Sell Us Your Item
For a $15.75 Gift Card
Trade in
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Mastering the Rubber Guard: Jiu Jitsu for Mixed Martial Arts Competition [Paperback]

Eddie Bravo , Erich Krauss , Glen Cordoza
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Paperback, Bargain Price --  
Paperback, December 15, 2006 --  
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

December 15, 2006
In Mastering the Rubber Guard, Eddie Bravo, the only American to submit a member of the legendary Gracie family in jiu-jitsu competition, reveals the techniques and strategy of the Rubber Guard, a revolutionary system of grappling designed specifically for the street and mixed martial arts competition.

Through descriptive narrative and nearly a thousand color photographs, Bravo teaches dozens of unique moves and submissions. Widely regarded as not only the most offensive, but also the most defensive, guard game in existence, the Rubber Guard will change the way you view and play jiu-jitsu.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"Buy Eddie's book, read the book, and start putting his techniques to workùbecause if you don't, you will soon be tapping out to some guy who did."—'Big' John McCarthy, UFC Referee


"Eddie Bravo's approach to jiu-jitsu is so unusual and innovative that it's literally a completely separate branch off the jiu-jitsu tree. And it's not just different; it's actually better. Much better."—Joe Rogan, UFC Commentator and Host of NBC's 'Fear Factor'

About the Author

Joe Rogan was the host of the hugely successful reality show, “Fear Factor,” for six seasons on NBC.  Prior to “Fear Factor”, Rogan played Joe Garrelli, the resident electrician on the hit NBC comedy series “NewsRadio.” 

Since 2002, Rogan has provided color commentary for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) on Pay Per View and Spike Television and also hosts the syndicated show, “UFC Wired.”  Rogan’s passion for MMA began with martial arts practice at the age of 13.  Within two years, the Boston native earned a black belt and soon became the Massachusetts full contact Tae Kwon Do champion four consecutive years.  By the age of 19, Rogan won the US Open Tae Kwon Do Championship and as lightweight champion went on to beat both the middle and heavyweight title-holders to obtain the Grand Championship.  

Rogan’s other true love is standup comedy.  As a standup comedian for more than 20 years Joe has honed an inquisitive and intense comedic style.  He exudes a mad joy for life in all its insanity and revels in the art of standup comedy to explore the world with raw honesty.  This has made him a national headliner, a favorite performer at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and a guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”  In 2000, Rogan released his debut comedy album, “I’m Gonna Be Dead Someday,” on Warner Bros. Records.  In April of 2007 he released a follow-up CD, “Shiny Happy Jihad” on Comedy Central Records.  Rogan’s debut DVD “Joe Rogan Live” aired on Showtime in the spring of 2007.  Joe’s second hour comedy special, “Talking Monkeys in Space,” premiered on Spike TV on June 20, 2009 dominating the average ratings in its timeslot among men 18-49 (150 percent more viewers), men 18-34 (180 percent) and men 25-34 (327 percent).

Rogan resides in Los Angeles and regularly performs stand-up locally and internationally.  


Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing; Original edition (December 15, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0977731596
  • ISBN-13: 978-0977731596
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.8 x 11 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

This book will teach you that system. Justin Maynard  |  26 reviewers made a similar statement
I give this book 5 stars because it did what it intended to do, and it did it very very well. Shaun Bolen  |  12 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 60 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Bravo Jiu-Jitsu & Boo-Hoo Intro January 18, 2007
By buyer s
Format:Paperback
You're writing the definitive textbook on repairing transmissions for 1960's General Motors Muscle Cars. Your audience loves 1960's General Motors Muscle Cars, and they are anxious to learn about how you repair the transmissions so well. Now what kind of introduction would you write to prepare your audience for your brilliant and innovative transmission repair manual? How about 10 pages full or ramblings about your pet chihuahua?

Here Eddie told us all about his pet chihuahua, except Eddie's chihuahua is an illegal drug. The audience for his book does not care and does not want to learn about Eddie's hobbies un-related to the subject matter of the book they just bought. Although I applaud Eddie for coming out of his druggie closet, he failed completely in his choice of forum for it. If he so strongly wanted to spread his message about drugs, he should have written a book specifically about drugs to target an audience that cares about that topic. I care about grappling, and that's why I bought the book. If Eddie thinks that he "owes" drugs for his success, then he could do like every other writer and list drugs as one of his acknowledgements.

Now, about the rubber guard. This is much better than his Twister book in that this book is very focused on one position where the Twister book is focused on a general introduction to Eddie's system. The pictures are very good quality and in color. The paper is glossy high quality. Both the color pictures and paper quality are an upgrade from the Twister book.

There are a lot of moves and counters shown in this book, which makes it valuable to a grappler. The descriptions for the pictures are excellent, however they are in too small a font. Don't try reading this small print in dim light, or while in a moving car. The overviews before the pictures for each move, which are written in larger font than the descriptions, could be trimmed to about half as much text and still convey the same points.

The names for the moves don't mean anything to anyone except Eddie, which makes the names hard to remember and assimilate to anyone with a traditional judo, BJJ, sambo or wrestling background. "Old School" could better be named "basic half-guard sweep" or "half-guard foot sweep," and the Eddie-names for dozens of other moves would be more useful if the moves were named to describe what they do. The screw-driver in your toolbox was so-named because it drives screws, but Eddie might rename it an "Okatomo." What does Okatomo mean? Nothing, and that's the point with Eddie's names for these moves.

So, as big a fan of Eddie's BJJ as I am, the druggie rant, egotistical naming of moves, and small print for the descriptions brings his 5 star rating for the brilliance of his rubber guard game down to 3 stars overall for this book, Mastering the Rubber Guard.

SS Barra BJJ Seattle
Was this review helpful to you?
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Rebel Jiu-Jitsu June 2, 2007
By BJJ BK
Format:Paperback
This is not your average Jiu-Jitsu instructional book. Written by a heavily tattooed ex-musician, every aspect of the book seems designed to attack the traditional foundations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. From the firm no-gi stance of the author, to the open marijuana advocacy (even going so far as to recommend marijuana usage during training!) to the, um, rather colloquial naming of moves and positions ("Retard Control", "Crack Head Control", "Jiu-Claw", "Night of the Living Dead"), Eddie Bravo questions and overturns seemingly every established dogma in BJJ.

After deeper analysis, however, one realizes that behind the silly names and cannabis activism there is real and valuable martial arts research in these techniques. Transforming guard into an offensive position via Rubber Guard (especially when the standard 'triangle choke or arm bar from guard' sequence stops working) has the potential to COMPLETELY change your game. Bravo not only demonstrates Rubber Guard but beforehand explains how to turn half-guard into an equally powerful position, and outlines many sweeps and defensive counters. I found the Troubleshooting sections to be valuable, as they explain common errors and mistakes made when learning these techniques and how to overcome them.

The book is well laid-out with many clear color pictures with alternate angles, in a sensible sequence from stretching to half guard Lockdown, to Butterfly Guard to Rubber Guard and more advances techniques building on the prior sections. The writing makes the strategy and progression clear, instead of simply being a catalog of individual moves. I recommend this to any BJJ practitioner, from white belt on up, particularly if you train at a more traditional gi school. You'll have fun surprising and tapping your classmates with the unorthodox techniques, and that alone is worth the price of this book.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has great jujitsu information from a guy who has made it a practice of making the unorthodox work for him. His photos and explanations are excellent, and make you want to try the stuff out. Some (I would say a lot) of his stuff requires you to drill it thoroughly before you are able to pull it off in randori or tournament, but some of the concepts are interesting enough to just tweak what you already do.

On the minus side, he spends way way too much time giving us his viewpoint on his pro-pothead lifestyle (a view apparently shared by Joe Rogan, his friend and training partner). Personally, I would like to see pot legalized, but the argument in favor of doing so is one I would rather see argued by someone a great deal more qualified than Eddie Bravo. Why spend time in a jujitsu text to go on and on (and he really does, by the way) about how great pot has been to him? Biographical sections can add to a martial arts text, but not when they're just polemics, and the stuff he's into makes him sound like a high school pothead constantly either toking or chasing tail, and consequently much less interesting. Who cares what he thinks about girls or pot? I sure don't; I could have gotten the same insight from those same high school potheads if I wanted.

Additionally, the names of his moves make no sense except to boost his bloated ego, which seems convinced that he's reinvented the wheel. It makes working the material a little tougher.

Oh, if you want to see how he teaches and talks (pretty much like a pothead, imho), check out some of his seminars on YouTube.

All that aside, though, his jujitsu instruction is excellent and for real, and easily propels this to 4 stars (5 without the pro-pot stuff). If you can skip over it, it's well worth the effort.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great...!!!!
Good quality...nice color pictures...and a lot of information...if you want to learn new techniques...buy this book... Read more
Published 1 month ago by maliante007
5.0 out of 5 stars awesome book
bought this one and the other book from eddie bravo. very good info, pictures and have used this book no problem for training.glad i got this book
Published 4 months ago by steve knowles
5.0 out of 5 stars enhancing your game with fantasy
Do not mind the first pages with the cannabis activism. Skip them completely and....
there you are...
A new way to think and act with your body. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dimitris
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for an in-depth analysis
This book doesn't leave anything out. Small autobiography of Bravo's path int he beginning of the book also. I would recommend this.
Published 9 months ago by Nicholas
3.0 out of 5 stars Well Organized, Systematic DVD's (But the System's Not That Great)
These DVD's are really well laid out. They start with the half guard and proceed to the pyramid position and then full rubber guard. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Manjushri
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
This is a well written, in depth, great pictures, techniques are explained well, and all around good book. Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. hellwig
5.0 out of 5 stars Great instruction
This book was clear in its instruction and the pictures were in bright ,vivid color . This book is worth it if you want to understanding the rubber guard without a proper... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo... Mr Bravo
First off I'd like to address all the people talking bad about the pro pot talk in this book. If you know anything about Eddie Bravo it's that he is pro pot and has world class... Read more
Published 21 months ago by I see you
5.0 out of 5 stars The Second best book ever
This book is really really good there's not reason to wirte alot of crap. I'm just going to say that I wish you buyers would buy this book and see what I mean!
Published 24 months ago by Tranell Glynn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!!!!
Eddie Bravo is in my opinion the next Helio Gracie as far as jiu jitsu goes. Helio took japanese jiu jitsu which used more strength holds and adapted it to his smaller size by... Read more
Published on November 27, 2010 by Justin Maynard
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 





Look for Similar Items by Category