5 Best Instructors?
This is gonna be tough.
Alright, enough of the emo stuff. Let’s get back to brass tacks.
There are so many damn instructors now. Geez Louis, when I was coming up you can only learn from the instructor that was right in front of you. On top of that, they were kind of secretive so good luck trying to find out about technique. Your best bet was to watch Youtube. Then watch your favorite competitor over and over again to figure out what they were doing.
That’s literally how I learned to do the waiter sweep. From this video right here:
Please notice the awful resolution. It looks like it was recorded with a potato. That’s how I was learning bro. Totally worth though.
Anyway, things are way nicer now. There is one problem.
WAY TOO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM.
So I’m gonna give you my top 5 instructors. They may be a bit controversial, but it’s ok because I’m right.
We will be going from the bottom to the top.
Coming in at 5th:
John Danaher
Instagram: John Danaher
Weird right? You’d think he’d be on the top. Actually of all the instructional I’ve watched, I’ve watched Danaher the most. That was because I had no other choice back then. NO ONE, was sharing what he was sharing. His Meta on Jiujitsu around 2020 could not be found through anyone else. You just need to adjust and watch him at 1.5 or 2x the speed. He’s incredibly verbose, yet his knowledge is 2nd to none. He really is a master.
4th place:
Craig Jones
Instagram: Craig Jones
I believe that Craig Jones has the best escapes in ALL of Jiujitsu. His escapes have been honed under Gordon Ryan and Nicky Rod. They are perfect. As for his instructionals they are great, and get right to the point. Although, I feel like Craig is a little off sometimes during them and goes off on a tangent when explaining things. This is still CRAIG MOTHERFUCKING JONES. His perspective and knowledge is deep. Almost like he’s the 2nd best of all time.
3rd place:
Dominque Bell
Instagram: Dominque Bell
I actually have never purchased one of Dom’s instructional. Sorry Dom. It’s because the INCREDIBLE QUALITY of his Instagram posts gives more than enough. His posts are so damn good, that you just watch them on repeat because you want to get as much out of them as you can. This is a teacher’s teacher. His simplicity in explaining complex systems is excellent. I don’t say that lightly either. I really need to buy one of his instructional just to give back to this incredibly generous person.
2nd place:
Gordon Ryan
Instagram: Gordon Ryan
The King. There is no arguing this. He is the greatest of all time. “But he doesn’t compete in the gi!”, you better hope he doesn’t. Honestly, I think Gordon is past his prime to make a run in the gi, but his instructionals are all gold. For the longest time I wouldn’t watch them because of Sonny. I thought it was weird that’s who he was using as an uke.
Yeah, I’m an idiot.
Sonny is an excellent uke. If this was a list of the top uke’s she’d be in second after Placido.
I’ve learned so much from Gordon. Him and John really changed my trajectory with Jiujitsu. They’ve made it fun again for me. Get his videos. My favorite though is: Systematically Attacking The Guard Part 1.
Now, lets gets to 1st place:
Brian Glick
Instagram: Brian Glick
I can literally hear some of you say, “Who?”. Brian Glick is a black belt under John Danaher. I believe his first black belt. Now before I go any further, look at him.
He’s normal.
Every person so far on this list are animals. Literally, they wouldn’t really even need Jiujitsu to pick you up and throw you around like a rag doll. Not Brian though.
Here’s a man that was consistently challenged in the blue basement under Danaher. He was so challenged that Danaher, more than once, told him to quit, yet he didn’t. Instead he persevered under the incredible pressure of Gordon, Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rod, Craig Jones, Gary Tonon, and countless other beasts.
So when he teaches he’s teaching from a position of being the smaller weaker person. Basically, what Jiujitsu is all about. The weaker smaller person beating the bigger stronger one.
He is concise when he teaches. I’m actually trying to think of something else to add here, but that last sentence sums it up.
Concise.
If you’re looking to get one of his instructionals, so far my favorite is Under Pressure: Retention, Recovery And Attacking From Guard.
Well folks those are my top 5 instructors. Also, I have no affiliation with BJJFanatics or any of these people. Just my personal opinion. Hope you enjoy.