This six disc DVD covers the major aspects of BJJ: Mount, Cross Body (i.e. side control), Back, Guard, Half Guard, and Passing the Guard. The only other piece needed for a complete sport game is takedowns, which are covered in Series Two. All instruction is with gi, with Saulo demonstrating on Chris (one of his brown belts) for around 15 techniques per video.
The techniques lean towards offense, so for example, Half Guard spends more time passing and submitting than defending or sweeping. Saulo does a great job of emphasizing a consistent theme in each DVD. For example, in the Cross Body DVD. the first few sequences demonstrate the importance of controlling the opponents hips with your weight, as opposed to with arm positioning or grips, and he reiterates this point in every cross body technique. This theme of using your core positioning rather than limbs to maintain control comes across as one of the key tenets of Saulo's approach. Another key point is that jiu-jitsu is not as simple as learning a set of magic techniques that always work, and Saulo teaches you to recognize the moment ("momentum" is his word) in which a technique will be most effective.
Overall this series is very good. As a white belt who has trained for six months, I found the half-guard DVD particularly enlightening, both the specific passes and the general philosophy for defending and sweeping. The only complaint is that the series emphasizes advanced techniques at the expense of basics. This is most pronounced on the Guard DVD, where the basic submissions (armbar, lapel choke, kimura, triangle) aren't touched, while multiple butterfly sweeps are. This is probably due to marketing concerns of avoiding material well-trodden by other series. Still, I found Saulo's series most valuable when it laid out correct body placement on basic moves and positions as opposed to exotic submissions, and having this for the full range of "BJJ 101" would have been nice.
Overall though, anyone up to a blue belt should find that this set greatly clarifies some basic points and erases many of the misconceptions you've picked up early in training. I'm guessing advanced belts will benefit from the more advanced techniques, but I'll leave that to another reviewer to confirm.
J. Holman - San Francisco, CA
It is well worth the money as it provides a different point of view on a way to tackle some Jui-Jitsu problems. Saulo repeatedly emphasizes the importance of energy conservation, leverage and avoiding using power against power on moves that all beginners and intermediate practitioners need to take to heart. His teaching is solid, very detailed and easy to understand. Also, the techniques he teaches are the ones he used successfully in the tournament (i.e. the spectacular judo throw)!!!!!
Dr. Chun - Hong Kong
