Customer Reviews

Gracie Submission Essentials: Grandmaster and Master Secrets of Finishing a Fight (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu series)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gracie Submission Essentials is 240+ pages of full color photos that explain how to do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions from almost any position. The photographs for each submission are large, clear, and plentiful - usually four or more for each technique. While those reading it will not be able to master the techniques without a partner, this book is an incredible starting point for those new to the sport and also a great reference for more advanced students. Kimuras, chokes, gogoplatas, omoplatas, locks, triangles, etc... they're all inside.

While there is an introduction section with brief biographies, interviews, and training tips, the primary sections of the book break down as follows:

- Grandmaster's Favorites. Helio Gracie dons a gi and demonstrates the basic (but devastating) submissions of BJJ. These include the standing kimura, choke from the mount, americana, various arm-locks, and the legendary rear-naked choke. 13 techniqus, 29 pages.
- Stand Up Submissions. Royler grapples with Megaton (I though that was MegaTRON the first time I read it) for the rest of the chapters. The standing techniques include standing chokes, wrist/arm locks, knee locks, the guillotine, and pretty much everything you'd ever want to know from the standing position. Since a lot of new BJJ practitioners don't learn these techniques in class (a lot of schools start rolling from the knees), this is an important section for any new student heading to a tournament to read. 26 techniques, 51 pages.
- Guard Pass Submissions. These are some pretty intense techniques that will take a lot of practice and timing to do properly and safely (most of them involve flipping your opponent over). 3 techniques, 7 pages.
- Side Control Submissions. A lot of newer students see side control as just a transition stage, and it is not. Leg-locks, knee-on-the-stomach attacks, chokes, americanas, spine-locks, arm-locks, and arm-crushers are covered. 19 techniques, 46 pages.
- Mount Submissions. Submissions from the mount are some of the most common, but can always be practiced. Chokes, triangles, nutcracker chokes, arm-locks, and the knee-split are shown. 9 techniques. 20 pages.
- Back Control Submissions. The submissions in this section are interesting because "the back" is a broad definition; these techniques tend to be defined according to situation and include "opponent bridges" and "opponent stands up." 5 techniques, 14 pages.
- Turtle and Half Guard submissions. This is a sort of a short "miscellaneous" chapter. The bananna split, chokes, calf-lock, and kimura are covered. 5 techniques, 12 pages.
- Guard Submissions. Are you comfortable fighting from your back? If not, this chapter is a MUST. Chokes, arm-bars, triangles, wrist-lock, omoplata, shoulder locks, crucifix chokes, reverse americanas, gogoplatas, and more. 25 techniques, 63 pages.

While this is one of the best books on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions on the market, it is not the ONLY book you will ever need. It is VERY specific to gi (uniform) submissions, so not every technique will work in a no-gi environment (UFC, etc...). As well, this book does not cover movement - something that is critical to getting into proper position for submissions. Other books (including Royce Gracie's excellent Ultimate Fighting Techniques Volumes I & II - Volume I being a great reference for movement) are necessary to truly understand Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Finally, a book dedicated to the ultimate goal of grappling...submissions. This book does not really cover the details of maintaining a superior position, escapes, or sweeps (Royler and his family members have other books covering those). This book, as the title states, focuses on submissions only.

It starts with a nice intro into the thoughts of Helio and his son Royler. They discuss their similarities and differences in how they approach fights, the mentality needed to win, and some training thoughts. Also discussed is a brief history of the two legendary fighters.

The first set of submissions covers Helio's classic moves. They are pretty basic bread and butter BJJ finishes, but I feel they are important because too many people today move away from the basics, and as the saying goes, less is more. There is a good level of detail into how to make these moves work.

After these sets of moves, it's Royler's turn to shine for the rest of the book. He goes over all types of submissions, grouped by positions such as side mount, full mount, half guard, turtle, and guard. Everything from basic submissions which can be performed quickly, to those requiring more complicated setups are covered. There are a lot of interesting finishes that are not typically shown in most BJJ classes too. Again, the level of detail is outstanding. Small little nuances, which can mean the difference between a successful or failed submission attempt, is explained for each move. The moves definitely do work too. I know this because the week I got my copy, I had already used two of the moves I learned from reading the book to submit people in class.

The photography for all the moves is done very well and clearly illustrates all the moves, as can be expected from any Kid Peligro book. Close up shots are included when necessary. And having Royler's two accomplished assistants (David Adiv, who happens to be my instructor, and Megaton Dias) wear blue gis is a nice touch so it's easy to distinguish whose limbs are whose, while Royler is wearing his white gi.

Definitely order this book soon before the rest of the grappling world does and learns all the little tricks Royler and Helio show!

This is a great book, not only because the authors are who they are but how often can you get the perspective of creator of a martial art. This book starts out with both Helio and Royler's approach to fighting and to submissions and then goes on to more talk with the GRandmaster about many things that i found interesting.

The submissions they show go from solid basic to many advanced that I had not see before. Helio show his favorties and Royler shows many sequences that can be connected together. He shows som very modern finishes as well.

I feel this is a must have book for various reasons, specially because of the selection of submissions and of course because it is the Grandmaster and his top BJJ fighting son

Five stars all the way!

This is book is simply one of the best books of its kind out on the market right now. The theory presented in this book regarding how to be a good finisher is invaluable to anyone looking to improve their game. In addition the book presents techniques that are personal favorites of two of the most technical Jiu-Jitsu players ever to walk the earth (Helio and Royler Gracie). The techniques section also includes a variety of combination techniques for those looking to take their submissions to the next level. If you want to learn how to become a good finisher and you want to add techniques to your game buy this book and you won't be dissapointed.

A solid addition to the series - good fundamentals from the Grand Master Helio Gracie. Simple, yet effective techniques that are the foundation for any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student. Royler takes it further with some great chokes. Good ideas to take to the mat.

I've been doing BJJ for a year and a half now, but have always had the trouble of forgetting details here and there, especially for some of the positions that only happen occasionally. A single miniscule movement can make or break a submission attempt, and so that is my trouble.

I was in the market for a good book of techniques and this seemed like a good one.

If you only need help with submissions, this is the book for you. A great deal of basic ones are covered, as well as some which may even catch the more experienced members of your class. Escapes, counters, and general movement are not covered here. The small little details are helpful though and it would be a valuable reference to have and look over before practice or a tournament.

Like so many other books in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu series, the authors did a superb job in the layout and format of this book and the information that it contains is nothing short of first rate, although I did feel that a couple of sections could have used a bit more detailed explanation than what was give, but that is a very minor complaint bordering on the trivial.

As I was with the other books in the series, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy each technique was to initially grasp when reading this book. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that the photographs are all in color and printed on glossy paper which makes it easier to distinguish the finer points and it really adds to the overall quality of the book.

The techniques themselves were clearly shown with numerous photographs per technique and the accompanying text to explain each technique was very detailed yet easy to understand and comprehend.

I particularly enjoyed the history of Helio Gracie and it was really quite something to see him demonstrating the various techniques in this book. I think that it would be safe to say that this book may one day even have some significant historical value because of this fact.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning jui-jitsu and/or MMA along with the following books.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu series)

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: For Experts Only

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Submission Grappling Techniques (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu series)

Here are two other books on wrestling and grappling that I am sure you would also find very beneficial.

Wrestling for Fighting: The Natural Way

Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Creator of numerous books and DVD's.

This book starts with a brief history and background on Helio and Royce, as well as their fight philosophy. There is a brief section on what makes someone a good BJJ practitioner and how to train techniques.

It then moves into what this book is all about BJJ submission essentials. It starts with Helio demonstrating a number of his favourite submissions before Royler takes up the rest of the book demonstrating a plethora of other submissions.

The book covers submissions from all situations and positions whether standing, mounted (top and side), guard, from the back or fighting from the bottom. All techniques are explained in great detail to ensure that the technique you're executing is correct. This is enhanced greatly by Kid Peligro's large, clear photos, which includes close ups of grips and multiple angles etc when necessary.

Basically, this book is exactly what it says on the cover - an explanation of BJJ submission techniques.

What this book is not - while it may be a useful reference book for a newer student it doesn't go into fundamentals of wrestling such as basic positioning, transitions between positions, or wrestling theory. Applying these techniques without any of those basics in a fight situation is almost impossible. These are however, covered in other Gracie BJJ books. As such this book is most useful for those who already have wrestling experience, though this doesn't necessarily have to be in BJJ.

"Gracie Submission Essentials" is part of the "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Series", and like the other books in the series, it is well-done, with clear text, color-coded chapters, and color photos. The first part of the book just gives some background on Gracie Jiujitsu, specifically on the history and submission strategy of Helio and Royler Gracie, the two featured technicians. This book is all about submissions, and even the early discussions focus on that. Next, Grandmaster Helio shows a baker's dozen of his favorite techniques. Most are classics, like the Mata Leao/Rear Naked Choke and arm bar from guard, but others are a bit less conventional.

Next up is Royler, who is given the majority of the book to display his favorite submissions. He begins with attacks from standing. These run the gamut from chokes, takedowns to leg locks, flying arm bars and triangles, to a surprising amount of wrist locks. Next is a few submissions from guard passes (although one actually attacks the turtle position... trouble with the editing I suppose), then moves on to attacks from side control. These include basics such as the Americana, intermediate moves like leg locks, and some very unconventional arm locks and chokes. From there, we move to mount, which is given mostly the standard choke/arm bar mix, but also continues to have some unconventional moves, such as the knee split. After that is a chapter on back control; many of these techniques feature Royler's agility, where he slides up the back of an opponent who's trying to stand up in order to apply an arm bar or triangle. For some reason, the publishers decided to group techniques that attack the turtle and half guard in the same section, which was the last chapter before guard submissions. The guard chapter includes a variety of arm locks and gi chokes, as well as a number of different finishes from the omoplata.

This book is unique in that it offers techniques for every level from basic to advanced. In many cases, combinations of techniques are shown, giving the reader an idea of how the moves flow together. A surprising number of movements involved rolling the opponent over from a face-down position. Although I think such techniques are good to know, I have to wonder how many BJJ practitioners are going to have the necessary agility to pull them off. Another point to note, for good or ill, is that the book made no distinction between levels of technique. They were all simply classified by what position was being attacked at the time. Finally, some of the techniques are illegal in BJJ competitions; novice practitioners should know the rules of such events before attempting some of these techniques.

Taken for what it was, the favorite submissions of two very technical members of the legendary Gracie family, this is an excellent book. It was easy to follow, and technique details were clearly pointed out. A BJJ practitioner of any level, or someone simply wanting to expand their knowledge of submission holds, could benefit from this book.

Once you have a good understanding of the basic of BJJ, this book takes your game to another level offering you many options in term of submission. To get the most out of this book, it is recommended that you master one technique at a time, then try to combine it with other techiques. For example, I found that the bent arm lock works really well with Kimura as a second attack option.