Jiu-Jitsu University [Paperback]

Saulo Ribeiro (Author), Kevin Howell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2008

Saulo Ribeiro—six-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion—is world-renowned for his functional jiu-jitsu knowledge and flawless technique. In Jiu-Jitsu University, Ribeiro shares with the public for the first time his revolutionary system of grappling, mapping out more than 200 techniques that carry you from white to black belt. Illuminating common jiu-jitsu errors and then illustrating practical remedies, this book is a must for all who train in jiu-jitsu. Not your run-of-the-mill technique book, Jiu-Jitsu University is a detailed training manual that will ultimately change the way jiu-jitsu is taught around the globe.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Saulo Ribeiro is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion. Ribeiro, along with his jiu-jitsu achievements, is a lawyer and judge and now head instructor at the world-famous University of Jiu-Jitsu based in San Diego, CA.

Kevin Howell is a political science professor based in Huntington Beach, CA. He holds a brown belt in judo and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981504434
• ISBN-13: 978-0981504438
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Mixed Martial Arts
  • #4 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Martial Arts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basics, good insights, November 17, 2008

By 

Silverstein - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jiu-Jitsu University (Paperback)

This is a fairly comprehensive survey of the basics, covered in a belt-by-belt perspective. The photographic quality is emblematic of the new style of MA tutorials, with clear pictures, and techniques portrayed from multiple perspectives in a top-down, linear fashion. It's the same style used in Couture's "Wrestling for Fighting" and several other recent works.

There are scads of GJJ books on the market, so I will only cover what makes this one different from the rest. One noticeable difference is in the belt pedagogy. In the Gracie books, the techniques assigned to belt levels (if at all) are often apparently randomly selected and organized. Ribeiro, on the other hand, assigns a principle goal of each belt, and then organizes techniques in accordance with the goal. The main thing to realize is that many (most?) classes put defensive techniques and offensive techniquest together at each belt level, with proficiency, as well as learning some advanced techniques, being the key to getting the belt. Ribeiro, on the other hand, groups like techniques. Therefore, the reader's class will likely be out-of-step with this book. Ribeiro is presenting a pedagogy, not an encylopedia of techniques, so if you're considering this book, keep that in mind.

Amazon won't let you see the TOC yet, so I will break the chapters down.

White belt: The goal is "survival," which seems completely reasonable to me, at least as a focus. This chapter covers the correct positions to attain and to hold while you're under another player's mount (top, side, back, etc.). Ribeiro lists the mistakes he thinks players typically make when defending against submissions in these positions, and some of his techniques are slightly different from what I've seen taught elsewhere. The point here is that the new player hasn't learned, or at least, isn't proficient at, escapes or submissions yet, and he needs to learn how to survive while thinking of his next move. I found Ribeiro's pointers to be useful...things I wish I would have learned on my first day of class (instead of being thrown to the wolves).

Blue belt: The goal of the blue belt is to focus on escapes. Escapes are discussed from the the above positions, and, as in the earlier (and later) chapters, Ribeiro lists mistakes players typically make, as well as his own unique techniques.

One primary difference, then, is that this book provides no offensive techniques for either the white belt or the blue belt. That's okay from the standpoint of this book being a supplement to actual classes, but would be quite interesting if the book were akin to Ribeiro's classes. My school failed where Ribeiro succeeeds -- focusing on survival, or at least, defensive techniques, for the lower belts -- but my school was also, I think, more conventional in that it required excellence in dozens of offensive techniques in order for blue belt to be acheived.

Purple belt: The goal of this belt is to become proficient in the guard. The earlier pattern continues.

Brown belt: The goal of this belt is to learn guard passing. The earlier pattern continues, and a variety of basic and advanced techniques are presented.

Black belt: The goal of the black belt chapter is to learn submissions.


Anyway, the moral of the story is to be clear on what you want when choosing a supplemental text. This book presents sound techniques and an interesting approach to study, but one that is likely to be completely out of sync with what the reader needs to learn in order to get ahead in class. Other books present laundry list of techniques without any sense of order or purpose.

Hope this helps.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best BJJ book I have seen., November 17, 2008

By 

Robert Ysline (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jiu-Jitsu University (Paperback)

I just got Saulo's book and I am elated. It is definitely the best BJJ book on the market and will take a special place in my BJJ book collection.

This is why I gave it five stars...

Comprehensive: This book covers a complete system of white to black belt and is the first time I have seen the belt system put together in a way that makes sense. Saulo uses the belts as guidelines for what you should learn before you move to the next belt. I wish I had this book 3 years ago when I started. For guys like me that have been around a while, I plan on going back and brushing up on elements that I have missed. This is a great book when it comes to finding the holes in your game.

Troubleshooting: Just like Saulo's popular DVD series, he outlines the do's and don't do's of every move. He explains everything well and I have already had several epiphanies regarding moves that I thought were perfect. I thought these little pointers were game changers.

Scope: If it wasn't enough that Saulo covers the major positions of BJJ, he also adds plenty of "bells and whistles". I like how he shows many current positions and discusses the evolution to and from these positions. Instead of teaching how to pass the standard closed guard or spider guard, he shows how to pass some of the trickiest modern guards out there. Even better, he shows how to use similar body movements to beat just about anything. It felt like a trip into jiu-jitsu theory and application all in one.

I can't wait for Jiu-Jitsu University 2, though I am not sure how much material Saulo would have left. It looks like this one has a lifetime of knowledge invested into it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, November 18, 2008

By 

Jiujitsu Dave - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jiu-Jitsu University (Paperback)

Simply awesome! This book has it all. There are so many things about this book. The clarity of the instruction is great! Some books out there try to be too casual in the explanations and end up not getting the proper points across. This book however does get the points across. There are multiple angles of just about every move, so there are no detailes missed visually. The descriptions are very well written, that way no detail goes un-spoken. If you still have a hard time understanding, there are case studies in the book which help get the points across and give a very good demonstration of the techniques.

Saulo has a unique teaching style. In this book he either sets your foundation or re-works what you have. He goes into moves and explains not only how to do them, but how they work and very interestingly, what makes them not work! If you are looking for a good, one book collection, this is the book to get. If there was a Bible for jiujitsu, this would be it!