Andre GalvaoDrill to Win: 12 Months to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The book itself is mostly solid, with clear glossy photographs, a decent layout, and lots of drills. But it also has a couple problems.The good:The drills layout is logical. Follow the arrow and you get a series of pictures as the instructor moves through the drill. There's a text also describing what the instructor is doing. By comparing the two, it's easy to get a solid feel for each drill.The book is divided into 12 months, with each month containing 4 weeks, and each week containing five days. Each day usually has 1 or 2 drills. Some will seem familiar to anyone who has been to a bjj class recently. I'm sure if you follow the drills in addition to your current training you will end up a better player.The first few months focus on strength, conditioning and balance, the next few on basic movements, and then more advanced drills are introduced. It's a relatively logical sequence, with later drills building on earlier drills. Most everyone who makes it to a class will be familiar with a good portion of the drills in the first four months. Some heavier trainees might strain a bit on some drills, but that's why they need to do them. Comparatively, some lighter trainees might find some of the drills too easy. Overall, solid.The bad:The initial month has no drills, just a couple pages noting that diet is important and that you should work on that for a month. While diet might be important, it would have been better to mention that as part of the introduction or the first several chapters, and not cut into drill time. The final month is also under 2 pages, just noting that the trainee should review and work on weak spots. 10 months to better brazilian jiu jutsu.10 months of drills could still be pretty solid. However, a good number of the drills assume you have a swiss ball, and a few also assume you have a balance board or two. A mat is also assumed, but that assumption is completely understandable. Even these are acquirable without too much trouble.My big issue comes with the lack of solo drills in the book. Most of the drills in chapters two and three can be done and are shown solo. Very, very few other drills in the book are solo drills. You might be able to attempt some of the drills alone where the partner is least involved, but it's a dodgy prospect at best.For someone like me who picked up the book to work on my own time with no practice partners accessible, this is crushing. The only time I have partners accessible is usually during class hours, and those are better spent with a live instructor. So, for me, 2 months to better brazilian jiu jutsu. And most of those drills I knew already.Overall, if you have a training partner, the necessary gear, and the time and the will to implement the program, four stars. Without the training partner, two stars.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee[...]Where to start with this book. It covers so many topics from strength, stretching, balance, and basic dieting. This book helps any one at any level of Jiu Jitsu. From the basics to more advanced drills it goes month to month, week to week. Andre Galvao provides drills from every position. Andre is a champion in numerous different world class events, his most recent is winning the 2011 Pan Ams Black Belt medium-heavyweight division. He does a great job of demonstrating each drill in a great way for anyone to understand. Kevin Howell from Victory Belt books does a good job making sure that pictures are clear and show the correct movements. Also the techniques have a small paragraph that explain the situation and provide pointers to complete each drill. This book enhances all areas of your game, making your relfexes better, making you have better balance, and allowing you to time your opponent.Overall this 288 page book has a ton of knowledge for everyone. I love this book, I recommend it to anyone I can. It really isn't a reference book like many of my other books I have, this is a step by step guide to better your game. You can take bits and pieces to help you, but it won't be as successful as following the the book from day one to the end of week 52. Andre offers many points from the aspect of a champion and from his experiences through out his career. This easy to read book is a 10/10 from me. As a close, repetition is key to success, and the book explains why, and holds the key.

Even after reading all the reviews, I couldn't quite figure out what the hell was in this book. What are these "drills" exactly? Some mentioned partner exercises, others said it was a bodybuilding book. Huh? So, for your benefit, here it is...It's a conditioning book!The exercises are meant to work the same muscles you'd use when grappling. So there are exercises that work on balance, strengthening core, adding speed, heightening reflexes, etc. In fact a bunch of the solo drills are ones you might recognize from class warm ups. The point in partner drills is similar in that you will acclimate to pushing and pulling weight as you go for certain moves, e.g. Omoplatas, arm bars, sweeps, etc.The book would probably work great for instructors in particular who are looking to structure classes. For the individual, the solo drills in the book is all do-able from home, or during downtime before or after class. The partner drills pretty much requires a gym (i.e. mats) and a solid partner. All in all I think it's a good one to add to the library.For more on the author, YouTube the show "Rolled Up." There's a whole episode on Andre Galvao. Also checkout his fight against Martin Suarez to see his dexterity in action.

Having followed Andre on Twitter for a while and meeting him first hand at the ADCC'S in Nottingham I bought this book to get an insight into his training regime. I don't follow it religiously but I do introduce a new drill every few weeks to my BJJ training which seems to be helping my movement and agility while rolling with my peers.

Good set of exercises. Some are a filler, but some absolutely crucial and helpful moves from Andre. Remember watching him in this Youtube clip where he does all these exercises in the gym? 'Arte Suave' I think it was. You can find these drills in this book.I did not find it neccessary to go in order and everything Andre provides, but I rather pick and choose what I like, like a buffet.All and all, an excelent primer on cool drills, bjj body movements and overall philosophy of training.

This is very good book and I can't recommend it enough.

The title tells you wot the book is all about drilling..there are no locks transitions or anything like that, its based on drills movements which yes get you more mobile for your ground game..

Excellent product. Arrived on time. Well made with clear instructions and ideas. Would recommend.