenting dumbed down opponents that lay around like dead fish is hopefully over.

Would I buy this again? In an instant. Although I am not happy that it is DVD-R, it is worth every penny. This DVD is full of so much detail and it really gets into the nitty gritty of how to make your basic techniques work better while adding a few new ones (or forgotten techniques) to the mix as well. I think the set is for all levels and this is a must buy for any grappling enthusiast.

So, what’s better, Saulo’s set or Carlos’? Well, this is a toss up. Both are great teachers and there actually is not a lot of overlap (maybe not any) between the two sets. You will get a solid overview of the fundamental jiu-jitsu game as well as the leverage that allows this art to work in resistance in each respective set. I would buy them both, but if you are cash strapped, go for Jiu-Jitsu Revolution first and then save up for Infinite Jiu-Jitsu. If you can afford them both, get them both- you’re game can only change for the better. I would also make the suggestion to pick this up as a set and not as an individual DVD. Besides being cheaper in the long run, I just think you will probably like every DVD and will want to use them all to expand your game/knowledge.

Happy training,
Kevin

Tags: Jiu-Jitsu DVD Instructionals

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2007 at 2:39 am and is filed under Jiu-Jitsu DVD Instructionals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.