"Simco's book wins this Head-to-Head review, because of its strong array of techniques, easy-to-follow instructions, and depth of detail. Simco covers a technique, then shows you how to defend against that technique, then shows you how to escape (once your defense fails, I suppose). The Gracie book covers escapes and counters, but throws them in among primary techniques. As a result, the Gracie book ends up being a great sampler of techniques, but less of a systematic training text. Bottom line: 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Master Text' by Gene Simco: 5 Stars!"

"From a technical perspective, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, The Master Text, by Gene "Aranha" Simco, is the best book about the popular grappling art I've seen to date. The techniques the author chose to include are very functional and apply to numerous forms of grappling, including no holds barred fighting (vale tudo), sport jiu-jitsu and submission grappling. It has more than 320 pages of interviews, history and questions - and - answers. In addition, Simco provides easy to follow photographs and detailed des criptions of each techniques."

"Gene Simco's new edition of The BJJ Master Text is one of the best books on the market today for any type of combat athlete."

"If you thirst for BJJ this is the spring from which to drink. This book covers a complete spectrum of details such as finding a school, belt ranking, injuries, conditioning, drills for strength, speed, and techniques. It also includes a brief history, FAQ, and interviews with highly regarded instructors. No one is left out either. If you are into sport jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, or vale tudo, it is all here. Techniques for positions, throws, sweeps, reversals, and submissions are abundant also and covered for all three styles. What is great about this book is the author will show a technique, then show the counter to it. At 328 pages, it is packed with solid knowledge. Don't expect to find useless information; it is not there. Some might f ind nicer books with nicer pages or more colorful pictures, but to me that is like garnishing on a plate, nice to look at but you can't eat it. If I am paying for a meal don't waste my time or money on garnishing; give me some more steak. If I want pret ty pictures, I'll go to an art gallery. Also unique to this book is when a question arises, the author is able to respond at his website (www.jiujitsu.net). Get one before they are gone." Rating: A+

"What really sets this book apart from any other grappling book on the market is the fact that it really represents where mixed martial arts is today. It explains Jiu-jitsu grappling and its different styles better then any other book on the market." - 5 Stars

"One of my students got your book (The Master Text) and I personally think that is a great book. Very good technique and also good pictures. You are just making easy for people to learn."

"I have received the Master text today, and I already have a totally new perspective of the martial art. Everything is very clear and intelligently conceived. The whole concept of jiu jitsu is exposed better than I have ever seen before. The way techniques are arranged makes it even more easy to learn. Superb!"
-- David da Costa (Porto, Portugal) (1/23/2006)

"I purchased your 'Master Text' book several months ago and have found it to be a great tool for improving my techniques. I took BJJ for a short time before I was deployed to Iraq last year and came home debating on picking up my training right away.

"While checking out sites on the net I came across yours and ordered your book as well as the 'Basics' edition. I read the 'Basics' edition and decided to pick up my training that same weekend. It's been six months now and your well-written materials in addition to my instruction in class have jump started my training.

"Sorry about the long-winded e-mail, it's just a personal policy of mine to thank each and every person who helps my learning process whether they are a fellow student or an author. Thanks for the great materials and I look forward to getting my hands on your future work. "
-- Ryan A. Orr (10/2004)

"Yesterday I have received the "instructional package", and I must say I'm really impressed: the master text is wonderful, complete and ...encyclopedic ! The best martial arts book I have ever read!! Compliments!"
-- Rocco (3/2004)

"I received my copy of the BJJ Master text Friday. I am very impressed with the book. I have been training for over 25 years in combat martial arts, the last 5-6 yrs. I have taken up Combat Submission Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. These arts have grown into a deep passion of mine like no other arts before. I have bought several other books on grappling / BJJ looking for a "guide book". I needed a good guide book because a lot of my training is with a grappling dummy, my wife, and my life long training partner. I also roll with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu club here on campus. But I seem to teach more then train. Neither my wife, or training partner, or the members of the BJJ club have the time in that I do. I drive up to Canada 2 weekends and down to Virginia 1 weekend out of the month for training. I take strong notes during my training sessions, but I needed that book that supplemented my notes. I found that in the BJJ Master Text. So your book is an asset that will help me get more mat time in. I will be purchasing your Basics book after the holidays."
-- Timothy A. Lamey (12/2003)

"My name is Captain Anthony L. Butler and I am the Company Commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company 3-15th Infantry of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division. My Battalion 3-15 IN was the first conventional force into Iraq and into Baghdad.My company occupied what was left of Uday's palace and I lived in his sister's house. I taught several lessons to my guys straight from the text and we rolled in her back yard. I got pictures of me with the text at Saddam's presidential palace where our Brigade HQ occupied and with some of the guys I train with. I am in Kuwait right now and the internet is too slow to post the pics but in the next week or so I will post them on here for you. And you will be able to proclaim to the world your books are truly international in scope :)"
-- Captain Anthony L. Butler. Iraq (9/2003)

Your BJJ books continue to be a source of hope for the growth of the martial art that I have grown to love. As one of your old customers who purchased the BJJ Handbook, BJJ Handbook Second Edition, BJJ Master Text, and now your new book: BJJ: The Master Text Second Edition is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! I just got the book from the mail today and I was already amazed with the weight of my package. I opened it up and saw how thick and professionally done the book was. I was already impressed by your first edition, but this book leaves me speechless! This is by far the most complete BJJ book ever produced. I say this because I own the Fighter's Notebook, BJJ Theory and Practice, BJJ Self Defense, BJJ book series by John Will, BJJ by Rigan Machado, Mastering BJJ by Renzo Gracie, and other works and your book by far contains a wealth of info from various aspects of practicing the art (Sport, Submission Grappling, Vale Tudo). In comparison to other martial arts books in the general market, this book fills the void that a lot of BJJ books lack in comparison to well written and technical aspects of martial arts like Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, etc. The second edition covers a good history and theory section as well as the breakdown of the various of manipulations done on the various parts of the body (elbow joint, shoulder, neck, knee, ankle). I also loved how you expanded on the techniques/positional strategy from the various ways to practice the art as well as give detailed captions on how to properly execute them. So in conclusion, this book should be the one that all other BJJ books should be measured from. It will be extremely hard for anyone to match up to the wealth of info, technique, and quality that your second edition possess. I think the only one who can make a book better than the Second Edition is You. You keep coming out with bigger and I mean bigger, better books of BJJ. I wrote a review of your first edition book and appreciate you posting it on your website. Gene keep of the good work and by the way congrats on your promotion to brown belt. With all the good books you came out with and the teaching you have done for your school I am surprised that your not up for black belt already. Best Wishes.
A fellow BJJ practioner and fan of your books,
-- Edgar D. Hopida. San Diego, CA (8/2003)

Hi Gene, I know you get a lot of emails so I will keep it short and to the point. I received the Master Text today. I think it should instead be called the Master Piece! And a double thank you for the discount!! I will convince my friends too buy it, if they don't they're nuts!!!
-- Jim Barnes (8/2003)

Just wanted to tell you that I am enjoying your book. I started reading it from the first page and I see all the effort you put in consolidating a lot of information in one volume. I recognize a lot of material from my own reading which I have forgotten. It is good to see it the information in one book as an one stop reference. I look forward to visiting your school and meeting you. I have family in New Jersey and New York, and once the economy smiles at me again I will probably visit them and your school. Again great job, and I am looking to purchasing more of your material.
-- Al (8/2003)

Mr. Simco, I've been practicing jiu-jitsu for several years now and wanted you to know your book (master text 2) is excellent. I've bought many tapes and books on jiu-jitsu over the years and your book is top notch. Great job and thanks for the great products over the years. Look forward to your future products.
-- Keith (8/2003)

"Aranha, on behalf of myself and my students here at "Camp Justice", I want to thank you for publishing such a wonderful training tool as the "Master Text"! I also enjoyed the interview and history lesson you included as well. Everything about your book is professional and high quality and deserves a place among the top book releases in the martial arts! Thanks again!"
-- Bryan Smith, SSgt USAF, Full Blast Performance Systems (6/2003)

"Just wanted to let you know that your MASTER TEXT is the best book I've seen on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I especially liked the part of your book that instructs beginning BJJ students to only focus on learning a couple of techniques from both the mount position and the guard. In an art with a seemingly count- less number of techniques, this is GREAT advice! And of course, the rest of the book, with it's history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (and other arts) , diet plans, workouts, warm-ups, and Q and A sections is really interesting. Oh yeah, the awesome techniques are illustrated and explained very nicely! Thanks for the great resource!"
-- D. Ramos, Sacramento, CA (4/2003)

"Gene Simco's new edition of The BJJ Master Text is one of the best books on the market today for any type of combat athlete."
-- Brian Cimmins, Grapplers Quest Tournament Director. (4/2003)

"Mr. Simco, I just received your book a couple of days ago (The Master Text), and have not been able to put it down yet. I own the majority of books out there from Renzo and Roylers to Rigan Machados, and Royce's book as well. Even though as a white belt, I find these books very interesting and working towards techniques to come in the future. But your book is so descriptive, and very very informative. Thank you so much for all the effort you put into it, and making it easy for a lowly white belt like myself to understand what this game is all about. Upon reading this book, I just hopped online to order the BJJ basics book. That way I have the best of both worlds....thank you again....."
-- Joe Rico (3/2002)

"Gene, this is John F. Castillo in Wichita Kansas. One of my students purchased your master text book a while ago and I have been reading it, great work man!! You have shown some things that I have not seen before, my other students love the techniques."

"First look at this book & it looks impressive, when I opened it and had a quick look through it,I was even more impressed. When I started to read the first page I was hooked. It started off right at the beginning of the history of Bjj and works its way t hrough the times and major people in Bjj. Its easy laymans terms makes this book very easy to learn from and memorise all aspects of tuition from beginner to blue belt.

"When you get into the training pictures its easy and full of excellent positions. I couldn't put book down at training due to the guys trying to get at it. This book is excellent value for money and I would recommend this book to any beginner looking to start Bjj or someone whos looking to get past that white belt stage. The only thing that could make this book better is colour photo's. I will definately be passing this onto my kids to learn from

"This book costs $39.99 and is worth every penny and is available from www.jiu-jitsu.net"
-- Alistair (1/2002)

We have just received our copy of the BJJ MASTER TEXT. We ordered the book online a week ago, what great service, we are in England! The book itself is a great reference tool for students and Instructors. Good clear pictures and detailed explanations bring this book ahead of others. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in BJJ, Vale Tudo etc. Well done!
-- Keith Gilliland, Gilliland Martial Arts Academy, England (5/2002)

Received the book yesterday which was bloody fast!!! Faster than UK mail most of the time!! My head was well and truly entrenched in the theory (I had a minor car crash yesterday and cannot train for a week!)and it looks amazing - very broad and in depth. I particularly like the advice on the behind the scenes stuff to effective Jiu-Jitsu, increased health and of course the techniques for all the disciplines included look fantastic. The great thing is, that there are a lot of techniques in there - more than enough for an individual arsenal. Great attention to detail.

Gene - I cannot wait to train and your book has immediately motivated me!! Any time you visit the UK you will be more than welcome at our Academy & i'm sure a seminar will be a great success!
-- Rob Allen (5/2002)

I don't know if you still remember me, the guy who commented before to your previous book who was from the Philippines. I have just received my Brazilian jiu-jitsu the master text. And have gone to the pages I must say your books keep getting better. Another Really! Really! Really! great book. Prior to your last book I must say the explanation and pictures has improved. Your book has not only improved my ground game and also has added to my knowledge of possibilities of attacks and counters to those attacks. Keep up the good work!!!
-- Michael (3/2002)

Thanks very much for the quick turnaround on my order (Master Text). Text is great, and I'm amazed at how fast it was shipped. Great doing business with you.
-- TD (3/2002)

I just received a copy of your book. It is full of excellent information and I especially like the history section. The photos are clear and instructional. I also feel that you are sincere and really care about the sport and art of jiu jitsu. Congratulations on publishing a fine book. It is worth every dollar spent !
-- P.W. Frieday (3/2002)

I've just received my copy of the new "Master Text" book, and to be honest, it's an outstanding catalogue of moves and advice...

I'm even more blown away by the fact that it was delivered from New York to London, UK, in under 10 Days! This cost me just a few pence over £43 (sterling), which i understand will fluctuate on a day to day basis due to the exchange rates, and my advice to al other web-surfers in the uk is to ORDER NOW!

The website ordering form was safe, secure and i felt very comfortable in filling out my card details... a rarity when ordering online from an overseas source!

I think the strength of this book when compared to other publications is how it draws the novice student on from learning the guard pass and onto ever more technical groundwork, movements and technique, building upwards from lessons learned before... There's something in this book for everyone, whatever their ability or jujutsu school.

I'd like to take the opportunity to say thank you to everyone who put in the effort to bring this book to life, I'm sure it will become one of my most invaluable training aids.
-- Matthew Newstead (3/2002)

"A couple of us had the previous book which I thought was excellent, but this one blows it away. I had bought Renzo's book when it came out and thought, OK, a good book on the basics, nice to have on the shelf, but no family secrets revealed. Your new boo k does an excellent job of instructing the moves. I have been caught in more than one of my buddy Brian's techniques that he pulled out of your book."
-- Rob Hemmer (3/2002)

"I used to think there was nothing wrong with the Renzo/Royler book too - that is until i got the Master Text. It is far better. As for the fighters notebook I'd like to get someone's review on that as it applies to BJJ... TTT for Simco and the Master Tex t.... "
-- Terminal Preppie (2/2002)

"To be honest, I learned a trick to two from the material in this book."
-- Michael Jen, Black Belt BJJ (2/2002)

I give this book 5 stars!!! Finally! a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu book that covers ALL of the avenues to which to practice the art. Whether it be for Sport BJJ, Submission Grappling, or Vale Tudo/MMA this book is long overdue! I give Gene Simco much respect and honor for giving us such a u seful manual and guide. Not only does this book cover the history of the art and interviews..it also covers Diet, how to take care of your gi and other stuff not to mention the tons of NEW BJJ techniques! I have bought the first BJJ handbook and also the revised one..and its cool to see my review of the earlier books on your website..thanks for your hard work Gene..I hope you come out with more books on BJJ!
-- Edgar Hopida, CA (2/2002)

Your books are a godsend our bible so to speak, the techniques are easy to follow and your way of thinking is in on line with our own. We will persevere and learn and although we are still beginners we love the grappling and has given me a new lease of life and thank you for your wonderful books that have helped us so much and will help us for a long time to come.
-- Francie Mahon (1/2002)

I agree totally with the (Bill Lewis) review. In travel 300 miles every Saturday to get in 2 hours of BJJ in the nearest credible class to me. Good books and videos are necessary to me as I have to try and get in some practice with friends during the week. This book will make a real difference to my training.
-- Steve Muckle (12/2001)

Thanks so much, I received your book in the mail today. What can I say, after opening the envelope I couldn't put it down until I had switch on the lights because it was getting dark outside. Thank you very much from Germany
-- Jan Wiens (12/2001)

I received your book last Tuesday and I must say that it is worth every penny. I appreciate all of the hasty replys that you have given me in the past regarding the status of the order.
-- Christian Schrimpf (12/2001)

I recieved your book, great job. This is a must for all interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Thanks for a job well done.
-- Shane (12/2001)

I wanted to let you know I received the New BJJ Master Text today in the mail! Absolutely couldn't be more pleased with it. Thanks. See you on the mat!
-- Steve (12/2001)

I just received The Master Text a couple days ago and I'm quite pleased. I particularly like the diet and work-out instructions and suggestions (as a supplement to the SPECTACULAR fight techniques).
-- Danny (12/2001)

See Reviews of Past Books by Gene

UFC & Pride Champion, Chuck Liddell, with his Master Text.

Randy Coture and Matt Linland.

Randy Coture, Dan Henderson, and Matt Linland with their Master Text.

UFC Champion Matt Linland

Michael Jenn

BJ Penn

Shannon Ritch

Pedro Rizzo

Helio Soneca

Bryan Smith, SSgt USAF, Full Blast Performance Systems

Buffer

Cafe

Erica Montoya

Iraq

Washington DC