If you are looking for a BJJ instructional to improve your game you may be considering an Eddie Bravo instructional. After all, Eddie Bravo is one of the best jiu-jitsu teachers of all time and the founder of 10th planet jiu-jitsu. That said, Eddie Bravo only has one instrucitonal on BJJ fanatics.
Eddie Bravo’s only instructional on BJJ fanatics is The Ultimate Rubber Guard. My quick review is that The Ultimate Rubber Guard is an excellent instructional that is worth the price for the right person. That said, I would not recommend this Eddie Bravo instructional to everyone.
Essentially, the rubber guard is great for people who have the flexibility to pull it off. Though anyone can become more flexible, I think it is somewhat genetic and the rubber guard is not the best for less flexible jiu-jitsu players.
A similar guard I might recommend for less flexible jiu-jitsu players is the Williams Guard. The Williams guard is similar to the rubber guard but does not require as much flexibility.
Who Is Eddie Bravo and What Is The Rubber Guard
Eddie Bravo is one of the most popular jiu-jitsu instructors in the world. He is also the mastermind behind 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. Eddie was essentially the first person to open up a 100% no-Gi BJJ academy.
Here is a quick video explaining 10th Planet BJJ.
Though there are many no-gi-only jiu-jitsu schools today, this was not always the case. Ditching the Gi was very controversial at the time, and many BJJ legends found it disrespectful.
Thankfully, however, this did not phase Eddie Bravo enough to drop it and today BJJ is better from it. Eddie Bravo is probably the biggest person to credit for the rise in popularity of modern-day no-gi jiu-jitsu.
If there is any technique that is synonymous with 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu it is the Rubber Guard. The Rubber guard is a guard created by Eddie Bravo originally for MMA. Once wrestlers started to learn basic BJJ skills they could simply get up out of the guard of MMA fighters who came from a BJJ background.
The Rubber Guard was a way to hold down your opponent without the use of a Gi in an MMA fight. Today it is more used in no-gi jiu-jitsu competition than MMA. In Gi BJJ you can simply hold down your opponent using grips on their gi.
The Ultimate Rubber Guard By Eddie Bravo Review
It is hard to write a review for The Ultimate Rubber Guard by Eddie Bravo. It is not because I do not think it is a great instructional. Instead, it is that I think this Eddie Bravo instructional is great for a specific group of jiu-jitsu players.
One thing I will say however is that the production quality of The Ultimate Rubber Guard is much better than a whole lot of other BJJ instructionals. On top of that, I believe there is a ton of quality content in this instructional that anyone can learn from.
One thing I do disagree with Eddie Bravo ( unless he has changed his mind ) is that anyone can become flexible enough to play the rubber guard if they stretch enough. To be fair I did hear him say this years ago and I’m not sure he still holds to it.
That said, I think this is simply not true. Flexibility is genetic and though everyone can improve, everyone also has limits. On top of that, even if someone could become flexible enough after hours of stretching they still might consider that this might not be the best use of their time.
Who I Would Recommend This Eddie Bravo Instructional To
For anyone who has decent flexibility, I would highly recommend The Ultimate Rubber Guard instructional. The rubber guard can completely revolutionize your bottom game. This is especially true in no-gi jiu-jitsu.
If you want to dramatically improve your bottom game in no-gi BJJ this is a great instructional for you. The instruction and production quality are top notch and it is a great intro into the 10th Planet system.
Topics Covered In The Ultimate Rubber Guard Instructional Include:
- Origin of Combat Jiu-Jitsu
- History of Jiu-Jitsu in MMA
- Gi vs No Gi Debate
- Origin of Rubber Guard
- Rubber Guard to Omoplata
- Evolution of the Rubber Guard
- Full Rubber Guard
- Bottom Half
- Rubber Guard Variations
Who The Ultimate Rubber By Eddie Bravo Is Not For
If you are more interested in gi BJJ then this Eddie Bravo instructional is not for you. Or If you simply are not very flexible even after plenty of time trying to improve your flexibility the rubber guard is not for you.
Perhaps I am just giving myself too much slack but I was part of a 10th planet academy for a bit over a year or so. I spent plenty of time working on my flexibility and still do to this day.
That said, I was not able to do the rubber guard back then and I still cannot today. So I have had to adapt my jiu-jitsu to a different bottom game.
So even though I think the Ultimate Rubber Guard instructional is great, it is not for everyone. So if you are not flexible or perhaps have bad knees or tight hips it is probably not for you.
Alternative BJJ Instructionals For The Less Flexible
Thankfully, there are other guards similar to the rubber guard that I am able to do. The main one that comes to mind is the Williams guard.
The Williams Guard, also known as the shoulder pin guard is a type of guard used in BJJ named after Shawn Williams. The Williams guard is similar to the rubber guard but requires less flexibility.
If you are wondering how to learn and master the Williams guard then you are in luck. The Complete Williams Guard instructional by Shawn Williams has over 8 hours of content.
The Williams guard is great for everyone. It works really well on larger opponents and is a great alternative to the rubber guard for older grapplers who might not have the flexibility they used to.
Other Eddie Bravo Instructionals
The Ultimate Rubber Guard is the only BJJ Fanatics instructional by Eddie Bravo at this time. Hopefully, there will be more in the future.
Luckily there are plenty of other 10th Planet Instructionals from some of Eddie’s students. However, if you want to learn from Eddie Bravo himself the Ultimate Rubber Guard is all we got at this time.
I know what you are thinking, Eddie Bravo could make a ton of money through instructionals on his 10th planet system. However, I don’t think he is hurting for cash and he wants to teach the 10th planet system through his academies.
So as far as Eddie Bravo instructionals go this is what we got. So if you are interested in learning more about this instructional check out the link below.