I just got the complete set of Pedro Carvalho tapes. I hesitated at first buying them because I own the Gracie basics and the Gracie /Kukuk tapes which are both good. Moreover, I had never heard of Pedro.
However, Pedro’s tapes are clearly the best tapes I have ever seen. The production value is extremely high. There is very little overlap with the Kukuk and Gracie Basics tapes. Pedro must assume that you are already sold on the utility of the mount and the Guard in fighting. These tapes are probably too advanced for many new practitioners. The material covered on the Kukuk tapes is good up to a point. That is to say, if every thing goes as planned from shoot-in , takedown, mount, and submission, you are OK. My personal experience shows that plans don’t always work. What happens when you get a ½ guard, or you find yourself in an arm or leg lock, or your opponent counters your submission? Pedro’s tapes take you to the next level and answer these sorts question that I have had. Each tape is 35 minutes of non-stop technique. I believe the Black belt ad when it that claims that there are 200 techniques shown. In short, there is a lot of material.
If anyone is interested I can do a tape by tape review and commentary.
Review of Tape 1
Total Time 30:23
Tape Title - Tape 1 Tournament Jiu-Jitsu
First of all, all the tapes start with a slick 20 second muti-panel intro action sequences that allows you to see what is on the other tapes and then jumps right into teaching. As the title implies this tape is devoted to Tournament Jiu-Jitsu. However, the tape covers the 3 types of BJJ fighting: (1) Tournament (2) Vale Tudo and (3) Self Defense.
Pedro spend 15 minutes explaining the rule and point system. The point system used in BJJ tournaments appears to encourage good fighting habits. The point values are as follows: 2 points for a take down to a superior position, 4 points for obtaining the mount, 4 points for obtaining the rear mount, 3 points for passing the guard, 2 points for a sweep of the opponent in your open guard, 2 points for knee on chest and most importantly you can outright win with a submission.. Pedro explains the fine points of getting your points and then live footage from a BJJ tournament is shown to illustrate the point. My biggest gripe about the Kukuk tapes is that most of the live footage had nothing to do with what was being explained on the tapes. The live footage was just filler. Pedro did not make this same mistake.
After the Rules are explained the tape goes on to show 4 complete tournament matches. It would have been a plus if Pedro had called the fights for you. After the matches the tape shows a series of 6 Vale Tudo no holds bared fights. These fights, like the Gracie in action tapes, pit BJJ against a variety of martial arts. As always the BJJ guys cleans up. I have never seen any of this footage on any other tapes before.
Believe it or not, this tape was, at first, my least favorite tape. However, after watching the other tapes I viewed this tape again. This tape set the stage and put the other tapes in perspective. Many of the techniques on the other 7 tapes are explained from the three perspectives (Tournament, Vale Tudo, Street Self defense). It is crucial to know the adjustments to make in the three different settings.
After watching this tape again, I gained a better appreciation of the material explained. For example, the “knee on chest” position (instead of having the mount or side control you are on the side of your opponent with one knee on his chest and your hand holding his collar or elbow and belt) is used throughout the series of tapes. Tape one explains its relevance in the tournament and the rest of the tapes make use of it as a launching point for many techniques. The Kukuk tapes never even deal with the knee on chest position at all.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. I don’t work for Pedro. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #2
Total Time 35:55
Tape Title - Advanced Street and Tournament Takedowns
This review is of the second tape in the Pedro Carvalho’s Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tapes. Tapes 2 is entitled "Advanced Street and Tournament Takedowns." As with all the tapes the production quality of these tapes far superior to anything else on the market. I took another look at the Gracie Street Fighting tapes to refresh my memory of those tapes. After seeing Pedro’s tapes, the production quality of Rorion’s tapes is pretty poor. Rorion approaches his tapes as though he is teaching you a seminar.
As the title of tape 2 implies it is a wide mix of all sorts of stuff. This tape has more in common with the Gracie Street Fighting series than anything else. Again, for those who have the Kukuk tapes almost everything on this tape will be new. For example, the Kukuk tapes give a limited treatment on how to close the gap on tape 11. Pedro uses similar concepts but gives more depth to the techniques. Pedro goes over the proper fighting stance, how to get in on punches, how to kick properly. (if anyone remembers, Kukuk was not really kicking on his tapes. He just used the “kick” as a distraction. The kick was more of a giant step to help close the gap.)
Moreover, Pedro, like the Kukuk tapes shows how to standup from the ground properly. However, like Rorion’s street fighting tapes, Pedro goes over how to protect yourself while on your back against someone who is throwing kicks. This prevents you from ending up like Fred “I block with my face” Ettish. Note that the Kukuk tapes show home video footage of a Gracie using these technique in a real fight. However, they never teach the techniques on their tapes.
Pedro then does a series of takedowns once he has closed the gap. Pedro gives a clear explanation of several variations morote-gari. Explaining many of the pitfalls one can get into like the guillotine. Speaking of the guillotine, Pedro shows the “arm over the back counter” like the Kukuk tapes, but again raises the level of sophistication by showing subtle improvement to these techniques and then adding in throws from this position.
About half the tape is devoted to self-defense techniques. This portion is very similar to Rorion’s self- defense series. I did not buy the tapes expecting this sort of material. I really considered it a bonus to have it included in the series. I get the feeling that Pedro had an itch to show this material. I wouldn’t doubt if we see a competing series to the Gracie self-defense series from Pedro in the future. From viewing this tape I would probably be interested in buying these tapes. I suppose it all depends on how well these tapes are received.
Pedro goes though very clean and straight forward defenses to gun and knife attacks. He also does a series of defenses against a variety of unarmed attacks like rear chokes, rear chokes with a knife, bear hugs, hair grabs and punches. These techniques will add depth to any BJJ practitioner catalog of techniques.
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #3
Total Time 36:30
Tape Title: Advanced Mount Fighting - Part 1
The title of this tape is a bit misleading. You might assume that Pedro is just going to be discuss moves centering around the mount position. Pedro does in fact cover the mount and gives a good explanation of the mount positions. Pedro also explains how to maintain the mount and how to properly hold your opponent for striking techniques. A portion the tape is then devoted to very clever ways to get the mount when your opponent is blocking you. This sort of material is very good, but this is not the material that makes this a great tape.
Pedro spends most of the tape exploring three positions: (1) The side mount (often called the side control) (2) Kami-shiho-gatamae (Upper corner hold) and (3) Knee on chest.
The side mount was covered on the Kukuk tapes, but again, there is little overlap. Pedro gives a detailed explanation of the side control and the reasons behind each aspect of the position. Pedro takes a vale tudo (“no holds bared” or “anything goes”) approach to his explanation. He starts with explanation of how to properly knee you opponent in the ribs and head butt from the side mount. This is really good information because you may not be in a position to strike your opponent with your fist. Not only that, these strike may force you opponent to make a mistake setting him up for a variety of finishing moves.
Pedro continues with a very effective shoulder choke (yes, you do choke them with your shoulder) from the side mount. Then Pedro launches into a series of advanced arm-bars from the side mount.
If I have not mentioned it, Pedro always demonstrates a move three times. Two times slowly with a detailed explanation and one at full speed. For those people that think that speed comes from doing a move faster, this should be a lesson. Pedro’s full speed is not that fast. The best way to describe his movement is smooth, precise and controlled. Speed comes through repetition and not by just going faster.
The tape moves on to deal with a very overlooked position, Kami-shiho-gatamai. This is where you are kneeling on either side of you opponent’s head with your full weight on his chest. The classic hand position is to place your arms under your opponents arms and secure the grip by holding onto your opponent’s belt. Judo uses this position as a pin. I have ended up in this position numerous times in an overzealous attempt to pass my opponent’s guard. Instead of ending up with the side control, I ended up on top of my opponents head in Kami-shiho-gatami (If there is any confusion with my explanation of this position look it up in any Judo book). Judo uses this position mainly as a pin. Unless I have friends with me or I am waiting for the cops, a pin is of not much use to me. Pedro runs though a series of chokes and arm-bars from this position. I have never seen this position discussed at all in another sets of tapes. This alone make with tape worth the money.
Another position that is commonly used, but not discussed on any other set of tapes is the "knee on chest position." As the name implies, you place one knee on your opponent’s chest while holding onto his belt and collar. Your other leg is extend to the side stabilizing your base. You then press down hard with your knee and pull up with both your hands. This effectively hold your opponent down while knocking the wind out of him. As was explained on the fist tape, you get 2 point for achieving this position in a tournament. Moreover, this position easily leads to the mount if you slide your knee forward off our opponent’s chest and onto the ground. In a bar fight this position also allows you to disengage from your opponent quickly if you see your opponent’s friend coming to help. Pedro goes through a bunch of chokes, arm-bars, and counters if your opponent is trying to stop you from obtaining the mount.
For those people who are just studying BJJ from tapes and seminars, this tape will open avenues of attack that you never even knew were possible.
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #4
Total Time 35:00
Tape Title: Advanced Mount Fighting -- Part 2
Advance Mount Fighting Part 1 dealt mainly with three positions (1) The side mount (often called the side control) (2) Kami-shiho-gatame (Upper corner hold) and (3) Knee on chest. This tape focuses specifically on the mount. Again the tape is centered around three different mount positions: (1) The mount, (2) Rear mount, and (3) Rear mount with your opponent on top of you.
The basics of the mount position were covered on the previous tape, so Pedro jumps right in with a series of chokes. Many of these choke are covered on the Kukuk tapes. However, there were several new details that will make these techniques more effective. That’s what often separates winning from losing. For example, Pedro shows how to do Juji-gatame from the mount when your opponent starts to push against your chest. Pedro goes through the same explanation we have seen on dozens of tapes. One of the “bonus pointers” Pedro adds is that you must keep your head directly over your opponent’s head as you swing into the arm-bar. This allows you to maintain perfect balance and control. Next time you watch someone do this arm-bar, watch were they put their head and how this effects their balance.
One choke variation that is not on any BJJ tapes that I have seen is an attempted Tate-Sangaku-Gatamae into Sangaku-Jime. Essentially, this move arises when your opponent tries to escape the mount by using the elbow escape or reaches an arm under your thigh to flip you off him. This move is hard to describe, but you start to go for Tate-Sangaku-Gatame and then roll with your opponent into Sangaku-Jime (If these Judo terms are new to you, look them up and use your imagination to fill in the blanks).
As a side note, in all the tapes Pedro will show variations on many of the techniques that require no uniform. The Kukuk and Rorion tapes do this also. If you really want to test your technical proficiency, try fighting without a uniform top. I recommend this for both BJJ and Judo practitioners. The lack of a uniform immediately limits the number of chokes you have at your disposal. Moreover, arm-bars are harder because you can’t compensate for sloppy technique by holding onto the uniform. To truly appreciate this type of material you have to grapple without a uniform. For those people that are learning BJJ from tapes, realize many BJJ school alternate days where you practice using the uniform with those days you practice without the uniform.
Pedro then moves from the mount to a discussion of the rear mount. The rear mount is achieved typically when you opponent rolls to avoid your punches or just panics and is clueless. Again Pedro, walks you through the basics of getting the "hooks" in and what to do if your opponent starts to stand. Pedro then goes into a series of chokes from the rear mount. Pedro makes some excellent points on rear mount strategy. Many practitioners are in such a hurry to finish their opponent that they forget about everything else. Patients is a very hard thing to teach. Pedro explains that if you are going for a choke (without the hooks in) and your opponent starts to stand, stop the choke, get the hooks in, break the opponent down to the ground, then proceed to "Pass Go" and finish your opponent.
The tape concluded with a discussion of the situation where you have the rear mount with the hooks in but have rolled with your opponent. Your opponent is now laying there in an extremely bad position on top of you. I was pleased to see Pedro devote a lot of time to this position. The Kukuk tapes only mentioned it in passing that the position existed and let it at that. Well I guess I don’t have to wait for the Kukuk II tapes to come out (I have NO idea if such a set of tapes is planned or not. So don’t call Kukuk and bug him. Although if anyone has any info on whether there are plans for a second set of tapes, post this info)
Pedro goes over everything from how to properly hold someone in this position, how to strike your opponent with your feet, to what not to do in this position. Many people like to get the hooks in and then cross their feet. I promise you will never do this again after watching this series of tapes. You will get your ankles broken before you could get any submission. Pedro then shows a series of chokes that start out fairly basic and build to be very advanced. Each of these chokes assumes that your opponent has attempted a counter move which leads into the choke. Similarly, Pedro also shows a nifty arm-bar that arises from another attempt by your opponent to counter. On the other side of the coin, Pedro does make a few good pointers for your opponent while he is in this very bad position (other than kissing his ass goodbye).
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #5
Total Time 39:30
Tape Title: Advanced Guard Fighting
This is the longest tape of the whole series. The tape is non-stop technique. As always Pedro gives some treatment to the basics of the guard. While the Kukuk tapes give a good basic explanation of the guard, I don’t remember the Kukuk tapes really explaining any of the fine points explained here. Pedro explains the proper grip for holding your opponent in your guard. You need to have one hand holding your opponent’s uniform behind his elbow and the other deep into the collar on the same side as you are grabbing the elbow. Pedro also points out the need to keep one of your opponents arms on your chest. You will use the hand that is holding you opponent’s elbow to lift the arm onto your chest. From this position you are setup to go into a plethora of arm-locks and chokes as you opponent tries to break your guard. To realize the importance of this position, think back to when you almost had someone in the triangle choke but failed because you could not pull their arm across to cut off the blood. If you would have started with your opponent’s arm across to start with, this would not have been a problem.
Pedro also gives a full explanation of how to properly hold someone in your guard without using the uniform. It was nice to see that Pedro doesn’t just mention that you can punch your opponent while he is your guard, he actually walk’s you through the proper methods of punching and heel striking.
The tape then moves on to a discussion of a variation of Juji-gatame done while your opponent is in your guard. The basic version of the arm-lock is shown on the Kukuk tapes. The end position has you at a right angle to your opponent with both of your legs on one side of your opponent’s head and his arm between you legs. If you rolled with this position you would end up into the position that everyone knows as Juji-gatame. Pedro explores this common arm-bar in great depth demonstrating chokes, choke defenses and counters to that defense.
Pedro then gives a detailed run down of the triangle choke and lots of its variations. For those people who are relying on just about any BJJ video tape series on the market, this section will be a tremendous interest to you. On most tape series, they teach several “dangerous” methods of passing the guard. While Pedro calls them “wrong,” I don’t. The main example is the classic passing the guard where you (the person in the guard) puts one foot up and places your hand in the space created between your opponent’s legs and then breaks his guard, then get his leg onto your shoulder and drives etc.
This works against the slow and the clue-less. Try this with an experienced grappler and you will end up in the triangle every time (and wishing you had watched one of the later tapes (that shows the proper way to escape the triangle) as the blood drains from your soon to be unconscious head). If you are in someone’s guard you always either want both of your arms in his guard or both of them outside his guard. Never leave one arm in his guard. Remember what I said about the proper way that was shown to hold someone in the guard. You always secure you opponent’s arm behind the elbow and get it onto your chest and hold onto it. Guess what, when you try this very dangerous method of passing the guard, I will be breaking my own guard instantly (as I feel your hand moving in between my legs) and moving into the triangle. Since I have your arm secured to my chest, you are setup for the proper triangle immediately. All I do now is push down on your head and extend my hips (and pray that you did not watch the latter tapes on how to escape). How to properly pass the guard is on the next tape.
Pedro moves into brand new BJJ video tape territory by explaining how to control a person who is standing in your guard after they have broken your guard. You could sweep, but that’s the next tape. This section deals with the proper position of your hands and feet in relation to your standing opponent. Pedro walks you through the simple but effective counters to someone starting to pass your open guard while standing. If the two people fighting are experienced, this exercise is a lot like the Kung-fu sensitivity drill of sticking hands or “Chi Sao.”
Pedro ends the tape with a series of arm bars that can be done to an opponent standing in your open guard. The coolest one is where you opponent has pushed his weight down onto our feet that are on his hips. You could flip you opponent like Tomoe-nage, but the move Pedro chose was sweet. You essentially, lift you opponent completely into the air and drop him into Juji-gatame. It not easy, but I have pulled it off since watching this tape.
Maybe the title of this tape should be “What you need to know about the guard to survive, but the other tapes were afraid to tell you.”
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #6
Total Time 35:40
Tape Title: Sweeps, Reversals, and Escapes - Part 1
If I had to pick a favorite tape from the whole series, this tape would be the one. I can’t say enough good things about the material on this tape. This tape deals with reversals and escapes while the next tape deals mainly with sweeps. This tape will save your ass over and over again.
Tape #6 starts with a detailed discussion of how to escape the triangle choke. For those people relying on the Gracie Basic tapes or the Kukuk tapes, this information is critical. If you are using their methods of passing the guard, you will have a constant need to escape the triangle choke. Pedro walks you through, step-by-step, two ways to escape the triangle. The first method assumes that you have recognized the fact that your opponent is starting to apply the triangle choke. Like most escapes, the success rate is determine by how fast you recognize the gravity of your situation and start your counter. If you don’t know the proper ways to escape, your success rate is directly proportional to the ineptitude of your opponent. Pedro then shows how to escape a triangle choke that is nearly in its terminal position. This is a harder position to escape from. From my own experience these two methods of escaping are very effective and give you a good chance of extracting yourself from your precarious position.
Pedro then shows how to escape a very common variation of Juji-gatame done while your opponent is in your guard. The basic version of the arm-lock is shown on the Kukuk tapes and elaborated on in Tape #5 of Pedro’s set. The end position has you at a right angle to your opponent with both of your legs on one side of your opponent’s head and his arm between your legs. If you rolled with this position you would end up into the position that everyone knows as Juji-gatame. How many times have we all made the mistake of leaving one arm in your opponent’s guard as we tried to pass and ended up in this arm-bar. Then, like an idiot, you try to pull and muscle your arm out and end up making things even worse? (Just ask Jason Delucia after his UFC loss to Royce) The answer should be a resounding, NEVER AGAIN, after watching this tape.
Pedro then goes into a discussion of the basics of the terminal position for the Juji-gatame arm-lock. While this discussion is on several other tape sets, Pedro comes through again with a few new pointers. While this is nice, this is not the material that makes this a great tape. Juji-gatame is one of the most common arm-bars. One of the most common counters to Juji-gatame is to grab your own wrist as the arm-bar is being applied. This allows for all sorts of openings for escape. If you are stronger than your opponent he will be unable to sit back and complete the arm-bar. Or you might be able to create enough leverage to roll into the arm-bar, thus bending your arm. I am sure your sitting there thinking, “big deal, I know all this.” This tape deals with 7 different ways to counter the wrist grabbing defense. These techniques are essentially counters to counters. The counters to this wrist grabbing defense range from straight forward to very sneaky. Though out the tape set Pedro make the point that proper Jiu-Jitsu uses no strength. If you always just out muscle your opponent to break his hand grip, you might be successful, but you are not using Jiu-Jitsu. There is a saying in Aikido that asserts, that anyone that that can lift a 14 pound weight can do Aikido successfully. I believe this holds true for BJJ. It is this finesse that makes Jiu-Jitsu an art form and like playing chess.
The next section of the tape should be mandatory viewing for anyone entering the UFC. How many times have we see the two fighters ended up in the ½ guard positions (or ½ mount position, depending on your point of view). This position is not discussed on any set of tapes that I have seen. Like I said before, the information on other sets of tapes is fine if everything goes according to plan. The other tapes fail you when the plan gets side tracked. This tape will get you back on track. Pedro does not deal with the easier of the two positions here – ½ mount. The person with the ½ mount should establish his base and then start working his the trapped leg forward until he can get this knee to the ground. Once your knee is on the ground, you essentially have the mount even if you opponent still has your ankle tapped with his legs.
Like I said Pedro decided to only focus on the harder of the two positions – The ½ guard. You really have three options from this position: (1) put your opponent into the full guard; (2) escape and back mount your opponent; or (3) roll your opponent and obtain the mount. Submissions are very difficult to do from this position. Pedro goes through each of these options. After watching this tape, you almost feel embarrassed for the time you have spent in the ½ guard acting like a leach with no idea as to what to do.
The last part of the tape is spent on the proper way to break and then pass the guard. For your own safety, pretty much forget what you have learned on other tapes and start over. Pedro starts with a discussion of the proper position for the person in the guard. This information is vital because it will prevent a lot of arm-bars and submission from being applied. Then Pedro talks about the proper way to secure the opponent’s uniform before you stand in the guard. From this standing position Pedro teaches how to break the guard and then how to pass the open guard. All of these tapes work together, remember Pedro teaches how to defend the open guard in an earlier tape. There is a counter for every move and counter for that counter (If only someone is nice enough to show you them)
You will be able to tell when one of your friends get a hold of this tape. All of a sudden you arm-bars won’t be as effective, your triangle choke will appear to have lost its edge, and you won’t be able to keep your opponent in your guard like you use to. Worst of all, you won’t quite understand why.
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #7
Total Time 32:00
Tape Title: Sweeps, Reversals, and Escapes - Part 2
Tape #6 dealt with reversals and the escapes, this tape fills in the last portion of the tape’s title – Sweeps. All of the sweeps are done from variations on the guard. Three different guard positions are covered on this tape: (1) Your opponent starts to stand in your guard; (2) Your opponent manages to stand in your guard; and (3) Your opponent has broken your guard and is attempting to pass your guard while standing.
Previous tapes have dealt with the proper ways to standup in the guard, break the guard, and then pass the open guard. The sweeps taught on this tape might be thought of as counters to your opponent’s attempt to pass your guard. Almost all the sweeps end up with you mounted on your opponent’s chest.
For those people studying from tapes alone, this tape covers most of the Kukuk tape sweeps and then heads off into completely new material that is not on any set of tapes. No other set of tapes I have seen deals with the opponent who is holding onto the inside of each of your knees and attempting to pass your guard. In fact you might have never have considered this a positions you needed to be proficient in until watching this set of tapes. As an aside, the calling this tape series Advanced Jiu-Jitsu is somewhat miss leading. A better name for the tapes would be the “Proper and Correct Basics” or better yet, as someone so eloquently put it, “No B.S. Jiu-Jitsu.” (You can see that I have no future in marketing.) My point is real simple, the information on this tape is most valuable to those people that are fighting people that know what they are doing.
Pedro starts the tape by working the sweeps that are triggered by your opponent (who is in your guard) starting to standup on one leg. This material is similar to the Kukuk tapes. Pedro does add a few moves that are not on those tapes. It is important to pay attention to the action by your opponent that triggers you to launch into your technique. Ideally you want to, when you are first starting out, create a flow chart of your moves. This does not have to be on paper. You kind to say, “If my opponent does X, I know to do Y and so on. For example, I discussed in a previous review that if I see my opponent attempt to improperly pass my guard by placing my leg on his shoulder and leaving an arm in my guard, I will move right into the triangle. My opponent should have his own flow chart working. He should be saying, “Crap! Here comes the triangle, I have to work through the proper counter before I pass out.” This is the building blocks of strategy. This flow chart must then be internalized through repetition on the mat and built upon by experience.
Pedro then moves into the situation where your opponent has managed to stand in your guard. Pedro shows some nice moves that can best be described as variations of Tomoe-nage. You flip your opponent over you and do a back roll to end up mounted. What is really nice about these throws is the fact the setups for them grow out positions you naturally end up in when you attempt to counter someone trying to pass your guard. From experience, these throws are often setup by subtle weight shifts forward onto you by your opponent. To appreciate what I am talking about here, watch tape #5 where Pedro discusses how to prevent someone from passing your open guard. The counters shown there lead into the starting positions for these sweeps.
The last position that Pedro deals with are sweeps from the open guard. This is similar to the previous position but with one small difference. The previous position assumed that the person has stood in your guard and you are voluntarily breaking your guard and going for the sweep. This last position assumes that your opponent has broken your guard and is now attempting to pass your guard properly. The information taught here will help those people who find themselves stuck when their opponent partially passes their guard and things jam up. The moves remind me of an excellent book called “Fighting Judo” by Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki.
The final move on this tape is by far my favorite move of the whole series. I wish I could find the proper name for the technique. Both you and your opponent are on your hands and knees facing each other. You have the advantage by being on top of your opponent. With your right hand you reach in-between you opponent’s hands and snake our hand to the right until it rests on your opponent’s back (his left shoulder blade). Your other hand just hugs your opponent around the right side of his chest. You then lift your right leg to get leverage and roll to your left (counter clockwise). When all is said and done you essentially decapitate your opponent. You have to be really careful using this move. Your opponent does not realize how much trouble he is in and you don’t realize your opponent has tapped until his head pops off.
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki or work for either of them. Pick up a copy of June or July issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com.
Review of Tape #8
Total Time 29:41
Tape Title: Leg Locks
The last tape in the Pedro Carvalho series is devoted to leg locks and leg lock counters. I am not sure if this tape is more valuable for the locks themselves or for the counters shown. I have not seen the few tapes out on the market that deal with leg locks. I only know what I have been taught. Like many of us, I saw Ken Shamrock’s advertisement for the “Secret’s of the Octagon” tape series during the pre-fight show for one of the UFCs. I thought Shammy did a pretty good job. The Gracie Basics and the Kukuk tapes don’t deal with leg locks in any significant way. It was nice to see Pedro give a nicely rounded overview of leg locks.
Pedro starts the tape by giving you the scenario that leads into the many leg locks. You have stood in your opponent’s guard and have broken the guard. From here it is a matter of securing the ankle properly and sitting back. Pedro covers Shammy’s bread and butter “heel hook” and then elaborates on this position with another variation (It’s the same move Shammy beat Pat Smith with).
How often do you find yourself in the side control or knee on chest position and your opponent tries to block you from mounting by crossing one leg (i.e. left foot near your butt and your right foot resting on your left knee). Pedro shows how to get your opponent’s crossed leg into a leg lock.
Pedro then moves to a series of escapes from the mount that end up in leg locks. I have never seen any of these escapes on any other set of tapes. For the most part these moves are straight forward. There is one move in particular that should have the “Mission Impossible “ music rolling in the background when the move is executed. Your opponent is mounted on you. You sit up and hug him around the waist pulling him down on top of you. You then push into his armpits to drive him as high onto your chest as possible. (Keep running the “Mission Impossible” music) Then you essentially perform a back roll by hooking your feet into your opponent’s armpits. When all is said and done, you opponent is on his stomach and you have his leg in a leg lock from the rear (This move should really end with you pulling off a mask to reveal your true identify, shortly before boarding a plane for Rio with the diamonds). This appears to work best if your opponent is smaller and lighter than you. I have also seen people escape in a similar way just by accident.
Pedro then goes into a very important discussion of how to properly position the feet (“the hooks”) when you have rear mount on your opponent. Many people make the critical mistake of crossing the feet to secure a better hold on their opponent. You will never make this mistake again after you get a chance to practice the foot/ankle lock Pedro demos. In fact, you might find yourself tempted to earn some extra pocket money by letting your hapless classmates obtain the back mount with their feet crossed and then betting them that they will tap out first. ;)
Pedro then goes over another move that has come in handy countless times. Once you have stood in your opponent’s guard, you walk forward and then step around them while pivoting 180 degrees. This leaves your opponent in a ½ Boston crab.
Another move that comes in handy is a counter for one of the basic sweeps of someone that has stood in your guard. You have stood in your opponent’s guard and he attempts to sweep you by breaking his guard, bringing his knees together, grabbing your ankles, and then driving forward. Pedro’s counter requires you (the person standing in the guard) to fall back on your own to prevent your opponent from grabbing your uniform to pull himself onto you to get the mount. The moment you hit the ground you rollover by driving one of your legs and your hips to one side. Your opponent will be rolled onto his stomach and you will be kneeling in the ½ Boston crab position again.
For anyone wondering what that fancy front leg lock Oleg used in the UUFC, look no further. Pedro walks you through the lock from the take down to the finished lock.
Pedro then ends the tape with some of the most important information on the tape. Here Pedro walks you through the step-by-step process of countering leg locks. Additionally, Pedro earlier on the tape demo how to exploit a improperly applied leg lock for a leg lock of your own.
Once again, like the tape on counters, you will know when someone in class has bought this tape. All of a sudden this person will be doing tons of leg locks and your leg locks won’t have the desired effect, no matter how hard you crank. What’s worse, you had the back mount on your opponent and were going for a choke when your ankles exploded in pain from some mystery move by your opponent.
If anyone else has recently purchased Pedro’s tapes, feel free to post your own feedback and comments.
p.s. Many people e-mailed wondering where they can get the tapes. Again, I don’t know Pedro or work for him. Pick up a copy of June issue of Black Belt Magazine. Otherwise call 1-800-682-9842 and direct your question to the nice lady. Or, visit the World Martial Arts WWW page by clicking www.groundfighter.com. .
Bill Lewis BJJ33@aol.com