Roy Harris BJJ 201 Review

[GrapplersGuide]

from MMA.tv

From: Andrew Yao

This review is unsolicited, and I have no affiliation with anyone in the instructional business.

Roy Harris’ BJJ 201 DVD gets a 4 fingers rating. This is a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 fingers for the absolute best essential videos, and 1 finger for Junsado Ground Combat , which I actually bought years ago but threw away in revulsion.

BJJ 201 has a total running length approximately 80 minutes. You can buy it from http://royharris.com/.

One thing you notice immediately about it is the great production. It has every fancy effect in the book. One practical thing that is quite unique is that it’s all in voiceover. The people on screen almost never talk. This works well, because sometimes he can slow mo or pause the video but keep talking, giving more attention to important parts. A lot of the video has scrolling words at the bottom like on CNN, which is distracting, but I look at this as a bonus, you can choose whether or not to read it. There is a lot of good stuff in the words at the bottom, so go back a second time and read them.

In a nutshell, BJJ 201 has a lot of great instructional stuff. The reason I didn’t give it a 5 is that there is a lot of time where there is a bunch of text on screen and Harris is just talking for minutes on end. Also a lot of that stuff is material that has been posted on his forums or site, so it’s not new if you follow his online material.

When I buy videos, I want to see people actually doing things. I get tons of words online for free. Also, I just am not very interested in some of it. It’s a matter of personal taste, some people like it, some people don’t. For example, if you have BJJ 101, when he goes “You will need these 10 attributes, “timing, conditioning, etc. etc. etc.”, did you groan, or did you like it?

When you buy the DVD, you get access to an online section with more instructional material. The online section isn’t up yet , but if it’s like the BJJ101 DVD online section(20 pages chock full of good stuff, including video clips), it should be excellent. But we don’t know when it will be up. 2 years later, I’m STILL waiting on the online extras for the Sweden seminar CD.

The reason I spent a lot of time here going over the parts I didn’t like is that all the other reviews I’ve seen have been unswervingly positive. So I let them explain the positive part and I focused on the negative. But overall, I still think this is a great DVD, and my impression is very positive. Also remember that the magic of DVDs is that you can skip any part you don’t like very easily.

Here is a chapter by chapter breakdown of my thoughts. Intro: 2 min – Explains what this DVD is about and thanks various people.

Review basics: 13 mins. This is a basic review of a lot of common techniques from all positions. This section is very good. He shows a lot of small details and goes over principles and why you do things. He includes some basic things like hold downs and guard control that a lot of instructionals gloss over. His movements are always very precise and reflect exactly the things he says. On some other instructionals, you see people say one thing and do another in small details.

Tighten and refine. 5 mins. This starts with some good details, but then at about the 1 minute mark, it goes to a lengthy period where Harris demonstrates ( but doesn’t explain) 10 different armbar variations, and asks things like “Did you know all 10? If not, why? How well did you know them?” To me, this kind of thing is pointless, and a good example of why this DVD did not get a 5. He then shows a graph for self evaluation of skill level and explains how to fill it out. I’m not into this kind of thing, although I can understand why others would be.

Common mistakes. 9 mins. In this section, he explains and demonstrates common mistakes beginners make. Most of them are not specific technique things, but things like using too much strength or speed, inefficient hip movement, and poor positioning. He does give specific examples. This has some hilarious moments as Harris demonstrates how, for example, a guy who uses too much speed grapples. There is a very interesting part at the end where he shows common injury prone moves, and how to avoid one by crossing your ankles when you are turtled.

Theory – 7 mins. Differences between basic and intermediate jiu-jitsu. Lots of lists on screen while Harris reads them. Good stuff, but if you read Harris’ articles, you pretty much already know it, and I don’t think this kind of thing is what I want to see on a video instructional, because it doesn’t take advantage of the medium.

Counters – 17 mins. I love this section. Great details, explanations. A lot of counters that aren’t on any other instructional. Counters to escapes, guard passes, submissions.

Combinations – 6 mins Simple and complex combinations and how to train them. Excellent stuff. At the 4 minute mark, he starts a LONG scrolling text list of combinations, such as “Bridge and roll(from mount) to basic guard pass under leg”. This continues until the end of the chapter.

Timing – 5 mins starts again with words on screen and Harris explaining them in voice over. At about the 2 minute mark he starts using people on screen to demonstrate. Then at 2:30, it goes back to the text on screen with voice over format. At around 2:45 the voiceover stops and it’s just words scrolling on screen. This goes until the end of the chapter.

Positioning – 5 mins very subtle details in positioning and excellent explanations of how it works and why you do it, For example, how to place your hand on the ground and still make it very hard for the opponent to kimura you. Everything in this section is gold.

Grappling matches – 5 minutes. This is some footage of Harris rolling with his students. A lot of fun as always, and with some interesting moves.

Extras – 8 minutes. Limb entanglement section is very cool. Using your hands and feet as hooks to keep the opponent from putting his weight on you. “Training vs the tap” is about competitiveness in training, “vulnerabilities” is about how you are vulnerable from any position, “The unexpected” is bloopers from this DVD, “A challenge to you” is about how reps are important.

[GrapplersGuide]

from modernselfdefense.com

Review of Roy Harris' BJJ 201 vol.1
Contributed by: Chris Drechsler-Martell
Thursday, July 08 2004 @ 04:44 PM

The groundbreaking DVD by Roy Harris

Review of Roy Harris' BJJ 201 vol. 1

Rating - 5 Stars (and my Best of Show award)

Most instructionals on the market teach techniques. Some teach combinations of techniques. A few teach exercises or drills for training. BJJ 201 vol. 1 covers a topic that has never been presented before: the transition from beginner to intermediate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the awareness, attributes, and training methods that define that transition.

After a quick introduction, the DVD begins by showing 21 basic techniques that represent the fundamentals of BJJ. The techniques are shown in detail, with both voiceover commentary and a CNN-style crawler at the bottom of the screen with additional information.

After the basic techniques, Roy moves on to tightening and refining the basics. He discusses the purpose and function of posture, the use of fundamental movements, and the necessity of understanding the finer points of each technique.

The next section is on Common Mistakes made in training. This section covers everything from common technical errors that white and blue belts make, to injurious moves and lazy training. One of the repeated themes in this instructional is the importance of being a giving training partner. If one can take turns being the trainer and trainee, then both partners will develop skill much more quickly.

This leads into the chapter on Intermediate Theory. Roy shows a number of distinctions between the way a beginner learns and the way an intermediate student needs to learn. He lists the attributes that intermediates need to develop, and prepares the viewer to see how that is done in later chapters.

The following chapter shows over 30 counters to the 21 basic techniques from the beginning of the DVD. After this, the chapter on combinations shows and lists over 100 combinations that students should practice until they become reflex. These will help the student prepare him or herself for the transition into intermediate training methods.

The last two major sections are on the development of timing and positioning. Roy shows examples of good and bad timing, as well as discussing how to train and develop good timing. From there, he discusses positioning, which is the use of one's body at precise angles and positions to take away leverage from the opponent.

The final sections of the DVD are outtakes and sparring footage. The footage of Roy Harris and Roy Dean rolling demonstrates the ideas shown in the instructional. Mr. Harris demonstrates being a giving partner, and allowing his partner to practice and develop parts of his game while they train. At the same time, much of the earlier material on counters, combinations, timing, and positioning all appear in the sparring footage.

This DVD is the only instructional I have ever seen that steps outside of the technique to discuss the how's and why's of intermediate training. This is an absolutely necessary piece of instructional material for anyone who is a blue or purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I give Mr. Harris a lot of credit for his ability to organize, explain, and demonstrate the concepts shown in this instructional.

[GrapplersGuide]

from MMA.tv

From: nickpappagiorgio

I just recently came became aware this dvd was out and immediately bought it. Haven't watched the whole thing yet but heres some of the highlights. Roy reviews some basic moves,shows common mistakes that beginners and intermediates are guilty of while performing these basics and shows you how to correct it. Are you wondering why you are having trouble escaping the side control? Maybe you're committing one of these errors. Other chapters include combinations,counters,positioning,Roy rolling,etc.

For $19.99 are you kidding me?? This is cheaper than most BJJ books. If you get just one thing out of it it is worth buying. Not to mention this guy is a great teacher and someone who has been answering questions and helping people with their training for about the last five years for free on the net.I will always support this guy.He is super technical and breaks everything down to the fine points and ties it all together.

There are probably zero new techniques on this but tons of concepts no one else covers.Must be the best value ever for a bjj video.

[Mightyskull]

I love Mr Harris's information. Very simple technique driven moves.
I have several of his tapes.

[GrapplersGuide]

from MMA.tv
from New2MMA

Review of Roy Harris' 'BJJ 201' DVD

Opening Comments:

I would like to start this review with a few raving comments about the BJJ 201 DVD. This DVD is an outstanding single resource for anyone who is moving from a beginner-level game to an intermediate (and ultimately advanced) level game. It is obvious when mounted by a brand-new student vs. a black belt that, although to the untrained eye the two positions are exactly the same, there tends to be much 'more' to the black belt's mount.

This DVD is a resource that helps you to develop your game to this higher level by pointing out technical tips, methods of developing attributes, development through combinations and drills, reinforcement of basic techniques and counters to the basics. The DVD is broken down into 10 chapters, which are outlined in the technical content section of the review. The material is explained in that section, so I will not bore you with raving about it again. Take note that after each chapter, the DVD returns to the main menu. It may seem annoying at first, but it breaks up the DVD into definite sections. One thing that makes me love this DVD (and all of Roy's DVDs) is that I prefer a fundamental game that is made effective by solid basics. I don't like flashy. I don't want to learn the newest upside-down single-X-butterfly-footlooping tumblesault sweep with astronomically weird grips because a 19-year-old champion from Brazil just won the Worlds with it.

As a slightly older (and much busier) grappler, my priorities are different. On page 3 of any standard 'BJJ basics' book is the elbow escape from the mount. My philosophy is this: if I can't use the elbow escape from the mount, what am I doing on page 128? That's what Roy's about-he shows me what I need to do to get to page 4 (and beyond). This DVD is nothing short of outstanding, and I think you will love it.

Production Quality:

Very good, with some deficiencies. One thing I did not like about much of this DVD: there is a 'news ticker' that flashes constantly across the bottom of the screen. It's a cool effect, but it is annoying because you can barely read it. The view of it is like that of a movie that has been reduced to a full-screen version where a letterbox version is necessary to see the entire screen. The writing on the sides of the screen (the name of the technique) and the top are also partially cut off. Again, you can read it, but only the top halves of the letters are visible. There's also a paragraph that quickly flashes from down to up (matrix-style) that you cannot read. Again, it's neat as a special effect, but it can also be a distraction for those who are distractible (like myself) and it seems to have the effect of overstimulating the viewer. Target Audience: Intermediate-level players. New blue belts can benefit tremendously from much of the material on here, and advanced players (I imagine, I'm not there yet) could use it to keep their basics solid.

Preliminary Content: 1.

Introduction: Roy gives an overview of the DVD, gives the URL for the web resource, and gives thanks to those who helped him along the way. The DVD returns to the main menu after the introduction.

Technical Content:

1. Review of 21 basic techniques-Roy gives an overview of 21 fundamental techniques. He walks you through them quickly, expecting you to know them, but he also gives much of the detail that he is famous for. Techniques such as escapes from mount and side control, guard passing, positional dominance from side control and guard, armlocks, guillotine and rear naked choke, collar chokes, a hip throw, an ankle lock, sweeps from the guard, and a few other goodies are reviewed quickly.

2. Tightening and Refining: Roy discusses posture, the definition of it and how to flow from one position to another while maintaining posture. He also discusses good hip movement and head and shoulder movement. Roy runs through some finishing positions while performing arm locks and asks how well you know the 10 positions that he is showing. He moves very quickly through this and the viewer has to rewind the DVD once or twice to catch all the positions before he goes to the next question. He actually goes as far as to create a table for evaluating your own performance, which I think is a great idea. It's (obviously) good to reflect on your performance to evaluate your game.

3. Common Mistakes: Roy discusses the most common mistakes beginners make when beginning BJJ, and he discusses posture, strength, awareness, hip movement, positioning, pace, rushing to the end of combos, etc. Some of the visuals/scenario demonstrations that they give are great.

4. Theory: Roy discusses intermediate-level theory and compares and contrasts fundamental and intermediate level theory, along with attributes, for BJJ. He gives you ideas of what you should be focusing on and what you should aspire for your game when moving from basic to intermediate level in BJJ. For example, Roy details basic and intermediate level guard passing formulae. He also discusses 4 training methods that you should focus on when training.

5. Counters: Roy demonstrates and explains counters to the 21 basic techniques shown in the first section of the DVD. The news ticker is still going, a distraction at this point when showing new material. Relative to how Roy usually teaches, the techniques are 'breezed over'. The counters, although shown quickly, are reasonably basic techniques, so anyone with an intermediate game and the body awareness that one should have at the intermediate level will not have a problem learning these techniques from these demonstrations.

6. Combinations: Roy demonstrates and teaches a series of combinations that combine the fundamental techniques. He also discusses how to train them (pace, pause, etc). There are some very nice combinations here. He also discusses training methods to develop combinations (position-position, position-submission, etc). Roy lists a full 100 combinations for you to drill. The first 50 are two-technique combinations, and the second 50 are three-technique combinations.

7. Timing: Roy discusses how to train timing. He breaks down the application of the techniques as beginning, middle, and end, and he goes ahead and explains how to develop timing through training combinations. He closes with some questions and some very interesting insight.

8. Positioning: Roy demonstrates and discusses how to use body positioning to prevent opponent from performing techniques on you or obtaining a superior position. Don't confuse with the examples of posture that Roy demonstrated in BJJ 101. There are some great defenses in this section.

9. Grappling Matches: a few rounds with Roy Harris and Roy Dean, and a few with Roy Harris and Brad Hirakawa.

10. Extras: Roy throws a few bonus concepts such as limb entanglement, training vs. the tap, vulnerabilities, and some funny outtakes. He ends the 'extras' section with a challenge for the viewer.

11. Web Resource: he gives the URL for the web resource