I'm frustrated today. I'm a little angry, disappointed and confused all at the same time. Hell, this is one of those days where I'm not exactly sure what I'm feeling... but I know for a fact that I don't like it. Not one little bit.
It all started when I saw this video clip introducing John Danaher's BJJ Fundamentals instructional series (better known as Go Further Faster). I knew then and there that I would eventually own the entire series.
Why this series? There is a fundamental difference between a world champion, and one who makes world champions. John Danaher was the first person I could think of who became famous not because of his own performance, but because of coaching results.
We all tend to want to learn from the greats of a given sport. A Marcelo Garcia, a Joe Montana, a Michael Jordan. But I watched an interview with Michael Jordan a few years back that changed this for me. The reporter asked him what his secret was. What kind of advice could he provide to a young basketball player who wanted to put in the hard work and become the next Michael Jordan? And Jordan's reply? Words to the effect of, "I don't know. It's like the basked is this giant bucket, and I just can't miss."
Now most people think they have some idea of what got them where they are today... even when they're completely wrong. Others have no idea, but make something up on the spot when asked. It usually runs along the lines of hard work and discipline. But in this refreshing moment of clarity, self awareness and honesty, Jordan admitted he had no idea what he did to make himself so great.
John Danaher on the other hand never made it big as an athlete on the IBJJF or ADCC tournament scenes. But boy did his students! Garry Tonon, Eddie Cummings, Gordon Ryan! If you follow Jiu Jitsu, you know who they are. And more importantly, you know who their coach is. Danaher is the first Jiu Jitsu figure I can think of who made his name solely on his coaching ability... on his ability to repeatably produce world champions.
With that said I was excited to see how he teaches what he considers to be the fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu. And how did he break down the fundamentals in that clip introducing his new series?
He separated the fundamentals into 3 areas: Standing Position, Ground Position Bottom, and Ground Position Top.
He detailed that each of those areas had 5 basic skill within.
- Standing Position he said was composed of Stance, Motion, Grip, Kazushi, and Transitioning to the Ground.
- Ground Position Bottom was composed of Pin Escapes, Guard Retention, Guard Sweeps, Half Guard Sweeps, and Turtle Escapes.
- Ground Position Top was composed of Opening a Closed Guard, Passing Open Guard, Passing Half Guard, Pin Maintenance and Transitioning, and Turtle Breakdowns.
That's 15 skills in all folks!
I eagerly awaited every single installment and gobbled it up as it came out, determined to eventually become a master of all 15 skills.
- Pin Escapes & Turtle Escapes
- Half Guard
- Guard Retention
- Closed Guard
- Open Guard
- Passing The Guard
- Half Guard Passing and Dynamic Pins
(Okay, I don't own that last one yet. I'm saving up. I have to stick to a BJJ Fanatics budget, otherwise I'd go broke!)
Then BJJ Fanatics announced his final installment of the series was almost ready to be released! What could it be?
I have thoroughly enjoyed every installment to date. The way John Danaher breaks down complex problems, organizes overall strategies to address them, and then communicates those strategies is unparalleled in the world of Jiu Jitsu instructional products. Each volume of the Go Further Faster series belongs in the library of any serious Jiu Jitsu practitioner or coach.
But the one I was looking forward to perhaps more than any other was his volume on the standing position. If there was one area we all needed to work on a little more, this was it. If there was one area that lacked an overall structure and still remained just a collection of seemingly unrelated techniques... one area that needed a great instructor to come along and show us how to connect them all together in a way that suits the unique needs of Jiu Jitsu practitioners and competitors this was it!
John Danaher has gone on record in the past, calling for people to work more on takedowns, "Takedowns my friends… Please learn them. And stop this non-sense that jiujitsu is a ground art. We begin on our feet, stop being so lazy. The purpose of the guard is to continue to fight in case you make the mistake of being taken down… Lets keep the martial art aspect of jiu-jitsu alive."
He has talked about the dire need for a Jiu Jitsu-centric takedown strategy. He spoke with Roger Gracie about how we take this naive approach of using techniques and strategies from other martial arts like Judo and Wrestling, and then try to make them work in Jiu Jitsu.
When I heard that John Danaher was releasing his final installment of the Go Further Faster series, I knew this had to be it! This final installment had to be his grand opus on the fundamentals of the standing position! I couldn't wait to find out what his favored stances and grips were! How did he create motion and kazushi? What unforetold secret methods did he have for transitioning to the ground? How would he simplify it and connect it together in such a way that would allow us to make sense of it all? This stuff was the first thing he mentioned when announcing his new series on fundamentals! It accounted for one third of the fundamental skills of Jiu Jitsu! This had to be it!
But alas, it wasn't. His final volume has none of this. Instead, it covers Strangles & Turtle Breakdowns...
Seriously? Strangles & Turtle Breakdowns? Strangles weren't even mentioned as one of his original 15 fundamental skills! And turtle breakdowns? Didn't he cover that in his Back Attacks series? What happened to that first and arguably most important third of the system? We practice an art that specializes in ground fighting... and you're leaving out the part that explains how to get our opponents to the ground? Did you think that instructions from Nicky Rod, and Garry Tonon would fill the void? No disrespect to either of those athletes. They're amazing competitors in their own right, but when it comes to breaking down complex techniques, skills and strategies, they're no John Danaher. And no offense, but they're young, strong and in their prime. Again, no disrespect intended whatsoever, but I don't want the stand-up system that works for them. I want the system that works for a 50-some-odd year old man with a crippled knee and a hip replacement!
Please BJJ Fanatics! Please John Danaher! Say it ain't so! Please tell me it was a misprint when you wrote that this would be the final installment of the Go Further Faster series! I know you've got one more installment left in you! You've talked about the fact that your athletes have a standing strategy! You talked about it as 5 out of your 15 fundamental skills when you announced the series! Your athletes have stood with some of the best of them at ADCC! Please for the love of God don't back out now on your promise to share the fundamental secrets of Stance, Motion, Grip, Kazushi, and Transitioning to the Ground! Please, please, please give us just one more volume!
Very Respectfully,
Big Mike
