BJJ Blue Belt Requirements DVD review

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Blue Belt Requirements DVD review by the Fighting Photographer

After reviewing Roy’s first DVD last year, I received his latest release last week to review, covering the requirements needed for obtaining the blue belt. The DVD acts as both as an instructional DVD, wit Roy covering a number of topics on the path to the blue belt and also as a general DVD, with competition footage of Roy in action and three of Roy’s students taking their blue belt tests, talking to the students beforehand on how they feel and then showing edited highlights of their tests.

This is a two disc set and is divided into the following topics:-

DVD 1 (88:28)

Welcome
Escapes
Submissions
Guard passes

DVD 2 (69:03)

Ukemi
Takedowns
BJJ Guidelines
Demonstrations

Each chapter on the DVD’s are self explanatory; the escapes section covers the mount and side control and has a chapter on sweeps, whilst the submissions chapter covers arm locks, chokes and leg locks ending with a chapter on guard passes.

DVD 2 opens up with a chapter on breakfalls and moves onto throws and takedowns, covering throws such as hip throw and ouchi gari and then moves on to a rather unique chapter in the DVD, BJJ guidelines. In this chapter, Roy passes on the benefits of his Jiu Jitsu skills, offering a number of pieces of advice on positions and obstacles that many white belts face on the path to the next belt. Roy covers topics such as ‘where to grip’, ‘always move you’ tips on guard passing and posture and is a very unique and beneficial chapter, something I wish was around when I was a white belt!

The DVD ends with a chapter on demonstrations and shows edited highlights of three of Roy’s students taking their blue belt tests, speaking to the guys before they test and then watching them go through the motions in front of their peers. This section also includes competition footage of Roy at the US Open in 2001, a trailer for his Year One DVD release and a nice chapter on BJJ combinations.

Overall, the production quality is second to none on both DVD’s; the edited highlights of the blue belts were particularly interesting to view, as was the BJJ guidelines chapter. In each of the instructional chapters, Roy talks you through each technique and demonstrates each move or submission clearly and methodically.

For any white belt starting out on their jiu jitsu journey, this DVD is an excellent starting point, giving you a taster on what is needed for the next belt and that is a solid understanding of the fundamentals, the basics of jiu jitsu. Study each of the chapters on the DVD and practice them over and over again, together with regular class instruction from your respective teachers and you will find yourself a blue belt, hopefully a lot sooner than you think!

The DVD is available from www.roydeanacademy.com