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Hey guys I normally write gi reviews but figured this would be a more appropriate section to post a DVD review.
Excerpts from my full review:
Summary
Ryan Hall's famously plain speaking, constructive method of teaching, allows anyone to learn techniques using the inverted guard position. It takes the length of almost two whole discs however to get to actual techniques involving the inverted guard - the preceding two discs ensures that the viewer has a firm grasp of the cross grip and a position Ryan calls the Tilt Position or Roleta Position.
DISC ONE
In many ways, this disc is the most important of all the discs in this set. I consider myself a newbie when it comes to using the inverted guard so I watched this disc several times in its entirety before writing this report.
The first thing to notice is that Ryan Hall talks very fast. He crams a lot of information into his monologues and intersperses the technical advice with (possibly unintentional) humorous anecdotes and quips. Ryan does not repeat positions excessively and thankfully there is no slow motion or freeze frames or any distracting visual gimmicks at all. He demonstrates what he is talking about from a couple of angles and moves on. There is just enough instruction to take on board without needing to rewind or pause though of course a set like this serves more use with repeated viewings.
I guess at this point I should bring up the subject of Ryan's blinking. He blinks a lot when he talks which is initially very noticeable but it didn't bother or distract me from observing what Ryan had to teach.
On disc one, Ryan discusses the concepts behind the inverted guard. In fact on disc one, he doesn't actually teach anything from the inverted position but something he does state early on, and something that really excited me, was the notion that the inverted guard is a counter-puncher's game. This statement piqued my interest as I consider myself to be very much a counter-puncher type of BJJer (ie I like playing guard and let people try to squish me!)
Disc one is almost entirely dedicated to ensuring the foundations of the inverted are laid before going upside down. That pre-inverted position is what he refers to as the Roleta position or 'tilt position.'
DISC TWO
Disc two is primarily concerned with performing an effective tilt sweep and taking advantage of the elevated position once you have swept your opponent. One of the immediate drawbacks to the tilt sweep is that the bottom person can tangle their legs around yours and work their deep half guard. Ryan assures the viewer that it's not a big deal if you know how to handle deep half, but he prefers we anticipate this in advance and reveals a number of adaptations to the tilt sweep that avoid this scenario.
All the techniques on this disc rely on the effectiveness of the cross sleeve grip. It is this grip that allows the user to unbalance the opponent and gain access to his unprotected side - either by sweeping him, or maneuvering ones own body to take his back. Ryan closes this disc with a statement about guard passing. He cites his own experience as a blue belt where he never used to work sweeps as he rarely knew how to pass the guard once his opponent was swept. He urged us all to develop a more rounded game (presumably by buying his Passing The Guard disc set - which I'll review at a later date.)
DISC THREE
Ryan kicks off disc three with a reminder of why the inverted guard is a useful tool against stronger, more aggressive types of opponents. It is a tool designed to draw the opponent deep into your space in preparation for an attack. It is feasible that some viewers might want to skip discs one and two in order to go straight into these inverted guard techniques but I feel that this would mean missing out on key explanations and demonstrations of why the cross grip works so well as a strategic tool for the guard player. Nevertheless, the beginning 8 or so chapters of Disc Three are an excellent and detailed introduction to the fundamentals behind an effective and well executed inverted position.
CONCLUSION:
A more accurate title for this series should ideally be called Cross Grip Fundamentals. But I guess marketing it as an Inverted Guard disc sounds better. But from my perspective, I found a lot of the content on discs one and two - before Ryan even gets around to demonstrating inverted stuff - to be incredibly useful. He shows a ton of cross grip techniques that are all equally beneficial to the guard player. If the viewer understands this, rather than only looking for tips on the inverted guard, then I think you'll will gain the maximum benefit from this instructional set.
Link to my full write-up with pictures and videos:
http://meerkat69.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/instructional-review-ryan-hall-inverted.html
Excerpts from my full review:
Summary
Ryan Hall's famously plain speaking, constructive method of teaching, allows anyone to learn techniques using the inverted guard position. It takes the length of almost two whole discs however to get to actual techniques involving the inverted guard - the preceding two discs ensures that the viewer has a firm grasp of the cross grip and a position Ryan calls the Tilt Position or Roleta Position.
DISC ONE
In many ways, this disc is the most important of all the discs in this set. I consider myself a newbie when it comes to using the inverted guard so I watched this disc several times in its entirety before writing this report.
The first thing to notice is that Ryan Hall talks very fast. He crams a lot of information into his monologues and intersperses the technical advice with (possibly unintentional) humorous anecdotes and quips. Ryan does not repeat positions excessively and thankfully there is no slow motion or freeze frames or any distracting visual gimmicks at all. He demonstrates what he is talking about from a couple of angles and moves on. There is just enough instruction to take on board without needing to rewind or pause though of course a set like this serves more use with repeated viewings.
I guess at this point I should bring up the subject of Ryan's blinking. He blinks a lot when he talks which is initially very noticeable but it didn't bother or distract me from observing what Ryan had to teach.
On disc one, Ryan discusses the concepts behind the inverted guard. In fact on disc one, he doesn't actually teach anything from the inverted position but something he does state early on, and something that really excited me, was the notion that the inverted guard is a counter-puncher's game. This statement piqued my interest as I consider myself to be very much a counter-puncher type of BJJer (ie I like playing guard and let people try to squish me!)
Disc one is almost entirely dedicated to ensuring the foundations of the inverted are laid before going upside down. That pre-inverted position is what he refers to as the Roleta position or 'tilt position.'
DISC TWO
Disc two is primarily concerned with performing an effective tilt sweep and taking advantage of the elevated position once you have swept your opponent. One of the immediate drawbacks to the tilt sweep is that the bottom person can tangle their legs around yours and work their deep half guard. Ryan assures the viewer that it's not a big deal if you know how to handle deep half, but he prefers we anticipate this in advance and reveals a number of adaptations to the tilt sweep that avoid this scenario.
All the techniques on this disc rely on the effectiveness of the cross sleeve grip. It is this grip that allows the user to unbalance the opponent and gain access to his unprotected side - either by sweeping him, or maneuvering ones own body to take his back. Ryan closes this disc with a statement about guard passing. He cites his own experience as a blue belt where he never used to work sweeps as he rarely knew how to pass the guard once his opponent was swept. He urged us all to develop a more rounded game (presumably by buying his Passing The Guard disc set - which I'll review at a later date.)
DISC THREE
Ryan kicks off disc three with a reminder of why the inverted guard is a useful tool against stronger, more aggressive types of opponents. It is a tool designed to draw the opponent deep into your space in preparation for an attack. It is feasible that some viewers might want to skip discs one and two in order to go straight into these inverted guard techniques but I feel that this would mean missing out on key explanations and demonstrations of why the cross grip works so well as a strategic tool for the guard player. Nevertheless, the beginning 8 or so chapters of Disc Three are an excellent and detailed introduction to the fundamentals behind an effective and well executed inverted position.
CONCLUSION:
A more accurate title for this series should ideally be called Cross Grip Fundamentals. But I guess marketing it as an Inverted Guard disc sounds better. But from my perspective, I found a lot of the content on discs one and two - before Ryan even gets around to demonstrating inverted stuff - to be incredibly useful. He shows a ton of cross grip techniques that are all equally beneficial to the guard player. If the viewer understands this, rather than only looking for tips on the inverted guard, then I think you'll will gain the maximum benefit from this instructional set.
Link to my full write-up with pictures and videos:
http://meerkat69.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/instructional-review-ryan-hall-inverted.html
