Sneak Preview Review Dynamic Kneebars,
by Bjorn Weeks

"Once again Bjorn has offered to review my new video and share his thoughts with you. Bjorn is a competitive blue belt at our Jiu-jitsu club, and is known for his aggressive, submission-oriented style of grappling, both with and without the gi."

Stephan Kesting

Bjorn writes:

Grapplers who know Stephan Kesting have been eagerly waiting for his Dynamic Kneebars DVD for some time. Now that I have a copy, I can see what all the anticipation was about. No one teaches kneebars like Stephan teaches kneebars, and this DVD is his definitive statement on the subject. Stephan has gained regional notoriety for his kneebars in competition, and in this DVD, we are taken inside his technique and see what separates his approach to kneebars from that of others. The DVD instruction is put together with the same attention to detail, and careful, logical attention to detail that was evident in his previous instructional material.

Before I say more about this video, I should point out that I have been grappling for several years, and I am a blue belt under Marcus Soares. As it happened, in the year past year or so, I have been working particularly on leg attacks. While I felt confident that I knew the basics of leg attacks, my theoretical knowledge seemed to fall apart on the mats. I would see opportunities to attack, go for the leg, and then be frustrated by ending up not only without the submission, but with a loss of positional advantage. I was keeping at it (in part because there were so many grapplers at my club who were good with leg attacks), but was beginning to wonder if kneebars were not for me.

The dynamic kneebar video opens with the basics of leg attacks. Fortunately, I did not skip this section. A single positioning detail in this section went on to dramatically improve my submission rate with kneebars.

Once the basics of the technique are thoroughly reviewed, Stephan goes on to look at entries to the kneebar. In my mind, this is one of the places where this video really shines. The huge number of possible kneebar entries are grouped into four basic categories. These categories make for logical teaching, but more importantly, they really boosted my understanding of the principles that underlie entry to the technique. Back on the mats, I found that I was much better able to quickly see opportunities to fire off the technique. The entries reviewed ranged from the basic to the surprising and devious (lots of “I can’t wait to spring that on someone” material here)

The following section of the DVD focuses on counters, logically enough. Some good material here, a mix of refinements to techniques I knew, and a few I didn’t. But what really transformed my game was the material on the next level – counters to the counters, or what Stephan calls “re-counters”. This section was worth many times the price of the DVD. Stephan takes a look at each of the common counters to the kneebar, and shows what you can do to frustrate them and complete your attack. I can’t overstate how much benefit I got from this section. At one point Stephan says that the recounters will make your kneebar attacks relentless and effective, and I have to say that the information delivers.

Prior to watching the DVD, my typical kneebar attack would go something like this: I go for the kneebar, my opponent reacts, counters, and escapes the kneebar while gaining superior position. Now, I find that once I go for the kneebar, my opponent is in trouble – his multiple counter attempts are defeated by my recounters, until the kneebar is secured. I’m not suggesting that I catch everyone with kneebars now, or that everytime I go for one, it succeeds. But my percentage of success has gone up dramatically, and that is more that I have got from many video instructionals.

In short, this is a first rate DVD. Logically laid out, well produced, and filled with quality material that can make a huge impact on you game. It is not just a random collection of un-connected techniques, but rather a full-on blueprint for the use of kneebars in grappling. Highly recommended. Don’t buy it – so I can beat your ass in competition.

Sincerely

Bjorn Weeks