Jiu-jitsu Unleashed mj 5.2

 Jiu-jitsu Unleashed review:5 stars (Bravo for Bravo) - This book will improve your game!!! I couldnt stop reading it. The more I read, the more I realized how similar I was to Eddie. Were both musicians, we both love Jiu Jitsu, we came from Karate backgrounds, and we both like to be creative. Eddie has taken his game a step beyond most and though he can come off as cocky (like bruce lee :) , he is the first to give props to the people who got him to where hes at. Im from a Gracie based academy and know what he means about the Gi. Though hes against it, it is part of the sporting aspect and therefore I dont mind learning about it. But it seems like more and more of my friends are taking off the Gi when it comes to open sparring. Plus, im hearing the name Bravo echoing in my school a lot more often. Thanks for your willingness to share your experiences and techniques with us.. -MG5 stars (Absolutely Brilliant) - I am a jiu jitsu student with about 2 years of experience and I own a number of jiu jitsu books and DVDs. I train almost exclusively with the gi at a BJJ school on the East Coast and have never met or trained with Eddie Bravo. I recently picked up a copy of Eddie Bravos new book thinking I would flip through it and then put it back since I already have a vast library of instruction materials. When I began to read it however, I realized it was a very different book from what I was used to seeing.Most BJJ books on the market seem to be a collection of random techniques. Most of the books are informative, but they dont tie the techniques together very well. Eddies book is more than just a technique primer, its an overview of his very unique system of BJJ.Before I get into the good things, Ill mention the few negatives: First, the book is not in color and the photos sometimes could be from better angles or could have shown more reverse angles so a technique would be more clear. The book is only 190 or so pages and does not contain an overwhelming amount of techniques. Last, Eddie assumes that you already know most of the BJJ basics. If you are brand new to the art this should not be your first book-- Eddie skims over the rudimentary fundamentals that most BJJ should already have mastered (ie- keeping posture, escaping from the mount, basic guard sweeps, etc...). If you want a good book for a brand-new BJJ student, I suggest Royce Gracies Ultimate Fighting Techniques since it is organized by position instead of by belt (like the Renzo/Royler Gracie book). You really should be approaching the blue belt level before you sink your teeth into Eddies book. One more thing, its completely a no-gi book (Eddie explains his reasons for this in the text).Okay, now for the good stuff...When I began reading this book I was absolutely amazed by Eddies creativity. I could not put the book down. I read the entire text in two sittings and will read it multiple times more Im sure. Eddie gets to the heart of the no gi problem which is controlling your opponent without the grips you would normally have with the gi. His techniques are wonderfully creative adaptions to address many of the common problems found in no-gi fighting like controlling a man from the back position, maintaining and submitting from the mount, sweeping and submitting from the guard and half guard, etc... I own his Twister DVD so I knew he was a unique talent, but I was absolutely blown away by this book.What makes this book even better are the anecdotes he tells about how he developed the techniques. The book reads more like a philosophy/biography than a mere how to manual. The chapters flow very easily together with each chapter building upon its predecessor. I also appreciated the respect he pays to the Gracie family. While Eddie became famous for beating one of the Gracies in a no-gi tournament, he acknowledges their genius and fighting spirit. He seems appropriately respectful of those who created the art and mentions many of the Gracies in the Acknowledgements section of the book. Joe Rogan of UFC and Fear Factor fame wrote the forward of the book and I was expecting an in-your-face, brash, we-are-the-best sort of forward. Instead, Joe describes Eddies musical talents and gives us an insight into Eddies creative mind. This actually is important since I put the book down more than once muttering how in the world could someone think up stuff like this? Joe helps us understand that this book was the product of some very interesting intersections of talent and passion.In sum, I recommend this book to any serious BJJ student who has mastered the basics and wants a shockingly fresh perspective on BJJ. There are a few typos and the above mentioned negatives, but in all it is a steal. It has radically changed my view of no-gi grappling and inspired me to train even more. 5 stars (Renewed my love of the art!!) - Before i start, let me say that i have no affiliation with eddie bravo or anyone from his school, if anything i was kind of anti-Bravo, coming myself from a gracie run school. I have been training on and off now since the first ultimate fight but i have been out of training for the last two years for a couple of reasons, but one being lack of the same luster i had for the art before. Having given that long winded bio, let me say that this is the best money i have ever spent of bjj material in my life. This book has really brought back that old inspiration alot of us had back when Bjj first hit the scene after the 1st UFC. The presentation of material, and the various techniques it presents throughtout the book is excellent. the way the chapters read for each position covered acuately had me do something i havent done with a book on Bjj in a long time; It made me want to read everything in the book. So many of the books now out on Bjj are as dry as a bonegiving you that same feeling of Youve read one, youve read them all! Bravo keeps you interested not only in his techniques, but also in the stories that lead him to developing each one. Just as a note, most of my training ive done both Gi and no gi training, and have always prefered Gi, so for me to rave about a book thats main point is training with the Gi is alot of the times wrong, says alot. My only hope for this book is that Eddie puts out another one soon. And a personal note to Eddie Bravo: Thank you for helping me find the original love of the sport i thought i had lost forever!