Greg Souders, a leading advocate for ecological training methods in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has expressed his skepticism toward the widespread reliance on instructional videos in the sport.
Essentially, Souders believes their approach fundamentally conflicts with his philosophy of learning and teaching:
I’ve been trying to tell people – that’s why I don’t sell anything.
That’s why I don’t have any DVDs.That’s why, when BJJ Fanatics approached me multiple times, I said no.
The thing is, you’re asking for a plug-and-play method that I know won’t work.
I’m sorry, but I’m a principled guy.This stuff is hard to learn.
Instead of creating instructionals, Souders focuses on sharing knowledge in a way that encourages individualized understanding and growth:
What I try to do instead is give away a free framework to change your perception of what’s happening.
If we look at what’s going on when we entangle somebody, or when we grab a waist or shoulders, this gives everyone access to understanding.
If we all have access to a foundational framework that allows us to see what’s actually going on, we can start understanding it through our own lens and use that understanding to create practice interventions that help our students acquire what we now know.
To illustrate his concerns with instructionals, Souders pointed to Gordon Ryan, one of the most popular creators in the industry, as an example:
I use Gordon Ryan as an example.
He knows this, no matter what he tells you, because he does it.If I put my hand under your elbow and tell you to walk your fingers up, and I pair a 145-pound guy with you, do you think walking his fingers up is going to stop you from pinning your elbows to your side?
No, it won’t.What if we’re talking about someone whose arms are like noodles because they’ve spent their whole life on a computer, never using their arms for anything but clicking a mouse?
They’re not moving your arms either.So, one detail might be groundbreaking for one person but literally useless for another.
What do we need to do, universally? We need to move elbows.
We don’t start with specifics, we start with the general.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.
