Got my RG book and DVD in the mail today

Just wanted to say that the RG book is awesome! It's very well written and the photos are beautiful. Not just incredibly informative, it's a work of art.

After reading about half the book I stuck the RG DVD#1 in, expecting it to be the same thing but with video. Instead I was thrilled to find that it was showing me everything up to RG instead! Starts with lockdown, whip-up, Electric Chair, sweeps. Then goes into butterfly and cocoon!

Fucking awesome. Worth every penny.

I'm so excited about this system. It feels like it was built specifically for guys like me. I'm small, light, with no wrestling background at all. But I'm flexible and have good coordination with my legs. And this crazy Bravo dude has created a style just for me! :)

At Lovato's we are learning mostly what you would expect to learn under a guy like Lovato. He's got mad top game and incredible passing. So what gets stressed to his students and taught in his curriculum? Yup, you got it... "Mount is the most dominant position. You goal is to get to it". It's a game of passing guard into side control or mount, and then attacking for the submission.

I'm sure Raphael's right, mount is the shit. But at 135 lb with no wrestling background maintaining mount isn't going to be my strong suit.

Eddie's system gives me something to work with. I already know I'm going to be fighting off my back a lot, now I have access to a much nastier game in that position.

Fucking awesome.

There are a lot of photos in the book, but the one that stands out to me is the back cover. Wow. Now that is a work of art. The subtle black and white tones, the soulfulness captured in the eyes, the moment in time captured forever. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent staring at that photo. I'm confident that the back cover photo of Eddie is the reason 90% of the buyers bought the book in the first place....

Eddie's system is excellent, there's no denying that. However, I find that it's complicated and not a good start for beginners. I've studied at lenght the Gracie Combatatives: the're based on the teaching of Helio Gracie. In the 36 Gracie Combatatives, Rener et Ryron Gracie keep it simple and logical based on natural body mouvement(for beginners its easier). I find a lot of the Rubber Guard and Truck techniques aren't natural at all. If you're not a talented and flexible sportsman, you will have to train longer to get the moves out.
Saying that, I appreciate the evolution that is happening in the 10th planet system. Royler Gracie's JJ is excellent but it hasn't evolved at all whereas the 10 planet sytem is in constant change. Royler should have bought the DVD and worked on some counter techniques!
In my opinion...

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Originally Posted by Ric

but the one that stands out to me is the back cover.

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I couldn't have said it better myself! Staring at it gives me a warm feeling in my hearts. I've actually torn the back cover off and taped it to my teddy bear's face so I can sleep with it at night. Don't get my wrong I'm not gay or anything, I just want to cuddle with it.

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Originally Posted by Danny Nordberg

Eddie's system is excellent, there's no denying that. However, I find that it's complicated and not a good start for beginners. I've studied at lenght the Gracie Combatatives: the're based on the teaching of Helio Gracie. In the 36 Gracie Combatatives, Rener et Ryron Gracie keep it simple and logical based on natural body mouvement(for beginners its easier). I find a lot of the Rubber Guard and Truck techniques aren't natural at all. If you're not a talented and flexible sportsman, you will have to train longer to get the moves out.
Saying that, I appreciate the evolution that is happening in the 10th planet system. Royler Gracie's JJ is excellent but it hasn't evolved at all whereas the 10 planet sytem is in constant change. Royler should have bought the DVD and worked on some counter techniques!
In my opinion...

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+1. I'm big on Eddie's system and would like it to be the heart and soul of my game, but I too went thru combatives (and master cycle) when I first started and it was an amazing beginner resource. In my opinion, there's no better place to start than with the old-school, pure self-defense concepts. Once those are locked in, then there are a lot of directions to go. I've personally gotten WAYYY more out of Eddie's books by having a solid foundational understanding of the basics. I can look at a move and think "oh, it's little more complicated and in depth but it's not too far off from a basic so&so sweep" or what have you.

We have one guy that started a couple months ago and first thing he did was bought mastering the rubber guard. He talks about it all the time and given that I'm a fan, it's obviously cool but it says something that he doesn't even understand the concept of points of contact, of pressure, of managing distance, things like that. He routinely gets smashed. 10th planet is so extensive and in depth that I feel the best way to get the most out of your investment is to train for a little while and/or get knowledge on the bare basics, i.e. self-defense. Of course, don't turn away anything that inspires you and for that reason, I'd advocate people buy the MTrubberguard & MTthetwister asap, if nothing else just for the background and history on 10p. But any resource from a high level guy is a good resource, and these can and should be used continuously over time. Perhaps down the line, you'll be more prepared to add something to your arsenal that just wasn't clicking months back. Put yourself in a position to learn advanced techniques before you try to learn them.:)

I agree on value of knowing Gracie Combatives. It is important to note however, that these two approaches -Gracie Combatives and Rubber Guard/10th Planet are not in any way in competition with each other. It's not an either / or type of thing. If you join 10th Planet HQ and you said to Eddie, "I'm thinking of also studying Gracie Combatives," he would be the first person to tell you that this is a great idea. Unlike other martial arts "masters", Eddie has never claimed 10th Planet to be complete or the only thing worth studying.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you start studying at a 10p gym you start by learning the warmups. I haven't made it through them yet, but I didn't really see any RG or Twister stuff in there.

I'm very new to JJ training, but in class (not 10p) all I do is listen and try to learn what they are teaching. I don't even talk about 10p stuff. I believe I'm getting the basics that way, and I see no need to rush into advanced 10p stuff when I'm still struggling with the most basic positions.

That said, I'm practicing RG like crazy at home on my grappling dummy. I'm trying to get the movements committed to memory just for the primary path... mission control, zombie, new york, clear the neck, kung fu, and then gogo or omaplata.. I'm also trying to stay very aware of my weak side leg and what it's doing... on the hip, up high for crackhead or invisible collar, double bag, or "oh shit he's crushed my weak side leg"

I've tried looking at Hindu control but there is no way I can get it on the dummy, it's just way too wide and it's shoulders don't really rotate so I can't reach. I'm going to have to wait until I'm working with live humans to even attempt that. I'm afraid my shoulders may not be wide enough to get it on most guys. It looks fucking nasty though, and I'm anxious to try.

I'm also anxious to work with live humans to experiment with the meathook as well. I'm guessing it will be pretty easy at my gym since we're wearing a gi and I won't have to get as deep into the armpit. I can probably just grab the lapel, or that's what I'm thinking anyway. We'll see.

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Originally Posted by Craig Murray

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you start studying at a 10p gym you start by learning the warmups. I haven't made it through them yet, but I didn't really see any RG or Twister stuff in there.

I'm very new to JJ training, but in class (not 10p) all I do is listen and try to learn what they are teaching. I don't even talk about 10p stuff. I believe I'm getting the basics that way, and I see no need to rush into advanced 10p stuff when I'm still struggling with the most basic positions.

That said, I'm practicing RG like crazy at home on my grappling dummy. I'm trying to get the movements committed to memory just for the primary path... mission control, zombie, new york, clear the neck, kung fu, and then gogo or omaplata.. I'm also trying to stay very aware of my weak side leg and what it's doing... on the hip, up high for crackhead or invisible collar, double bag, or "oh shit he's crushed my weak side leg"

I've tried looking at Hindu control but there is no way I can get it on the dummy, it's just way too wide and it's shoulders don't really rotate so I can't reach. I'm going to have to wait until I'm working with live humans to even attempt that. I'm afraid my shoulders may not be wide enough to get it on most guys. It looks fucking nasty though, and I'm anxious to try.

I'm also anxious to work with live humans to experiment with the meathook as well. I'm guessing it will be pretty easy at my gym since we're wearing a gi and I won't have to get as deep into the armpit. I can probably just grab the lapel, or that's what I'm thinking anyway. We'll see.

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Never neglect basic principles that apply across the board. Breaking posture, elbow tucks, good base, etc. These are things that will still be reminded to you regardless of what school you train at. 10p is all great stuff, but be grounded in basics to understand why the rubber guard works or why it wouldn't work in a certain scenario. It's like the difference between teaching someone 1+1=2 and memorizing the answer vs. teaching them the concept of addition.

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Originally Posted by Craig Murray

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you start studying at a 10p gym you start by learning the warmups. I haven't made it through them yet, but I didn't really see any RG or Twister stuff in there.

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At HQ, Eddie's classes start with the warmups. There's also a basics class that isn't taught by Eddie. I'm not sure if they do the warmups there and I'm not sure if they are teaching Rubber Guard basics or stuff like basic kumuras and closed guard and things like that. Maybe someone who trains there can chime in?