Sergio “Babu” Gasparelli is one of the best known, “behind the scenes” Jiu Jitsu coaches in the world. To say that Babu’s credentials are impressive would be a drastic understatement. Babu earned his black belt in traditional Judo before even starting training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But he went on to earn his black belt ranking in BJJ too. Heck, this guy is even certified as an official Luta Livre instructor. To make a long story short, there just aren’t many grappling instructors around with the kind of knowledge base Babu has.
So when we heard about the Babu BJJ Mastermind Series of 12 instructional DVDs we were very excited. It’s rare to find high quality video instruction from someone with so much grappling knowledge. Yes, there are tons of martial arts instructional videos available these days. The problem is, though, that many of these DVDs are either of very low production quality or are the teachings of someone who may not be a legitimate, knowledgeable instructor. Since anyone with a video camera can produce instructional videos, you have to be very careful about the instructional materials you put to use for your own BJJ edification.
And for the first time ever, this series in on sale due. You can get some huge discounts of up to 50% of the retail price. Crazy. Just head over to Fightin Strong and click on the BJJ menu up the top.
Now here is our full review of these DVDs.
The Babu BJJ Mastermind Series Review
Babu BJJ Mastermind Series Review
Instructor or Fighter?
Having watched hundreds of hours of martial arts instructional videos over the years, I have found that you have to make an important distinction between videos put out by fighters and those put out by actual instructors. Here’s the deal: When you purchase a video series from a well known fighter, more often than not you end up paying for what may very well be third rate instruction. It takes more than victories in the cage or on the mat to translate over into high quality instructional materials.
Simply put, many of the top fighters simply aren’t top coaches or instructors. Yes, there may be some guys out there who have racked up hundreds of professional wins, but that doesn’t mean those guys are qualified to teach. It sounds weird, I know. The best analogy I can put forward is the old saying about professional basketball coaches: “You don’t have to be 7 feet tall to coach an NBA team.”
There are some people who seem to be designed to compete, and a whole different breed of BJJ experts who were designed to teach. Babu definitely seems to be one of those individuals who was destined to be a coach or instructor. No, you won’t find him listed as one of the greatest fighters of all time, but you will find that many of the world’s best fighters, including Anderson Silva and Frank Mir, have turned to Babu when they needed to improve their ground games. And for my money, that makes it a no brainer to seek out instructional help for yourself from someone like Babu.
Okay, now that we’ve established that this is actual BJJ instructional material from a well respected BJJ expert instructor, it’s time to move forward with this Babu BJJ Mastermind Series review. We’ll take a look at all of the DVDs in the series and decide whether or not this is the right instructional BJJ material for your training needs.
Babu BJJ Mastermind Series DVDs
• The Babu Arm Attack System
• Side Control Specialist
• Defense Stoppers
• Chokes and Side Control Attacks
• Babu’s No Gi Combat
• Babu’s Guard Strategy
• Side Control Submissions 1
• Side Control Submissions 2
• MMA Half Guard
• MMA Guard 1
• MMA Guard 2
• MMA TurtleAs you can see the Babu BJJ Mastermind Series gives you 12 DVDs of top-notch BJJ and MMA instruction. It’s important to note that while the emphasis for most of these videos happens to be grounded in traditional BJJ, there are lots of other tips and tricks inspired by Babu’s vast grappling knowledge. In other words, this series is designed to prepare you for not just traditional BJJ, but all sorts of grappling combat. Even if you’re a BJJ purist, you have to admire the additional teaching packed into each and every one of these DVDs.
Standout DVDs
It’s hard to pick our favorite DVDs from this series; as there are 12 great instructional modules to choose from. But if we had to pick just 3, we’d say that the No Gi Combat, Side Control Specialist and Babu’s Guard Strategy DVDs are among the most interesting of the entire collection. Babu goes to great length to explain all the techniques on these videos in detail. Of course, it really depends upon which areas you want to improve in personally, as to which of the DVDs you’ll enjoy the most. One thing is for certain, though, there is a heck of a lot of great grappling and BJJ knowledge shared in this 12 volume series. Here is a sneak preview.
It’s Not for Everybody
One thing we had to say, before we wrap up this Babu BJJ Mastermind Series review, is that this collection of high level training videos certainly isn’t for everyone. People who are brand new to BJJ or any type of grappling art will more than likely not get a lot from these videos. The information and techniques that Babu teaches kind of assumes that you have at least a baseline level of experience with BJJ. If you don’t know an armbar from a crowbar, you may find that this teaching series simply goes over your head.
With that being said, though, we would recommend the Babu BJJ Mastermind Series DVDs to anyone from blue belt level or higher, who wants to take their Jiu Jitsu game to the next level. You’ll undoubtedly find some of the things taught on the DVDs to be old hat. But it’s the little tweaks, techniques and unique blend of styles that Babu uses which really sets this instructional set apart from the hundreds of other grappling videos available today.
If you’re serious about taking your fighting skills to a new level, and want the same kind of professional instruction that top ranked fighters use, you should consider giving the Babu BJJ Mastermind Series DVD series a try for yourself.
Head over to Fightin’ Strong to grab the set at 50% off.
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