Robson Moura - Fusion 2 DVD Review - Score: 95%

After receiving the shiny box at home and seeing the title of the first of three DVD's I thought to myself: Great, another version of "Let's make up a new name for some odd position - call it a guard - put it on DVD - print money." I was sceptical but curious about this so called 93 Guard. Interestingly enough, Robson himself isn't quite sure if it is the 93 Guard or the 92 Guard as he uses both terms to describe this new position. Nevertheless, 92, 93, whatever - it is one sweet presentation of a new type of guard.

Perhaps it is because I have been more focused on BJJ the last few weeks (some say...obsessed) but I found parts of this DVD set to be eye opening. In fact, it inspired me to write a subsequent article called "Building the BJJ Fortress" (soon to be published). After an initial viewing, most of the techniques presented are fresh, clever, and new to me. What sets Robson apart from other DVD instructionals is his presentation of elements that form a game plan. It isn't just a collection of random moves but the techniques build on each other and some are worthy to build a game plan around.

Some of his techniques are repeats from his Fusion 1 DVD but there aren't many and it made sense to include them into certain places. After starting the Open Guard DVD I was a little disappointed as my first randomly picked technique was a double. Further, the intro to the Open Guard section was pretty standard and exactly what we do in class for warm ups. However, after watching the entire DVD, it quickly became one of my favorites. However. the 93 DVD is the highlight of this set and a must have for me!

Robson also covers the half guard position (top and bottom), as well as the single leg guard and the versatile look choke. I am impressed with all of these and am excited to use them in training. A more detailed review will follow.

While the quality of the DVD is outstanding, I must say that Robson is a "lazy talker." Maybe it will become his trademark someday but he leaves off the endings of random words (as a fellow non-native English speaker - I can make fun of him for that). It is also odd that throughout the entire DVD you see Gustavo Dantes not say a word. I think it would be refreshing someday to see a dialogue between Robson and his partner where both interact with the audience to some degree.

Other nice touches would be the inclusion of a clip that shows each technique one after the other without commentary. Sometimes I like to revisit the techniques and it is a pain to go to each one separately and fast forward. It may be nice to have one clip that includes everything that was covered in that section. Alternatively, it may be nice if the technique that is about to be shown is presented at the beginning of each technique section so that you can quickly review things.

Finally, a nice and entertaining touch would be to show these techniques as used in competition or sparring a la Eddie Bravo in "Mastering the Rubber Guard." However, while these are more general and minor gripes, we will have to wait for the next generation of DVD instructionals to include such things.

The current overall score based on my initial viewing is: 95%


The 93 Guard

93 guard Details/Top leg position/Neck pressure/Bottom leg position/ Controlling the distance/Putting it together

I really have enjoyed working with this 93 Guard set up - it is easy to transition to and Robson does a good job explaining the common pitfalls of this position (and how to correct them). The first few sections (93 guard Details/Top leg position/Neck pressure/Bottom leg position/ Controlling the distance/Putting it together) are dedicated to troubleshoot the 93 Guard position. Essentially, Robson points to 4 ways with which your opponent can mess up the intitial set up and he gives you the appropriate counters to each which work pretty well.

The nice thing about the 93 Guard is that it sort of looks like a scrambling position to your opponent. Your guard was about to be opened and you transitioned to the position to avoid the guard pass - however, having done so purposly and having Robson's specific techniques and sweeps in mind can keep you one step ahead in the game.

The different sweeps Robson shows center around the different things you may encounter while playing with the 93 Guard set up. Some of them look like $5 moves and others probably require some practice before you can use them effectively. I found that some sweeps are designed to not take you to cross body but e.g. top inverted half guard. While he easily pulls is leg out, a quick opponent could trap the leg and you would now battle for a half guard pass etc. For other techniques you end up in your opponents guard even though you are in a good guard pass position. While this may get your tournament points it is a lot to do for going from your guard - sweep - to have an attempt of passing your opponent's guard. I need to play around with these some more to see what actually happens in life rolling.


SCORES

A. Initial Impression upon watching

1. Effectiveness of the techniques: 95-100%
2. Presentation: 85-90%
3. Value: 95-100%

TOTAL SCORE: 95%
(not an average of all scores)