Book Review of “Marcelo Garcia: Advanced BJJ Techniques”
You could read a hundred books on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and easily learn something different in each one. The question is which ones are the most complete package, and which ones are phoning it in and giving you just enough to get by with a few fancy moves just to make you feel good about your purchase? We take our product reviews pretty seriously on this site, so it is with much delight that I review Marcelo Garcia’s second book on grappling, “Marcelo Garcia: Advanced BJJ Techniques.”
With so many books on the subject already out there, can Marcelo compete, or will this book float away into obscurity like the UFC tournament fighters of past (Melton Bowen, am I right?)? The Fight Nerd put on his reading glasses, which are the same as his everyday glasses, and got to work checking out every page of this voluminous tome of grappling maneuvers!
Hit the jump for the full book review!
In “Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Techniques”, Marcelo Garcia unveils for the first time the grappling system that allowed him to claim five Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and two ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships. For those of you living in a mayonnaise jar for the past decade, Garcia began to make a name for himself in 2003 when he defeated Renzo Gracie, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, and Mike Van Arsdale at the Abu Dhabi Grappling Tournament of that year. He continued that dominance over the next two years with wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Thales Leites, leading to his most famous grappling match against the much larger Ricco Rodriguez, who he managed to overcome by submission, leading to a bronze medal in the Absolute division. Garcia’s record speaks for itself, and it is long overdue that he released a book to demonstrate his many masterful techniques.
Released by Victory Belt, this 336 page book is filled with submissions, guard passes, takedowns and sweeps in a variety of scenarios and positions. Chapters include sections on arm drags, establishing and using submissions from back control, takedowns, guard passes from closed, open, half, and butterfly guard, and submissions from every position imaginable. Garcia is beyond comprehensive with his techniques, the section on armdrags alone is worthy of its own book. The technique is broken down from the most basic things like grip and body control, and goes into different ways to implement the arm drag, as well as a section on what to do if the throw fails.
The same could be said for his section on back control, which is very in-depth and an abundance of information. Too many books focus on completed positions, rather than transitional ones like butterfly guard and x-guard. Garcia goes into great detail on all of these positions, ensuring that you are ready for whatever your opponent tries, as well as how to catch him off guard by attacking when they least expect it.
The book is co-written by Marshal D. Carper and Glen Cordozo, since English is Marcelo’s second language. The instructional text is easy to follow and use, simplistic but not lacking detail. The book also has many “Helpful Hints” and “Fast Facts” which promote Marcelo’s website, MGinAction.com. If you have not checked out this site and you train seriously, you should head over there right now to join up.
One thing that always mystified me when I trained was working from a sitting position. It was my weakest position, and I always got suckered into submissions when someone sat like that. Marcelo goes into many moves from that position, so at last I can finally defend myself, as well as catch some other people in submissions from there.
One of my favorite things about all of Victory Belt’s books is the amount of good photos in them. “Advanced BJJ Techniques” is no slouch, with over 2,000 photos to break down every move! It also adds a very cool element into their photo demonstrations of each move with something I have not seen before. Previous books go from picture to picture, and can sometimes skip a small but important step, or other times go into too much detail and take up extra space. In this book, there is a transitional photo between each major step that demonstrates the minor steps. This saves space in the book, meaning more maneuvers for you, and also makes sure you know exactly what you need to do to pull these moves off.
The book focuses on gi tactics, although there is a very tiny section on no-gi takedowns. Aside from that, everything else requires you and your partner wear a gi, although many techniques can be adapted without it. If you do not train in a gi, I would not necessarily stay away from it, but check it out in person first to see if it matches with your grappling style.
Overall, this book is extremely comprehensive and a great way to improve your BJJ game. This book is intended for advanced students, but beginners who are moving along the ranks could easily pick this up and start bringing moves to class to practice and grow. Intermediate students of the martial art will definitely learn a few tricks as well, thanks to how much Marcelo breaks down every little move with meticulous detail. The sheer number of moves is worth it alone, combined with the unbelievably high amount of photos and great descriptions, this is the complete package. This book truly has something for everyone, and is one of the best BJJ books that I have read in a long time, as well as most thorough.
The book has a suggested retail price of $34.95, but you can scoop up Marcelo Garcia’s Advanced Brazilian Jiujitsu Techniques from Amazon.com 
If you liked this book review, you might also like: “Anderson Silva: MMA Instruction Manual” book review, Thomas Gerbasi’s “UFC Encyclopedia” Book Review, or Review of Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera DVD’s from “The Ultimate Instructional Set”
Good review! I just got the book. It’s a solid book!