Grappling and BJJ tips by Liam The Part-Time Grappler Wandi: BJJ DVD Review: Nic Gregoriades & Kit Dale Concepts.

Review Nic Gregoriades and Kit Dale Concepts DVD

Two funny guys presenting concepts and techniques that will turbocharge your jiujitsu. Nic and Kit are both very comfortable with the camera and with working with each other. The sound quality is crystal clear and the two black belts wear white and black gis respectively, working on light and dark grey mats so the HD quality of the picture is very high.

Where to buy this DVD:

In DVD format ($59.99) or digital download ($49.99) at: http://www.gobeyondtechnique.com/

Disclosure

I have never met these gentlemen but I have known Nic online for a few years. This review is based solely on my own opinions.

Here are a few words from Nic himself:

You can purchase the BJJ Concepts DVD here.

The DVD starts with the two black belts discussing how the contents will become tools for the learners to develop their own jiujitsu, with technique examples of course.

1. Transitional Pressure: Nic explains how maintaining pressure on the opponent not just from positions but also during transitions between positions can extend your opportunity to attack. The example presented is transitioning from side mount to knee on belly. Nic shows how to maintain the pressure throughout the transition by correct hand placement and body weight distribution. The second such example is attacking the turtle with the snap-over from the seatbelt grip.

2. The Fisherman: Trying to pass the De La Riva guard, Kit shows how to correctly recover your posture and grips using your deadlift motion.

3. The Quadrant: starting with Kit on his hands and feet with knees bent, like a table, Nic explains how and why a table with three legs is far less stable than one with four then proceeds to show how this applies to, for instance, to sweeps from the X-Guard and toppling someone back from the combat base.

4. Post, posture & leverage: Kit explains how this principle replaced the need to remember individual sweep from multiple positions. He builds upon the previous concept of quadrants and uses the example of butterfly sweeps: He identifies the post (controlling the opponent's sleeve), he pulls the head down and forwards (posture) then lifts with his hooking foot (the leverage) to finish the sweep.

5. The porcupine: strictly speaking, Nic explains that this is a Luta Livre concept. The idea is to use the points & edges (spikes) on your body and align them against the softer parts of theirs. An example is lining the edge of your wrist against their throat from any bottom or even top position.

6. Nullifying the guard pull: specifically for competition jiujitsu, Kit shows how this particular method of breaking posture will nullify the guard pull and, more likely than not, give you the two points for the take down.

7. The corkscrew: pulling and pushing with the arms, Nic shows how incorporating a rotating, corkscrew motion into arm extension and retraction adds more stability and structure to your pulls and pushes. Examples include Rickson Gracie's technique for escaping hip switch side control and Kron Gracie's lapel drag from open guard

You can purchase the BJJ Concepts DVD here.

8. Weight distribution: Embody these principles and you’ll never get swept. By reverse engineering the quadrant principle and predicting where the guard player wants to take you, you can counter their intentions with your weight distribution.

9. Collapsing and inserting structures: Frames are the heart of leverage in jiujitsu and Nic shows how reinforcing what you already have in place can make it is so hard for your opponent to simply collapse it and move around you. Similarly, by collapsing away your structures that the opponent is relying on using against you, you can take away their power to manipulate your body. Be water, my friend.

10. Double barrel shotgun: guard maintenance is key and this principle is a beautiful illustration of how to use your limbs independently of each other to always have something in the way of your opponent.

11. Open and closed chain: Figure-four locking your arms is one way to hide the end of the open chain that your arm is, effectively protecting that arm from attacks. That is one example of how viewing your limbs as chains can help raise your awareness of when you may be in submission danger.

12. Removing leverage: Kit rehashes the scenario of rolling with someone who feels like a truck and explains how their actions to jam your levers can make them feel that heavy.

You can purchase the BJJ Concepts DVD here.

13. Spinal torque: Nic's coach, Roger Gracie, is a master of this. Get the spine off alignment and your opponent's power, strength and explosiveness will drop drastically.

"In a fight, only one person can be comfortable. Your primary job is to take the comfort away from your opponent and transfer it to you" Rickson Gracie

14. Size specific strategy: Do you play the same game against all shapes and sizes of opponents? Ever tried to toreada against someone much taller than you only to get countered or even reversed / back-taken? Use the strategies in this segment to pick the right strategy against the right opponent.

15. Border Patrol: Think about your torso and its borders. Who / what is patrolling those borders? Building on the double barrel shotgun concept and multiply it up a few levels, Kit shows how and why you need to always patrol your borders (defensively) and always attack your opponent's border controls (offensively).

16. Loading the spring: If you want to pull, push first. If you want to push, pull first. The magic is in the how and Kit shows you here how to do it in such an invisible way that even higher level jiujitsu struggle to resist it.

17. The pendulum: Nic explains here how you can use throwing a part of your anatomy to create momentum such as the leg for sitting up and the head for changing sides for sweeping from open guard.

18. Take-down postures: We've all noticed that certain throws work on certain opponents and not on others. Kit shows in this segment that more than the person, it's the way they are standing at that particular moment and he shows three categories of takedown postures and the appropriate techniques that go with them. Very cool concept.

19. Hip-centric movement: Lead your movement with the hips. It's easier said than done, but with the guidance Nic gives in this segment that allows you to visualise what this all-important principle means and how to utilise it in your jiujitsu.

You can purchase the BJJ Concepts DVD here.

20. The misdirection: Grip-Fighting! Kit shows how to misdirect the opponent's attention before reaching for the grip you want. He uses his eyes, hands and feet to achieve this. As a bonus, he gives great advice on correcting your position from the seated guard so your grips win the race.

The copy that Nic sent me is a rough copy so this part might change with the final copy: With the end of the last technique, the DVD ended abruptly. There was no outro or credits. Considering that this (excellent) DVD was just under an hour long, I would have liked there to be at least a link to a website with some extension work from the two black belts, or at least to their respective YouTube channels where, evidently, they post many more examples of these concepts.