Review: Mastering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu #3: Half Guard by Rigan Machado

Mastering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu #3: Half Guard by Rigan Machado

50min / English / $25 / Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

I dig Rigan Machado’s DVDs, in general. He’s one of the BJJ greats, and from what I’ve heard, he’s got that reputation from teaching just as much as fighting. I also need plenty of work on my half guard, so I was stoked to get a chance to watch his 3rd disc in the Mastering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu series – lately I’ve been finding myself there a lot, so why not give it a shot?

While the disc may be called “Mastering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”, Rigan’s DVDs aren’t really intended to be a compendium of techniques – rather, he tends to show a few series of moves and counters and counter-counters that players can adapt to their own game. The net result of all of this is, experienced BJJ players won’t necessarily see a whole lot of new material here, but the ways that Rigan links moves you may have seen elsewhere together into an easily readable flow is what makes the DVD worthwhile. There are a few interesting details that I’ve never seen before – a neat variant of the hook-sweep from butterfly guard, for one, and some details on the overhook gi choke that people usually go for from closed guard. 

Along similar lines, newbies ought to be forewarned; this DVD is by no means a beginner’s primer for the half guard. While it does seem accessible enough, and he explains the step-by-step clearly enough for a relative amateur to get it, there are hundreds of different ways a half guard fight could turn out. You could do much worse than to start out watching this DVD, but you’re probably better off turning to an instructor, or at least a more beginner-friendly DVD, before taking this one on.

pat m.