A brief note on Instructional DVDs

One of the most useful materials I have found very helpful in aiding my progression in terms of

technical abilities are instructional dvds. Unlike books, they are easier to digest for me and are excellent in serving the purpose of enriching the technique list of any bjj fighter.

I am able to go over and over again, the techniques that are shown on the DVD at a convenient time. The teaching is excellent. For example one of my favourite DVDs I have is Saulo Ribeiro's Jiu Jitsu Revolution DVD set. I have returned to it time and time again. The more I learnt the art, the deeper my understanding became of Saulo's teachings and this DVD has improved my game tremendously. ( and still is) I mean every time I watch one of the DVDs in this set, I pick out some small detail, some aspect that will improve my game in a certain area.

I first became interested in instructional DVD when I started doing Judo after a long break. I felt that I could significantly improve my newaza (ground work) game by just enriching my arsenal of moves. This enabled me to catch up with a lot of the guys at my club relatively quickly. I trained more than them and I watched bjj and judo instructional dvds (for breakfast! :) )

The one thing I have always thought about doing in terms of approach to progressing is learning a new technique a day. If I can learn 4-5 new teachniques every week and also have time to revise the existing ones, the pace at which I am learning is relatively rapid for a non-professional sports person. I only training in the evening after work and on saturdays, so I can never expect to progress as fast as someone who does judo/bjj full-time, but I think as a casual martial artist, who trains at least 3-4 times a week, you can expect to achieve good results by focusing on what you need to know and not just leave the process of development entirely to the teacher's discretion. I think total teacher discretion is only good if you have one teacher who works on a one-on-one basis with you to develop your grappling skill. In a normal class with ten or more students, the teacher simply cannot commit to any one student.

Anyway, instruction dvds are great. You have to continuously practice each move you see with a partner, but if you do add the extra effort before or after the training session, it is extremely beneficial.