[jiujitsuking]

I just watched their videos after seeing a thread about them and wow is all I have to stay. These instructors look stiff as a board on the mat and even when they are teaching basic techniques like armbars and triangles they leave out very important details. I feel like I just got worse by watching their videos. I have since been watching highlights of marcelo, jacare, xande, roger, and rafeal lovato jr just to flood submissions 101 out of my mind.

[ungala]

Are you referring to those TMA guys who study under Eddie Bravo and wear BJJ gis with their TMA blackbelts? If so, yeah those guys are terrible.. The trailer for their DVD opens with the worst double leg I have ever seen.

[NinjaKilla187]

Originally Posted by jiujitsuking

I just watched their videos after seeing a thread about them and wow is all I have to stay. These instructors look stiff as a board on the mat and even when they are teaching basic techniques like armbars and triangles they leave out very important details. I feel like I just got worse by watching their videos. I have since been watching highlights of marcelo, jacare, xande, roger, and rafeal lovato jr just to flood submissions 101 out of my mind.

This topic has been done to death. Ari Bolden is a basically an Aikido and JJJ guy with little previous background in BJJ or Judo. He is by most accounts and nice guy and and is now a purple belt under Eddie Bravo in no gi. He has a very successful website.

Ari wears a BJJ gi and a black belt in the videos which leads some people to believe he is a BJJ black belt. He is not and has never claimed to be but some people think its pretty shady.

You mileage may vary on the videos. Some seem good, some suck, depending on whose demonstrating what. If you think the BJJ is bad, watch the throws...although most of them seem to have been taken down for some reason.

[Kimuralex]

ari is very good at making it seem like he is an awesome grappler. I believe the thing that throws most people off is that--if you watch his videos, he makes many details(most of which are either not used, or not needed, or he does not do himself when he rolls) which makes it seem like he knows the moves inside and out. I personally dont watch his videos, i think he is shady.

[jiujitsuking]

I will never watch his videos again. I don't mind when black belts try to make money off BJJ, because they have put their time in on the mat and deserve every penny. But when these TMA guys see that they have a chance to cash in off BJJ I just can't respect it...Where was this Ari guy when there was no money in jiu jitsu??? This guy is just looking for a check. And if he wasn't he would put his fucking time in and train hard before he tried to make a profitable website off BJJ.....Im pissed about this guy.

[OwMyArm]

I just wish he wouldn't wear his JJJ bb with his BJJ gi...he knows full well how shady it is to do something like that

[ungala]

That's right, he should wear a purple belt.

[armbarking]

I started a thread a while back called "submissions 101: your opinion" that called Ari out. The thread got back to him and he ended up responding to it. The best we got him to do was put a disclaimer up on his website saying that he is not a BJJ BB. Though I talked to him through IM's and told him that he should put the disclaimer in the head of each video as well. He never did. Then Eddie Bravo went and gave him a purple belt in "10th Planet Jiu Jitsu" despite him being in Canada and never training regularly under Eddie.

[Frodo]

I don't think he needs to put a disclaimer in his videos. That's unnecessary. A disclaimer is needed on his web site; because, (1) BJJ Gear sponsors him (2) He lists GJJ and BJJ as his first primary styles (3) He wasn't ranked in BJJ until recently. It really shouldn't an issue now that he is a purple under Eddie Bravo. Clarification is still nice for their gi videos whenever they wear their black belts, though. Some of the videos are ok, some are not. Just like anything else, really.

[Wrestleben]

They are creepy. They have this small tight nit forum where Ari is the king. All of these people who are very new to grappling or who have never grappled worship him like he is Rickson.

Its not too shocking that Eddie Bravo gave him a purple so he could run a 10th planet school, collecting his franchise fee's and regular seminar $$.

This has been done to death so I'll just stop here. The more he is talked about the more he thinks he is relevant. I am sure he reads this board.