DVD Review: Gustavo Machado - The Great Escapes & Counters

Although the majority of DVD instructionals for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focus on submissions and offense, during the first few years of training, most students find themselves on defense most of the time - and it takes a lot of time to learn the actual escapes from a broad range of positions.

Gustavo Machada's DVD, "The Great Escapes & Counters", is one of the only instructionals on the market which focus entirely on defense and escapes. By our count, there are 53 escapes on the DVD, and if you are wondering, this is a gi-oriented instructional set (although some escapes will work in no-gi as well).

For each escape, Gustavo first shows the submission working successfully, then shows the initial defense, and finally walks the viewer through the escape technique. In most instances, he also leads the escape to a control position, or in some cases, a submission attack.

The production quality of the DVD is generally good, and majority of the time the angles and audio allows the viewer to understand the escape as the various movements involved (although for some reason in a few instances where Gustavo presents multiple options in an escape, he does not show different angles or the escape in full speed).

If you are wondering what escapes are shown in Gustavo's DVD, once again, we've put together a chapter-by-chapter map both for those who already have this set (to increase its usefulness) and also for prospective purchasers. Check out this pdf by clicking below - you will find this layout informative:

CLICK HERE to Download the Chapter-by-Chapter Map for the DVD (in PDF)

Overall, this is a good set and is probably more useful than many offensive oriented instructionals for the first couple years of jiu-jitsu training. The only potential negatives, or perhaps suggestions for future follow-on DVDs, would be to show escapes to more advanced attacks (the twister, gogoplata, heelhooks, kneebars, etc.) and also to show more escapes that can work without the gi (or in mma) as many of these escapes are oriented towards pure Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and rely on gripping the gi. Still, we recommend this as a solid DVD to anyone's collection.

For further information on purchasing this set, check out the product page on Fightlife Production's website [click here for the link]

Enjoy it.