Submission Master by Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Tape Name : Submission Master

The Instructor : Yoshiaka Fujiwara

Distributor : Scientific Wrestling Dot Com

Purchase at : http://www.scientificwrestling.com/products/item1.cfm

Purchase price at time of review : $52.00

Written Summary :

I don’t watch much broadcast television, there just isn’t much of it that interests me. My wife thinks it is a little odd, and you may agree with her, but I watch grappling instructionals, competition footage, and I train Jiu-Jitsu / Grappling. For me it is a passion.

When I first sat down and watched Yoshiaki Fujiwara’s Submission Master DVD I was blown away by it. I honestly love this DVD; however, I also know that it just isn’t for everyone.

The production is actually better than most. The sound is excellent. The techniques are unique and presented in a way that makes them very, very easy to learn.

This is not Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, this is Catch Wrestling as taught by one of Catch Wrestling’s greatest personalities.

Now, let me try to explain why I say this DVD isn’t for everyone:

• It is in Japanese
  Personally, I could care less. This is great instruction. I also recognize that some people need everything spelled out for them. If you are one of those people then stay away from this DVD.
• It isn’t cheap
  At $52 for the 2 DVD set it is an investment. Personally, I found the real value in this set to come from #1 the quality instruction #2 the unique nature of the techniques, and #3 the historical value presented from instruction that was recorded before the very first UFC.
• I would prefer to keep the techniques to myself!
  Ok, that’s not completely true, I already lent this to my training partner, one of the best submission grapplers in the country, Brandon Ruiz (SLC Machado Jiu-Jitsu and Denver’s Grappler’s Edge). Brandon is a world class Greco Roman Wrestler and one of the highest ranked Submission Grapplers in the USA (He took 2nd in USA Wrestling’s 2008 Grappling World Team Trials this last weekend, and 3rd in the world’s at the BJJ Mundials as a Brown Belt) and even he saw a significant amount of material that he had never seen before.

Outside of the actual techniques there are some fantastic conditioning segments that present all of the latest and greatest methods for getting in shape. This is almost exactly the same stuff you’ve already spent your hard earned money on so that you could get the newest fitness innovations . . . except it was originally recorded before UFC 1! In other words, Many of the “fitness experts” out there are simply frauds. There is some great information in here.

Before I finish up and give a rating for the DVD I want to make you aware of two things that added an additional dimension to the Submission Master set.

1. Since this was made in the very early 1990’s, many of the performers demonstrating the fitness routines have some seriously massive mullets. I’m talking mullets that would make Billy Ray Cyrus’s achy breaky heart split right in two. The portions of the DVD when the athlete’s faced off in a ring struck me as slightly ethereal with 2 HUGE (well, relatively huge) Japanese guys with Mullet’s that would fit right into any redneck party in America.
2. The music. You have to listen to understand.

So, to recap, I really enjoyed the Yoshiaka Fujiwara’s Submission Master DVDs. If you need your hand held and to have every instruction slowly spelled out to you in your native language, then they are probably not for you.

I believe these DVDs are well worth the price. If you are the type of person that breaks down the number of moves per-dollar to judge a DVD’s value then I doubt you will appreciate what these DVDs have to offer.

I was taught to appreciate great grappling, no matter its source, and to adopt new techniques, new approaches if they helped me develop my grappling game. If you are from a camp that is aggressively concerned with what someone else has defined as great grappling then don’t but this DVD set.

However, if you are interested in understanding a little bit more about where the Japanese MMA scene grew out of then check out this DVD. If you want to know more about the style that saw its greatest exponents fighting and beating some of the toughest men on the planet (Even Maeda, the guy who taught the Gracie family, once lost a fight . . . to a Catch Wrestler) then perhaps you should check out this DVD. If you want to have a few techniques in your back pocket your friends at the Dojo/Club haven’t seen before then you just might find the edge you’re looking for in Fujiwara’s Submission Master DVD set.

And best of all, if you want to see some of the greatest mullets I have ever personally witnessed then you have absolutely got to check out these DVDs.

Now what could have made this even better? English sub-titles or perhaps even an English language track.

Primary Grading Scores

1. Instructors demonstrated skill level (idsl): 10
2. Ease of comprehension (how easy is it to understand?) (eoc): 9
3. Organization (did they jump around, or did they solve each problem completely before moving on?) (org): 10
4. Level of applicability within stated goals/confines (la): 10
5. Use of time (too much repetition, meaningless highlights, etc. high is good, low is bad) (uot): 10
6. Did you want to watch it again (immediately) (wia): 10
7. Can you recommend this product? (rtp): 8