Hello people!
I need your advice.
I entered the world of MA and SD several months ago. Prior to that I spent a year of my life learning white crane kong fu, but looking back I consider it a waste of my time. Didn't fit my goals.
I currently study two styles:
Combat Arnis - for those who are "bulk-challenged" (read - "short and slim"), such as myself, weapons can be the Great Equalizers.
Muay Thai - needs no further introductions.
So as I gather it, I'm pretty well covered on the stand-up department. However, these two systems don't cover grappling so well (if at all). So I did some research and arrived to the conclusion that I need to learn BJJ.
I asked around and even been to a BJJ lesson, but I couldn't find a dojo to suit my needs. What I learned is that this is an awesome system, fun and challenging, and that there is absolutely no way in hell that I'll manage to learn it formally in the near future (time, money, distance).
The next best step is to take up a book. I looked in Amazon, and stumbled across two books that caught my attention:
"BJJ: Theory & Technique" by Renzo Gracie et al
"BJJ Self Defence Techniques" by Royce Gracie et al
I understand that no book can substitute hands-on (and legs-around) experience, but I still want to know:
A - Do you think buying and studying these books will do me any good?
B - Would you spend the cash if you were me? We're talking 25 bucks a piece (quite a lot of cash for an Israeli native...)!
C - If you know these books, do any of them offer drills and techniques that can be practiced alone?



Edited by - Erez on December 10 2002 08:28:37

I would say get Theory and technique by Renzo and Royler, I have it and it's very good.

You will pick up bad habits though if you try to learn through a book, try to keep to the simple moves and to achieve a sound understanding of the mechanics. Get yourself in a proper class as soon a possible though, good luck.

--
"The truth is often too simple – or it hurts – or it might mean too many changes. In short the truth is not palatable, it strikes at the heart of lost souls and forces them, momentarily, to see just how far astray they are." - Geoff Thompson

You might also want to look at the BJJ master text at www.jiu-jitsu.net and the fighter's notebook at www.mma.tv. They're both good resources, but I wouldn't try to learn from a book. And if you did, you should hold out for a seminar and ask questions about problems you had with the techniques in the books. Also, you might want to look into Judo. Not only do Judo guys know a pretty good percentage of submissions from bjj, but a lot of them also supplement their ground work with bjj.

If they're open minded they do, a good Judoka who trains BJJ aswell (I know a few) is a tough opponent.

--
"The truth is often too simple – or it hurts – or it might mean too many changes. In short the truth is not palatable, it strikes at the heart of lost souls and forces them, momentarily, to see just how far astray they are." - Geoff Thompson

Thanks for the input, guys.
Please tell me what bad habits are inherent to the book - so I won't pick them up along the way.

Well just as an example, Renzo and Royler show a gaurd pass early in the book, this is a begginers gaurd pass and leaves you open to a trianle choke. They do tell you but don't really go into how to avoid it.

--
"The truth is often too simple – or it hurts – or it might mean too many changes. In short the truth is not palatable, it strikes at the heart of lost souls and forces them, momentarily, to see just how far astray they are." - Geoff Thompson

Yeah, the book is pretty cool, I've got that too as a half-assed version of actual learning.

The judo guys aren't too bad with foot throws. They might have throws not found in BJJ. I beleive Kano also learn from a school of jujitsu that specialized in throws.

PEACE!