This seminar review has been a long time coming. I was fortunate enough to train with Reilly about a year ago during one of his visits to the Dallas area. I've managed to stay in contact with Reilly since then and was able to help coordinate a seminar at our newly opened gym in June. If you are not familiar with Reilly he is primarily a nogi grappler with a big concentration in sambo and leg locks. He offers a very fresh point of view when it comes to grappling as I personally am very gi oriented and more accustomed to competing under a more strict rule set than he prefers.
The subject material for the seminar focused on leg locks and attacking the seated guard. Reilly has a very cerebral approach to instruction that I can appreciate. Rather than diving right into the "legal leg locks" most of us wanted to see he spent a good deal of time teaching "illegal" leg locks. Why might you ask? Well it's important to understand what makes them illegal in most BJJ competitions and why they are effective. Reaping ankle locks and heel hooks. Explanation and demonstration about inside versus outside heel hooks were covered. To finish up leg locks he showed us how to escape the positions which was refreshing. Lots of time was allotted to drill and explore the positions/attacks.
Moving on from here Reilly showed various ways to attack with straight ankle locks over a seated opponent in open guard and the De La Riva guard (belly down ankle lock). I can attest this is very effective. I have seen him and his students pull these off in competitions. I've also had good luck using the belly down ankle lock against teammates in rolling sessions to counter the De La Riva.
Reilly has a pretty interesting philosophy about guard passing and attacking. He states that 'there are guards worth passing and guards not worth passing.'
"The purpose of a guard is to defend yourself against attack. This is true for any combat sport if it's boxing, fencing, or grappling. If a boxer leaves their hands to high or too low, then it is obvious for their opponent to attack them when they are open. This is true for grappling in a way."
"Many guards that people employ are designed to stop the pass but not to stop the submission attacks on the legs. The natural conclusion is that if the guard is not protecting the legs then there is no point to go out of your way for a pass when the nearest submission is right there."
"So I break guards up into three categories:
1. Guards that you pass
2. Guards not worth passing
3. Better guards that require an attack to see what opens up first...the pass or the leg lock"
So moving on from the leg attacks Reilly showed an excellent way to attack for the kimura over a seated opponent. Specifically if the opponent attempts a single leg from the seated guard. The situation sets up perfectly for a kimura from the standing position. Even if the kimura cannot be finished a quality passing opportunity/scramble is initiated and option to get the back of your opponent.
Reilly has an excellent DVD on leg locks "Sambo Leg Locks for Nogi Grappling" that has been around for years. You can purchase it directly at his website: http://www.rdojo.com/.
He also has digital downloads that you can purchase from his site. The cool thing is you can pay what you want. That is a pretty innovative offer you don't see very often. That being said if you download I do recommend paying what you feel is fair as the material covered is very good. Something worth noting is that Reilly only shows techniques that are functional and have been competition tested. I have rolled with him and can tell you that he doesn't waste time on techniques he doesn't use himself. Reilly is very open-minded when it comes to grappling as he cross-trains in various arts and is always looking to add tools to his unique and effective style. If you get the opportunity to train with him or at a minimum study/train his instructional videos I highly recommend it.
Reilly's newest offering coming in September 2014: "No Kurtka"
Purchase here: http://www.rdojo.com/dvds.html
& here: http://www.budovideos.com/no-kurtka-dvd-by-reilly-bodycomb.html
(Link for mobile users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x32RdqMjyAA)
Still not convinced? Reilly recently won gold at an ADCC event in New York's Pro Division.
Here is a highlight of his matches from a month ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5R5Ocm7cW8
Reilly's Top Rock
(Link for mobile users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdncXVGr_so)
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