Stephan Keasting's Dynamic Half Guard DVD Review

Site Admin Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 1086

from: MMA.tv
from: fosterbjj

Stephan Kesting's "Dynamic Guard Sweeps Vol. 2: The Dynamic Half Guard" is one of the most comprehensive instructionals on the subject to date. The information contained within is presented in a logical order of progression, with an emphasis on showing how the different positions and situations are interrelated to one another. This combined with Kesting's clear descriptions and explanations make this an invaluable resource for anyone who is serious about improving their guard game. As with all of the other Grapplearts.com titles the production value is top notch, with easy to navigate menus, high quality video, and clear audio. Also, either by precise planning or sheer coincidence, this DVD ties in perfectly with its predecessor "Dynamic Guard Sweeps Vol. 1: The Butterfly and X Guard". Both titles compliment each other greatly and provide the viewer with a logical and balanced approach to many facets of the guard game. The Dynamic Half Guard DVD will benefit practitioners of all levels and I would encourage anyone who is interested in further developing their guard game to add it to their instructional collection. James Foster

Site Admin Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 1086

from: mma.tv
from: edbene

Review: Stephan Kesting's Half Guard.

I'm a big fan of Kesting's approach to instructionals. His method is to take a fairly narrow topic and cover it well. So far he has tackled the omo plata, kneebars, butterfly/x-guard and now the half guard. If you liked his previous material you will love the Half Guard.

Kesting has always been good at organizing his material and the Half Guard is exceptionally well laid out. The Half Guard is Grapple Arts best effort yet in terms of production values. The material was filmed with two cameras and they have done a fine job of switching from one to another in the editing room. Spliced into the instruction are real time examples from the studio, competition, and training sessions.

One of the things that struck me the first time I watched the DVD was that Kesting's skills as an instructor and narrator keep getting better.

The DVD menu is broken down into chapter headings and when you go to the chapters menus come up with the descriptions of the individual techniques which is really useful if you want to go back and look for something in particular.

Of course none of the above would matter if the material wasn't there. It is, and there is lots of it: two hours according to the packaging. I like the fact that it is all on one DVD, saves me some effort.

The bulk of the material is offense from the bottom. There is some information about passing but mostly it comes in the way of advise from what to do from the bottom. In the Introduction and Principles section is a very useful overview of various arm, leg, and body positions and advice on how to use them.

There are several sections covering some fundamental and intermediate offense from the bottom, solid bread and butter stuff you need to know, but presented with an advanced understanding of the specifics as well as how to combine the material into the big picture.

If you are one of those types who is not happy unless you are seeing something completely novel you will no doubt be pleased with a few gems. The section 'Sitting and Instep Guard' comes to mind in particular, quite a bit of which was new to me.

One thing that I did not understand was why the section on bottom defense was at the end of the DVD. It was filmed at a different location than the main body of the work, which perhaps explains it being labeled as bonus material. For a beginner to intermediate player, however, it is some of the most useful material on the disc.

My bottom line is that I love this DVD. I have watched it several times now and even though I am a black belt I have picked up a lot of valuable information. Kesting's organization of the material has raised my own level of awareness on the topic. I give it my highest recommendation and I recommend it to beginners and advance, gi and no gi players.

Ed Beneville