I don’t know much about him, other than that he’s an instructor in Kensho-ryu, which appears to be a Nick Cerio’s Kenpo offshoot. I saw a video of him on Youtube, and enjoyed it, although I don’t agree that spreading your legs will necessarily protect you from a suplex. View the clip after the jump. Continue reading
Shihan Paul Parent
I Love This Book
I Love this Book*
Everything that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Techniques by Royce Gracie and Charles Gracie with Kid Peligro is, this book isn’t.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory and Technique by Renzo Gracie and Royler Gracie (text by John Danaher, edited by Kid Peligro).
Apart from an oddly fawning introduction, I found this book to be stellar. It laid out a curriculum with logical progressions, included great pictures, and had great, clear explanations. No, reading the book won’t make you a BJJ black belt, but it will give you a much better technical understanding of what BJJ is like. Shockingly, BJJ has not collapsed with their ‘secrets’ out.
Detractors may point out that the first guard pass they teach is the dreaded ‘Gracie Gift’ (hello triangle choke!), and that there are some seemingly pointless lessons like tying your belt, single wrist grab defenses and so on, but that tells me that it’s the real thing. This is what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is. This book is a great reference for those who want to learn more about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I felt it was worth every penny.
*This review was not influenced in any way resembling Royce Gracie visiting and me typing with one hand while being in an omoplata on my living room floor
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I Hate This Book
I hate this book.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Techniques
by Royce Gracie and Charles Gracie with Kid Peligro.
I like Royce Gracie – his performance in the first few UFCs was nothing less than amazing and inspirational. When I thought I’d see how they would apply their art outside the ring, I jumped and bought this book. I really wish I had sat down at the bookstore first and taken a look at it. In it you are treated to Royce dropping into a Horse stance…I mean base (page 20-21), or vanquishing a couple of deadly single wrist grabs (pages 24-27). Then a parade of generic self-defense techniques seen in Krav Maga, Kempo, Judo and even Tae Kwon Do books throughout the ages. Even a couple bear hug defenses, including one where Charles Gracie does a heel kick, and another where he drops into a horse stance, I mean base, and picks up the ankle using his butt as a fulcrum – just like I learned at a Fred Villari’s school.
Really, I regret buying this book. However, I do get a weird satisfaction seeing that the good defenses in the book are all ones I learned in Shaolin Kempo, and that I didn’t learn some of the ridiculous ones taught in the book. There were a few, but only a few new things I learned from the book, but at least it was a saving Grace. Buy it only to feel smug and superior.
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