When I first thought of the idea of showcasing a certain athlete and his material, Rigan Machado was the first person to come to mind. The reason is simple… Rigan has a ton of knowledge, experience, and product both written and video from multiple publishers, therefore he was a prime candidate for the Essential Series. In addition, Rigan is respected as one of the greatest BJJ practitioners of his era and is also one of the five famous Machado brothers of jiu-jitsu.

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When I first heard about the soon to-be released BJJ Spirits Vol. 2, I was more than excited - I was ecstatic. The previous BJJ Spirits and its follow up, Submission Spirits were two of my favorite Japanese publications, but each for different reasons. I really enjoyed BJJ vol.1 for its solid mix of written and video media. I found the book to be incredible - it featured Leo Vieira, Andre Galvao, Rany Yahra, Shinya Aoki, and Mike Fowler as my personal favorite sections. The DVD was also really cool - it had techniques by Fowler, Telles, and Galvao as well as sparring footage of the former TT members and a great bjj match featuring Fredson Paixao. I felt that BJJ Spirits vol. 1 would be a tough act to follow. Then came Submission Spirits.

Recently I had the privilege of being asked to run the very first Budovideos blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide thoughtful analysis on new and previously released DVD sets and books. If there are some instructionals or books out there that you guys want to see reviewed - let me know and I will give it my best effort.

Regarding the analysis, you will not see scores or stars. I feel that this is far too arbitrary and that what is important are the highs and lows of any given set, as well as how the DVDs fit into the framework of previous work. For example, a new set on sweeps will most likely be compared against some of Tinguinha’s, Pe de Pano’s, or Cobrinha’s work.

Hey everybody, my name is Kevin Howell and currently I am a purple belt in BJJ and a brown belt in judo. I have always enjoyed writing and I look forward to sharing my perspective on old and new material from a myriad of martial arts. Aside from judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I enjoy all martial arts and feel that each has its own merit and depth. Check back regularly and I do take requests!