Friday, May 9, 2014

Black Belt Blueprint Review

I met Nicolas Gregoriades 5 years ago when he was teaching a BJJ seminar at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket.  For those who don't know, Nic is Roger Gracie's first black belt and is the founder of the Jiu-Jitsu Brotherhood.

Nic recently published a book called The Black Belt Blueprint which explained everything he's learned in over ten years of training with the world's best BJJ practitioners including Roger Gracie.  He also has advice in the book given by Rickson Gracie and Kron Gracie as well as things he has learned throughout the years of being a teacher worldwide.  

Black Belt Blueprint
Beginners vs. Advanced:

The first half of the book is for beginners, white belts as well as guys just starting out.  If you've been practicing jiu-jitsu for a while you may be bored and want to skip ahead, but don't.  The way Nic breaks down the foundations is important for anyone to read again.

The second half of the book is extremely high level and can be applied by purple belts and above.  

Here is a sneak peak of what's inside:

The Black Belt Blueprint

Contents
Introduction 8

Before You start
How To Use This Book 10 
My System and Why it Works 11 
Where to Train 12 
Equipment 14

the framework
A Brief History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 19 
How Jiu-Jitsu Works 25
The Positions 25
The Three Pillars of a Black Belt 43 
Progressing Through the Belt System 46

coNcepts
Breath Control 51 
Dominating the Center 55 
Using Angles Effectively 58 
Expansion / Contraction From Center 63 
Posture & Structure 66 Power-Point and Base 68 
Eye & Head Movement 71 How to Attack Joints Effectively 73 
The B.O.S.S. Principle 75

oN the mat
The Importance of Repetition 80 
Memorize Techniques Efficiently 81 
Fundamental Movements 84 Essential Defensive Techniques 89 
Essential Attacks 93 
Understanding the Grip 98 
Training for Competitions 102

‘iNvisiBle’ Jiu Jitsu
Awareness 105 
The Relaxed & Efficient Grappler 109 
Balance 111 Practise Without Your Hands 117 
Training with Closed Eyes 119 
The Flow Drill 120

improviNG off the mat
The Power of Visualization 123 
Flow Diagrams 124 
Supplemental Training 126 
Basic Conditioning Workout 129 
Yoga & Jiu Jitsu 132 
Nutrition for Jiu Jitsu 137

the Jiu Jitsu lifestYle
The Essence of Jiu Jitsu 142 
Competing 146 
Avoiding Common Injuries 149 
Training in Brazil 152 
Overtraining 154

further resources
Recommended Resources 157 
Recommended Academies 162 
Frequently Asked Questions 167 
Closing Thoughts 170 
About the Author 171 
About the Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood 172 
Acknowledgements 173 

Black Belt Blueprint

Overall:

Should you read this book?

Yes.  If you are interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, buy this book.  Nic is a fantastic teacher, high level black belt, and there is a reason why he is Roger Gracie's first black belt.  

You can find The Black Belt Blueprint here.   Enjoy the book, and best of luck in your journey!

Warm Regards,

Johnny

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hey if you've read this far, you might as well at least leave a comment. Even just to say what's up! If you have any questions about training in Thailand just ask it here in the comments and I'll answer so everyone can benefit from it.