Ryan Hall, finally, on BJJ Fanatics

[uchubaco]

Tre not upfront about instructional's - I bought the Marcelo guillotine during the pandemic and all ended up being was stuff pulled from marcelo's website (which I was a member of already) but wa marketed as a "new" instructional.

For example Nicolas Renier the premier Luta Livre exponent nowadays did that very same thing...took the content of his site, ordered it and put it together as a "new Instructional".

The other thing that BJJ Fanatics is doing is buying either old instructional videos or courses and selling them as their own. Matt Arroyo has a lot of his content on BJJ Fanatics that are a few years old. Edgars Skrivers who is a Karate Combat Champion put together a striking course for like 70 bucks and what BJJ Fanatics did?? They bought the distribution rights for it, split it up un two parts and is charging 80 bucks, more than the creator is charging and the instructionals are 45 minutes each. So you are paying 160 dollars for less than two hours of basic content.

They are putting a lot of great stuff, but their business structure is completely out of control...hell, they filmed a Mike Tyson instructional set and Henry Cejudo is the one doing all the work, smh

 

[DatCutman]

As many have pointed out sub sites still exist; strange that almost every subscription site has a product on BJJ fanatics though. I don't think sub sites are direct competitors to BJJ fanatics though. Fanatics is about bringing in as many different dudes as possible, sub sites are usually worshipping a specific dude (i.e., the reason I signed up for AOJ a long while back). If you're a big name dude and you have to choose between setting up your own sub site/infrastructure or filming for BJJ fanatics, that seems to indicate a pretty strong market presence.

I think the only direct competition to BJJ Fanatics would be Stephan Kesting (who has always put out some of my favorite material, though certainly seems to have slowed down recently), Grapplers Guide (though not quite a 1:1 comparison), and Jiu Jitsu X. Once JJX dies off, BJJF's domination of big name dudes trying to find a way to make DVD's will be pretty solid.

 

[Marfa]

Bernardo making bank.

I got some DVDs during the pandemic and thank G.O.D. I downloaded them, the site was hard to navigate to watch them online.

 

[thugpoet]

Hall did until now.

And some of the stuff bjj fantics puts out is very subpar.

Its seems like the stranglehold hey have started when the pandemic began - as they seem to have allowed guys to shoot on their own and the quality was lacking but who cares when everyone is on lockdown and they're the only ones putting out new content. I bought an instructional, won't name names, when the pandemic first hit and that thing looked like it was shot on a 2012 camera phone in someone's closet.

They were not upfront about instructional's - I bought the Marcelo guillotine during the pandemic and all ended up being was stuff pulled from marcelo's website (which I was a member of already) but wa marketed as a "new" instructional. I've also had other issue with them in regards to my purchase's disappearing and customer service being lackadaisical at best.

to summarize - no one is saying that they're not offering guys a way to make some extra coin and help further the bjj community; we're just saying they've clearly decided to push quantity over quality (if you can watch a Digitsu instructional and then a bjj fanatics and you'll Digitsu were clearly in to puting out a good product as opposed to giving every Tom, Dick and Harry the opportunity to put out an instructional).

Facts

 

[yetanother]

BJJ Fanatics is too powerful. The mom and pop instructional shops are having to close up.

Sidebar, wonder if Ryan will tone down the anti-BJJ rhetoric now that he's putting out an instructional a website devoted to fanatics of BJJ. Not that I don't agree (I too am a self-loathing BJJ player), but man, he can really get fixated.

The rants about MMA tactics seemed pretty useless to hear as someone who competes in BJJ. He has some really cool stuff but I wish he showed more concrete instructions and moves rather than sometimes hand waving. He sometimes advocates for going for wrestling positions that are pretty risky in BJJ context.

 

[thugpoet]

[

The rants about MMA tactics seemed pretty useless to hear as someone who competes in BJJ. He has some really cool stuff but I wish he showed more concrete instructions and moves rather than sometimes hand waving. He sometimes advocates for going for wrestling positions that are pretty risky in BJJ context.

Agreed. Far too much soap boxing.

 

[ahheadlock]

I think it's probably fair to say they have the biggest platform, but only because there is so much on it. It's nice to be able to have all your instructionals in one spot - especially since they have made the judo fanatics / wrestling etc. all accessable from the one platform too.

I'm keeping an eye on Lachlan's new subscription site. I registered and it looks promising.

 

[rmongler]

BJJ Fanatics is too powerful. The mom and pop instructional shops are having to close up.

Sidebar, wonder if Ryan will tone down the anti-BJJ rhetoric now that he's putting out an instructional a website devoted to fanatics of BJJ. Not that I don't agree (I too am a self-loathing BJJ player), but man, he can really get fixated.

The rants about MMA tactics seemed pretty useless to hear as someone who competes in BJJ. He has some really cool stuff but I wish he showed more concrete instructions and moves rather than sometimes hand waving. He sometimes advocates for going for wrestling positions that are pretty risky in BJJ context.

A lot of what Hall says is basically true; i've said much of the same things myself in the past.

The thing though is it's easy to admit you've got a problem when doing so is not threatening to your social status (in many cases it can threaten your social status, so it can seem hard); and admitting you have a problem feels like solving the problem; and coming up with solutions also feels like solving the problem; and you feel so satisfied with these feelings of solving the problem, you don't actually have to solve the problem, and keep doing what you always and already were doing; which is what the brainstem wanted all along; and the brainstem can always outsmart the rest of the funny gray things living in its condo to get it's way.

 

[yetanother]

A lot of what Hall says is basically true; i've said much of the same things myself in the past.

The thing though is it's easy to admit you've got a problem when doing so is not threatening to your social status (in many cases it can threaten your social status, so it can seem hard); and admitting you have a problem feels like solving the problem; and coming up with solutions also feels like solving the problem; and you feel so satisfied with these feelings of solving the problem, you don't actually have to solve the problem, and keep doing what you always and already were doing; which is what the brainstem wanted all along; and the brainstem can always outsmart the rest of the funny gray things living in its condo to get it's way.

Ryan is likely learning to wrestle (at least he claims he does) but in fights against more powerful and tougher opponents as a guy who moves better and can pull of crazy stuff it still makes more to use complex and confusing maneuvers.
The rants about mma tactics don't have any value for me as a value, yes the ability to get wrestle on top quickly is crucial but spending two minutes to instead berimbolo to the back that he is denigrating is so much more advantageous at the beginning of a bjj match.

 

[rmongler]

Ryan is likely learning to wrestle (at least he claims he does) but in fights against more powerful and tougher opponents as a guy who moves better and can pull of crazy stuff it still makes more to use complex and confusing maneuvers.

There's like, a fractal level of misplaced assumptions here, im not sure where to begin.
The assumption that leg attacks are complicated.
The assumption that neutral game is simple.
The assumption that 'how well you move' has nothing to do with the character of your training to begin with.
The overall loser mentality in choice of strategic focii in spite of how it is repeatedly demonstrated to never actually result in big winning.

 

[yetanother]

There's like, a fractal level of misplaced assumptions here, im not sure where to begin.
The assumption that leg attacks are complicated.
The assumption that neutral game is simple.
The assumption that 'how well you move' has nothing to do with the character of your training to begin with.
The overall loser mentality in choice of strategic focii in spite of how it is repeatedly demonstrated to never actually result in big winning.

He isn't only using leg locks but also a bunch of slick transitions and other uncommon ground moves and an arsenal of weird kicks.
I think it's fair to assume the wrestling moves he would use would be a lot more familiar to his opponents as a wrestling background is so common in the UFC.
The tactics you use depend more on the skillset and attributes you have not on what's the most powerful skillset people are using.
He should be learning to wrestle (he at least claims to be), but IMHO it makes sense to fight using your strengths rather the be a poor version of the current winning formula.

 

[rmongler]

He isn't only using leg locks but also a bunch of slick transitions and other uncommon ground moves and an arsenal of weird kicks.
I think it's fair to assume the wrestling moves he would use would be a lot more familiar to his opponents as a wrestling background is so common in the UFC.
The tactics you use depend more on the skillset and attributes you have not on what's the most powerful skillset people are using.
He should be learning to wrestle (he at least claims to be), but IMHO it makes sense to fight using your strengths rather the be a poor version of the current winning formula.

There are a lot of things your opponent could be unfamiliar with. Playing donkey guard when the bell rings would probably be something he would not have seen before. There's a veritable infinity of possible behaviors that any one given player will likely have not have much experience with.

The problem you are making now, and untold thousands of other guys with backgrounds in bjj have made, is that this is not actually a good basis for judging what strategies will actually increase your odds of actual victory. It begs the questions of why a given fighter in a given sport will be more or less expectant of certain things to begin with.

Because out of all the indefinite permutations of possibility at the limit, only a fractional subset of which will approach usefulness in serving your purposes. And wisdom is both ability to divine such paths, and willingness to follow them. By 'pre-conceding' the 'high ground', you basically guarantee you will never take it.

 

[DatCutman]

The thing though is it's easy to admit you've got a problem when doing so is not threatening to your social status (in many cases it can threaten your social status, so it can seem hard); and admitting you have a problem feels like solving the problem; and coming up with solutions also feels like solving the problem; and you feel so satisfied with these feelings of solving the problem, you don't actually have to solve the problem, and keep doing what you always and already were doing; which is what the brainstem wanted all along; and the brainstem can always outsmart the rest of the funny gray things living in its condo to get it's way.

Great, now you've ruined my small dopamine rush because I'm aware of the process!

 

[thugpoet]

If i may add my two cents:

Ryan has built his career on doing the obscure. Focusing on 50/50 and leg locks when the majority of the community frowned upon them is how he gained his jiu-jitsu notoriety.

And an MMA instead of focusing on singles and doubles he pulls off an reverse imornaris. I think that's a excellent mythology to employ . Early Connor McGregor, lyoto all had the same effect on the fighting community early on.

 

[rmongler]

The kicking and leg locking are all good things in fact.

The biggest problem he has is the same problem many grappling focused fighters in MMA have, which is lack of 'connective tissue' in his game; most especially, capability in fighting in the clinch.

 

[Calibur]

Is there another company that produces content like bbj fanatics that I don't know about.

It’s only a monopoly if their actions are preventing other streaming services from being created.

 

[thugpoet]

It’s only a monopoly if their actions are preventing other streaming services from being created.

the excessive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.

Doesn't mean Ill intent.

 

[Os3y3ris]

Lachlan just made a subscription site. Hall was selling stuff on his own site. The DVD buying crowd is using bjj fanatics si I assume it's a lot easier to reach them there.

They fall for scammers.

 

[Chandler sama]

There actually are quite a few other companies making instructionals. JujitsuX, JujitsuXfactor, GrappleClub, Grapplearts, etc

 

[Os3y3ris]

Whats this whole "fanatics points" and account suspensions thing going on?