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Book Review - BJJ - Jiu-Jitsu University by Saulo Ribeiro with Kevin Howell 2008



Usually, I am not a fan of books that are catalogues of techniques - the usual martial arts books full of pictures of if he does this you do that etc.  To me besides students of the exact art (or even teacher) depicted, these books are usually of limited use.

There is no doubt that this is a book full of pictures of pictures of techniques, however it is one of the few books on any martial art that clearly sets out a systematic approach, a clear order of combat and strategic goals defined by the level of the practitioner.

Ribeiro outlines the mission of each level of practitioner:

White: Survival
Blue: Escapes
Purple: Guard
Brown: Passing Guard
Black: Submission

Common positions are looked at through each of these lenses.

Basic and detailed instructions are given with clear photographs and it is a solid full size 370 pages.

Outlining the training goals for the practitioner in this way is simple yet brilliant - when I first picked up this book many years ago I was expecting a simple catalogue of BJJ techniques and I was happily surprised.

Recommended for those generally interested in BJJ or Newaza, or those especially interested in systematic approaches to combat.


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