Matt Thornton Florida Seminar 2003 DVD Review

Site Admin Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 1086

From: mma.tv

Matt Thornton Florida Seminar 2003 Review

Matt Thorntons Florida Seminar 2003 is one of my favourite BJJ videos of all time. The sheer content of necessary information and the mixing with great music and rolling footage as well as philosophical discussions make this a video one I like to watch again and again from time to time. The set consists of 2 dvds which together are over 5 hours long. It covers only BJJ and most of the techniques are applicable in both gi and no-gi environments. There is also a little section on Vale Tudo spider guard.

This is the best set to date to get an insight into the SBGi training methodology (slow rolling, I-method, non-abt) and the way fundamentals about techniques and positioning are stressed (fundamental fives). It is also one of the best sets for basics that has ever been done.

Some people prefer to watch instructionals as opposed to seminar sets � from a coaches viewpoint you will learn a lot here on teaching just from watching Matt teach, structure the seminar, answer questions and introducing new material

I will give an overview on what is specifically covered.

DVD 1:

The first dvd starts with a great discussion of fundamentals of smart training or what Matt calls "Fundamental 5 of Non-attribute based training". These rules should be mandatory for anyone who wants to progress fast and also wants to train as long as possible without wrecking their body. I also use those as a type of rules or guidelines in my own gym cause they help to maintain a good environment and get people thinking about their well-being as well as progress.

The dvd continues with guard material:

- Posture from the closed guard is covered in a version I haven�t seen anyone else than Matt teach. Both the high posture and low safety position are shown in detail. Defending common attacks is also discussed and it is shown how to get "combat base" position to start passing once the legs are opened. I-method of learning is briefly discussed before training the material in an alive fashion.

- Closed guard is discussed next. Matt shows a simple way how to use your hands and legs to disrupt your opponents balance and leads it to a simple sweep ending in mount. He also shows how to maintain mount after the sweep � you can get quite a few ideas for maintaining mount from here. Next he shows how to setup the kimura and a small nice detail how to prevent your opponent from extending the arm. Posture breaking with cross grab to whizzer grip is shown, and triangle, gi choke, omoplata and armbar are shown from the whizzer grip.

- Omoplata from spider guard is shown and Matt spends a while showing how to finish omoplata with either flattening him out, sweeping or a crucifix type hold. Next Matt shows how to use pitstop (high guard) to get armbars and also shows how to sweep your opponent when he stands. He also shows how to counter if someone stacks you up from pitstop or armbar positions. A nice detail i use a lot to prevent him stacking at all is shown and next rolling underneath and other options against stacking are covered. This section ends with some rolling and you can see a child prodigy named Adrian rolling with a big dude � this footage is absolutely awesome.

- Next Matt shows how to break your opponent down if he stands up in good posture to open your guard. I have seen this move shown only by Matt this far (also on another dvd set) and this has become one of the most important moves in my own closed guard game. It is followed by a discussion on aliveness and good training methods. Matt also poses a philosophical question for the people attending the seminar to think about during the lunch. The question will be later discussed in the end of the dvd. - The dvd continues with some rolling footage where you can again see Matt and others slow-roll. Then opening the legs and passing the guard are covered. Matt shows a 2-on-1 leg opening and a grip to be able to pass the guard to both sides of opponents body. I am not aware that this type of passing is shown on any other dvd. He also shows a nice sweep he calls pivot sweep to counter a certain type of passes.

- Next vale tudo strategy for BJJ is covered. Matt shows how to use closed guard as an offensive position and how to use strikes with hands and heels to set up submissions like triangles and armbars. He also shows vale tudo spider guard which is a very good strategy against someone who wants to ground and pound you from your guard. This is mandatory material for anyone interested in vale tudo. He shows both how to defend strikes and be safe and how to attack with triangles and kimuras. He also discusses getting pinned against the fence in the guard and shows a simple drill for preventing this.

- The dvd ends with some rolling footage and a Q&A session. The philosophical question posed before is also discussed and Matt talks about different issues like good and bad days, Rickson, Zone in the athletics and why people really do what they do.

DVD 2:

The second dvd starts with reviewing a some of the guard stuff covered on the first dvd and some Q&A. Matt also discusses problem solving in BJJ. He shows how to do an under pass without giving your opponent any room to recover guard and then shows how to do kneecrossing passes and go through different types of resistance. He also shows how to stop a kimura from the open guard while passing and how to catch a kimura as a counter to your opponents one.

- Next Matt discusses the different delivery systems of BJJ and the four possible environments where BJJ can be used. Then he moves into the main topic of this dvd which is crushing top game. He discusses and shows how to drill the fundamental 5 of holding top and exerting pressure to be able to submit your opponent. This section is very valuable for anyone wanting to improve their top game � an often neglected area in todays BJJ where half-guard sweeps seem to be the dominant interest. Matt shows how to prevent escaping to guard or rolling to knees, how to lock in the upper body and how to kill the arms to get basic submissions like keylocks, armbars, kimuras and paper cutter chokes.

- A few drills do develop a floating and moving top game are shown. These helped me a lot while coaching lighter and female athletes how to play top game. The session ends with some rolling and a belt promotion. The dvd then continues with some more rolling footage and floating top game is shown in more detail. Matt also shows how to use different control positions when your opponent is on their hands and knees. The training continues with a nice drill where you use both floating and crushing top games to control your opponent from top.

- Q&A session is on next and some sweeps from open guard against combat base are covered as well as some takedowns against people who run away from your guard. The dvd ends with a lot of rolling footage where you can see Matt and Luis rolling with a lot of guys.

Altogether this is one of the best BJJ sets for both practitioners and coaches. The former will learn a lot of fundamental techniques, understand the game of BJJ a lot better and learn a lot about training methods. Coaches will get a lot of insight into maintaining a healthy fun environment in their classes, into coaching methods and teaching as well as a lot of material to teach people to increase their performance.

www.straightblastgym.com