DVD Review: Micro BJJ Becoming a Giant Killer

Ever wondered how to slay a giant?

If you answered yes to this question, then look no further.

This week I will be reviewing the Latest BJJ DVD that I was able to get my hands on, Micro BJJ: Becoming a Giant Killer.

I myself am a lightweight BJJ guy, so when I got the chance to grab a DVD that’s strictly about beating larger opponents, I was all over it. Lucky for me my own instructor, light featherweight Brown Belt Dan Faggella, put this DVD together. That being said it wasn’t too difficult to obtain.

This DVD is part of the Micro BJJ series that Dan has recently released. Micro BJJ is a resource for smaller BJJ fighters and submission grapplers alike. He has this DVD, which focuses on defeating larger opponents, but also has other DVDs that involve defeating other smaller BJJ guys.

The DVD is broken down into 8 sections:

1. Escapes

2. The Guard

3. Guard Passing

4. Holding Top Position

5. From the Feet

6. Top Strategy

7. Leg Locks

8. Other Attacks

The DVD run time is about 110 minutes, so it’s a ton of content! Dan goes into great detail with the many techniques throughout the DVD, and gives many great examples of different situations.

After watching this DVD many times, I can easily say that it has been a tremendous tool for me in terms of developing my BJJ game. Rolling with larger opponents is difficult for anyone, and Dan really addressed a lot of the problems that I have experienced over the years grappling with larger people.

The sections that I got the most out of were Escapes, Guard, Holding Top Position, and Leg Locks, and this is for a few reasons.

During the Escapes section, I was able to pick up a few great techniques for escaping from inferior positions like bottom side control and bottom mount. If you have ever had someone much larger than you on top of you in side control and they know what they’re doing, then it can sometimes seem impossible to escape from bottom.

Iv’e been using some of the escape techniques with great success lately against larger opponents, and I am seeing myself ending up in those positions less and ending up more in the guard. This brings me to my next favorite section of the DVD: The Guard.

The Guard section of the Giant Killer DVD is great because Dan goes into a lot of concepts of the guard against a larger opponent. He talks about movement potential, and how that affects his range and strategy. You may night understand what all of that is, but if you watch the DVD, you most definitely will.

Holding Top Position was another one of my favorite sections because of the deeper concepts as well. I know from my own experience, that holding top position on a much larger opponent might not last that long. However, after watching this section of the DVD a few times, I have tweaked my top game a little bit and have seen improvements in my overall control from there.

Lastly, I REALLY enjoyed the Leg Lock section of this DVD.

Dan is known for defeating larger opponents in absolute divisions with his leg locks, and this section gives a good outline of the best “go-to” leg locks to use against bigger guys. He actually breaks it down in a way that shows higher percentage leg locks compared to some of the less likely leg locks that can be used against a larger opponent, giving a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

I must say, that the Micro BJJ Giant Killer DVD is a really smart choice if you weigh less than 160 lbs and are looking to improve against larger opponents. Like I mentioned a bunch of times, Dan goes into concepts a lot, and I have found that understanding overall concepts helps greatly in navigating through positions and submissions.

If you want to get your copy of it, click this link, I promise that you will not be disappointed. Like I said, all of Dan’s Micro BJJ DVDs have become some of my best tools and resources for improving my grappling game. You won’t find anything else like this out there, guaranteed.

-N