GU01: The Guard Review by Matt Thornton
I receive many tapes and dvd's in the mail to review. Most of the time I am fairly disappointed at the quality of the instruction, and the way the material is presented. So I was very happy after I watched the first few minutes of Levo's guard tapes to find they are a real exception to that rule.
Nathan's tapes are great.
These tapes are all primarily focused on submission grappling, that is no-gi, without strikes. However, as with all solid information, the delivery system remains the same regardless of gi, or striking, so the crossover potential is tremendous if you have a little imagination and background already.
First off all he presents the material in a very easy to follow format, which is highly logical, and is based on what the athletes attempting these moves will encounter against resisting opponents.
Secondly, he places a heavy emphasis on position first, which is fantastic! Many BJJ Instructors, even black belts, still miss this mark on this, especially when teaching the Guard. Nathan is right on the money here. This is exactly the type of material we love at the SBGi.
In the first tape he stresses position by teaching you how to use all four tools, both hands, and both feet, to maintain guard, and create pressure on your opponent. He then breaks down the various grips, overhooks, underhooks, armdrags, cross overhooks, guillotines, etc, and shows their use, and how to move between them. This is must know information, especially for those new to BJJ, or fairly new to the no-gi game.
I really like this tape, it was by far my favorite. I enjoyed how he covered breaking the grips, moving between the overhook and the underhook, and stressed the use of the hips together with pressure from the feet, and the proper grip at the proper time. Solid material to say the least.
The second tape picks up directly where tape #1 leaves off, and goes right into the attacks and sweeps. Again, this is all great material, and all high percentage stuff. One classic example of why this material is so useful is in Nathan's teaching progression. Rather then attempt to show a bunch of low percentage moves that the average BJJ may find "new", Nathan shows five ways to use the various grips to set up a simple triangle. That's solid gold. An athlete with a decent game can take that material and put it into application right away. And a new BJJ player will have a great progression to work with.
This was fantastic stuff, and after watching these tapes I expect to see great material coming from Levo for many Years to come.
EnjoyMatt Thornton
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