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**Tony10** · 10-17-2000, 08:56 PM

Well, my friend, I have the Sperry Vale Tudo set (the first one), which coincidentally I, too, bought after reading that very same review at bjj.org.

He was right on the money. There are many good tape sets out there (roy harris is another good one), but his review was definitely accurate.

I'll back that review up and this set was the first that came to mind when you asked that question. There is also a second Vale Tudo set that gets raves from everybody.

This is no-gi stuff, by the way, and it's oriented to NHB or street fighting (as opposed to sport BJJ, where Sperry also has a series).

So I say this before anything else. Somebody just posted on this at http://www.intheguard.com with similar recommendations, by the way, if you want to find that thread there (recent).

About $250 if I recall.

**Tony10** · 10-18-2000, 01:46 PM

I only have the first of Roy Harris' set on escapes, so I haven't seen the whole series. First one's great though.

It depends on what you're looking for. If you plan to compete in sport BJJ, or are looking for the absolute basics 'cause you're brand new--I would say Roy. Roy is very methodical and sequenced in his approach to learning BJJ. For beginners I'd say he shows you what you need to know first, if that makes sense. It's no coincidence the first tape is "escapes," that's what he believes is the first thing you need to know. These are with the gi, BTW.

Like Bill Wallace's review said, the Value Tudo 1 set by Sperry assumes you already know BJJ basics like the guard, triangle choke, armbar, etc. His series focuses more on what's going to work in the NHB ring or on the street, and a lot of things that WON'T. He has a great guard pass, for instance, that you can't use in sport BJJ because it involves punching your way through. It's more of a down-and-dirty, finish-him-definitively set that also assumes your opponent knows BJJ.

In other words, Sperry often shows the move, what the opponent will do to counter, and then the counter to that counter--which is pretty cool.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either. I guess I'd say: if you know the BJJ basics and plan to incorporate groundfighting as part of your overall training, go with Sperry.

If you want an instructional because you're new to BJJ and want those basics and then some (Roy's tapes did have a lot of stuff I haven't see before), I'd go with Roy.

Full disclosure: the only tape sets I have viewed previously--aside from whoever does segments in Black Belt Video every quarter--are the Gracie I & II tapes (Royce/Rorion) and the Gracie CD-ROM, which I own (also good for a absolute basic level instructional, and CHEAP).

Like I said, Bill Wallace's review of Sperry and what was in those tapes was accurate. Maybe you'll want to go to Roy Harris' site (www.royharris.com) and look over the summaries of what's in his and then the answer will be obvious.

Good luck. You'll be in good shape either way.

**Tony10** · 10-18-2000, 04:40 PM

Sounds good. You're welcome.

Another bonus with Roy is that, as you see, he's got tons of stuff on his website to supplement your tapes, there's Q&As there covering a lot of questions you'll have and you can even email him. He's got an instruction manual I believe you can order, and he even posts here sometimes!

And, after looking over there, I'm not even sure it is all with gi. Good choice, though.

Post here what you think after you've viewed them!