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There is a disclaimer at the beginning of these tapes stating that they are "instructional in nature" but not meant to be a "how to" series. I call them a documentary. For $250, these tapes are not labeled as such in the advertisement. These tapes would be beneficial ONLY if you are a hardcore tape collector, or interested in interviews, documentaries, etc.. In fact, I would have rated these much higher in the documentary category of this page than in the grappling video section. For those of you who don't know who Jacare is, he is the last of 5 BBs under the great Rolls Gracie. This series is filmed with a handheld camera. Audio problems plague the entire series; sometimes almost entire interviews are unintelligible.
Vol 1. Warmups and Drills
In this tape, you get to watch one of Jacare's classes warming up. None of the drills are explained; you just get to watch them warm up.
Vol 2. Sparring.
This tape is cool if you like to watch free sparring. One guy, Leo Veira, is so flexible and fluid, you won't believe it. He does all sorts of flips, sweeps, etc.. This is a cool tape to watch.
Vol 3. City Tours and Interviews
In this tape Jacare takes you around either Rio or Sao Paulo (I don't remember). He goes to various schools and interviews Travern, Liborio, Bustamante, Robson Graice, Relson Gracie, De La Riva, etc.. If Jacare interviews in English, it is hard to understand due to audio problems; however, some interviews are done with a voice over. These are easier to hear.
Vol 4. Favorite Techniques of the Elite
In this tape, you get to see 2 BBs under Jacare, Alfonso "Viking" and Alexandre Paiva, demonstrate some armlocks, guard passes, a sweep, and more. Each move is done a few times and then another move is shown. The explanations are lacking and hard to hear. Fabio Gurgel and a black belt, Leonardo Vieira, then show some moves. The highlight of this tape is watching the 2 spar. Both are excellent, using numerous reversals. Despite the skill of Vieira, Gurgel wins each match quickly and decisively. This is one of the better tapes of the series if you want to actually learn some moves, though not by much. The tape ends with footage of the 97 World JJ Championships. Let me tell you, 1 camcorder cannot film 4 simultaneous matches.
Vol 5. Jacare's Seminars
This tape is divided into 4 sections 1. Vale Tudo- You could consider this a 15-20 minute overview of Sperry's Series 2. Headlock escapes- this is good, though the explanations are somewhat lacking. 3. Standup with a gi- OK 4. On the ground w/ a gi. There is nothing terribly wrong with this tape, the techniques are solid, though audio problems and lack of descriptions abound.
Vol 6. Blue Belt Requirements
This tape looks like footage from another seminar. On it are warmups, drills, and Jacare teaching techniques. Nothing on this tape was revolutionary or could not be found on any number of other vids. With the exception of some sweeps, guard work basically is neglected.
If this series is marketed as an instructional then it is basically worthless. However, if you view this as a documentary, there is some value; perhaps, only really interested or serious tape collectors should really bother with this series, though.
Special thanks to Calango for information pertaining to this review.