Saulo Ribeiro is a 6 time World Champion in jiu jitsu, and holds numerous titles in submission grappling, most notable being the 2 gold medals at the ADCC. He currently runs a San Diego jiu jitsu school with his brother Xande Ribeiro called the University of Jiu Jitsu. His style is highly influenced by Rickson Gracie, who likes to play the slow pressure game utilizing leverage and timing to defeat his opponents by nullifying their hip movement.

Saulo has helped train numerous fighters for their upcoming fights, including Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Andre Galvao, Xande Ribeiro and more recently UFC fighter Diego Sanchez. Ribeiro is a black belt in BJJ under Royler Gracie, who is the son of Helio Gracie, the grandmaster of BJJ, and a black belt in Judo under Sensei Jin Izumi.

His brother Xande has just as strong of a resume, including 2 titles in the absolute division. He is now fighting in Sengoku where holds a record of 1-0. The first thing you will notice about this book is the attention of detail in every section. A lot of books can tell you what to do, but lack what not to do and why. Jiu Jitsu University breaks down each technique from different angles and also explains what not to do because it will leave yourself open to getting your guard passed or submitted.

If you are looking for a book that can teach you the complete system of one of the top BJJ fighters in the world, this book takes the cake. The book is uniquely broken down into different sections for each belt, white, blue, purple, brown and black.

• White Belt – Survival
• Blue Belt – Escapes
• Purple Belt – The Guard
• Brown Belt – Passing the Guard
• Black Belt – Submissions

White Belt – Survival

Saulo explains that the first thing you need to learn when you start BJJ is how to survive submissions. Nobody walks onto the mat and doesn’t feel like a fish out of water. Instinctive escapes end up putting you in more danger than you were before, you are at the mercy of the more experienced. You must learn how to be safe before you can attack, trying to submit your opponent while in danger often ends the fight in the wrong way. The section walks through every position, from the Back, Mount, Knee on Belly and Side control showing how to survive, and what the common misconceptions are and how to avoid them. This section should be mastered to ensure your survival when you are put in a bad position.

Blue Belt – Escapes

Once you have survived you cannot just sit there, you must escape and regain guard to attack. Getting to guard is the tricky part. The common misconception is that you use your arms to push the opponent away. Saulo explains that you only use your arms as a brace, then you use your hips to escape. This section covers the same positions that the Survival chapter does, but also goes through some common submissions such as the Armbar, Kimura, Guillotine and Triangle. It doesn’t just cover submissions though it also shows how to defend against guard passes and control positions of all different sorts.

Purple Belt – The Guard

The guard is a jiu jitsu practitioners fortress, he can control his opponent and break down his posture to either work for a sweep or end the fight with a submission. In the beginning of the Guard section Saulo breaks down his theory of the position. Things from controling the distance to hip movement are all some of the main aspects of every guard position. You must have attacks and sweeps to be able to constantly put your opponent in a threatening situation. A lot of the positions in the Guard section are taught by Xande Ribeiro, whom as we all know has a very dangerous guard. It covers all of the common guard positions while neglecting only a few rare ones that are used by specific people like Robson Moura’s cross guard or Marcelo’s sitting version of the butterfly guard. While keeping the books trend of demonstrating common misconceptions, they also cover guard pass defense when everything is going wrong.

Guards Covered

• Butterfly Guard
• Spider Guard
• Cross Grip Guard
• De La Riva
• Sit Up Guard
• Reverse De La Riva Guard
• Half Guard

This to me is the most important section as the Ribeiro’s both have very dangerous guards and a lot of the techniques shown can be carried right over to No-Gi or MMA.

Brown Belt – Guard Passing

The section starts “Passing the guard is never a fair match because it is always two against one. It is me and the gravity of the world against you – the guard player.” Saulo’s theory of guard passing is that if the body can be blocked from being put into tricky guards, the use of gravity and leverage will be used to pass your guard. When approaching someones guard you must first protect yourself and not fall into your opponents game. Then anticipate his movement to act one step ahead and pass. Saulo teaches the entire section as the top game is where he really feels at home. It covers passing all different guards including:

• Closed Guard
• Butterfly Guard
• Spider Guard
• Cross Grip Guard
• De La Riva Passes
• Sit Up Guard
• Reverse De La Riva
• Inverted Guard
• X Guard
• Half Guard

Most of the passes are basic in application, but Saulo’s attention to detail is what makes them a lethal addition to somebody’s game.

Black Belt – Submissions

The Black Belt chapter is focused specifically on submissions, once again they are not tricky, but the attention to detail makes them very effective and hard to avoid. Saulo puts a large focus on being able to flow between submissions, that is, setting them up and being able to counter with another submission depending on your opponents reaction. If you have to use too much muscle to position the submission then you have already applied your jiu jitsu incorrectly. Strength should be used to finish your opponent once you have the submission in place.

In the introduction Saulo puts focus on tapping. How people need to check their egos at the door when entering the academy. If someone of higher belt is afraid to get tapped by a lower belt, they will only hinder their own learning experience. Tapping should also be used because it the safe way to train, people who try to escape after they have already made a terminal mistake are the ones who usually get hurt. The introduction to this chapter on how to use submissions is almost as valuable as the techniques themselves.

Submission Positions Covered

• The Back
• Mount
• Side Control
• Turtle (Top)
• Half Guard
• Guard (Top)

The submissions chapter is one of the shortest chapters, not because of the lack of instruction, but because Saulo shows a technique in depth from one position, but breaks it down well enough so it can be carried to other positions with the same mechanics. Understanding the basic submissions and theorys is what will help you develop your own game while  knowing exactly why you are doing it and why it will or won’t work.

Final Thoughts

This book is worth it in every way possible. You will be hard pressed to find a single book that can actually develop an entire game besides Eddie Bravo’s books. The cheapest place I found it was on Amazon for around $26, which is a lot better than the cover price. This book can be helpful to anybody with any belt that wants to improve their game. The attention to detail is unmatched in any other book I have seen and it makes a great addition to a BJJ practitioners library. Also for those submission grapplers, a lot of the techniques DO carry over without the gi with simple adjustments like grabbing the heal instead of the pants or shoulder instead of lapel. Buy this book or you will fail.

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