Opening Closed-Guard
The Origins of Jiujitsu in Brazil: The Story Behind the Film
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Narrated by:
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David Morden
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By:
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Robert Drysdale
About this listen
What are the origins of Brazilian jiujitsu? Is it merely a by-product—a rebel offspring—of judo? What was the nature and content of the art that Mitsuyo Maeda, a.k.a. “Count Koma”, and other Japanese were teaching in the Amazon? Was it judo? Jiujitsu? His own personal fight-tested style, built on a foundation of judo and informed by his dozens and dozens of matches around the world? What was the bridge between the art he learned at the Kodokan and the Brazilian style--a style now practiced by millions worldwide and growing bigger every day--that claims him as its godfather? Should Maeda even be at the center of this story? And what role did Carlos and Hélio Gracie play in all of this? Did they "invent" BJJ? Would BJJ exist without them? And, if so, what—if anything—did they create? And why does this history matter to the average BJJ practitioner today?
Any history possesses its official narrative with its own favorite characters and events. But true history is seldom simple, and more oft than not the real story is far richer than the popular version that is widely repeated and handed down. The history of BJJ and MMA in Brazil doesn’t escape this paradigm. The recent renaissance in research in regards to the history of martial arts in Brazil led to the author’s curiosity, which in turn led to the documentary Closed-Guard: The Origins of Jiujitsu in Brazil, which in turn led to this book.
This manuscript started as an account of the author’s recollections of the film's production, and quickly grew into much more. Opening Closed-Guard: The Story Behind the Film contains conclusions, analysis, and historical interpretations, as well as the story behind the documentary itself and the many challenges it faced along the way. It contains interviews, research articles pertaining to the history of jiujitsu in Brazil, as well as the author's own take on the current state of BJJ and MMA. Finally, it is the story of the author rediscovering his love for jiujitsu in a completely new and unexpected way.
About the author:
Born in the US to a Brazilian mother and American father and having spent his life between these two countries, Robert Drysdale remains the only American competitor to have ever won both the IBJJF and ADCC world championships--the two most prestigious tournaments in all of jiujitsu. Furthermore, he has also cultivated a career in MMA both as a fighter and as a coach. The author also holds a bachelor’s degree in history as well as a long-held passion for the discipline. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he teaches Brazilian jiujitsu and MMA. He is also the cofounder of the international team Zenith jiujitsu and the father of two girls.
©2020 Robert Drysdale (P)2022 Robert DrysdaleListeners also enjoyed...
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Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the New York comedy scene began to think about what he might do with months of free time. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,184.2 miles of it. Suddenly he found himself asking, Could he do it?
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On My Feet All Day
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By: Derick Lugo
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Wildlife Wars
- The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
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- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In Wildlife Wars, Terry Grosz serves up fascinating stories - alternately hair-raising, hilarious, and heart-wrenching - from his 30-year struggle to protect wildlife in America. A natural storyteller, Grosz writes about the remarkable characters he met - on both sides of the law - as he matched wits with elk poachers, salmon snaggers, commercial-market duck hunters, and a host of other law-breakers. Best of all, though, these stories are so remarkably entertaining you won't want to put them down.
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Title should be: "reckless egomaniac tells lies"
- By ross on 03-01-17
By: Terry Grosz
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Playing to Win
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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All over America, families are investing blood, sweat, tears, and retirement savings in their children’s sports careers, all with the ultimate goal of…what exactly? A college scholarship? A professional contract? Simply the taste of victory? Through the lens of the highly competitive world of girls’ softball, Lewis reveals the youth sports industrial complex that has arisen to aggressively monetize after-school pastimes.
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Great Listen
- By Brian Bray on 10-15-20
By: Michael Lewis
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The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told
- By: Jay Cassell - editor
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Follow the trails of hunters - the original storytellers - as they interpret signs, examine tracks, and chase and catch their prey (or fail to). Listeners can curl up with the best authentic hunting fiction and non-fiction, bringing the great Mount Kenya and the prairies of the American Bison into your living room. From Theodore Roosevelt and Gene Hill to Rick Bass and Charles Dickens, remember classic hunting tales and discover new stories of hunters’ luck, camaraderie, and use of smarts on the trail.
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A broad collection of hunting tales
- By Elaine on 06-21-15
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Buried in the Sky
- The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
- By: Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan
- Narrated by: David Doersch
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalaya, Sherpas have been the unsung heroes in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers lost their lives on K2, the world’s most dangerous peak, two Sherpas survived. They had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the most skillful mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals their astonishing story for the first time.
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Sherpas, The True Unsung Heroes
- By Kathy in CA on 07-26-15
By: Peter Zuckerman, and others
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Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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You can get that beautiful “beach-ready” body without following a bland, boring, bodybuilding diet and without doing exhausting strength training workouts you hate. And this exercise book shows you how.
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"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
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The Spartan Way
- Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.
- By: Joe De Sena, Jeff Csatari
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Joe De Sena has one ultimate goal: to help improve everyone’s physical and emotional health by teaching them the tenets of Spartan living from ancient Greece: simple eating, smart training, mastering resilience, and an all-out commitment to achieving a goal.
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Don’t know what to think...
- By bakaDOH! on 07-20-19
By: Joe De Sena, and others
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Stay Sane in an Insane World
- How to Control the Controllables and Thrive
- By: Greg Harden
- Narrated by: Greg Harden
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
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Champions aren’t born. They’re built. Greg Harden spent over 30 years building them at the University of Michigan, including 400 future professional athletes, 50 NFL first-round draft picks, and 120 Olympians from over 20 countries. He gained national recognition when 60 Minutes Sports profiled him as “Michigan’s Secret Weapon.” Now, in his first book, Greg Harden is reaching out to help anyone who wants to live their best life by offering powerful and practical advice.
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Good book, However, prejudice shows through a bit
- By Don Dotson on 08-22-23
By: Greg Harden
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Pickleball Mindset
- The Blueprint for Peak Performance
- By: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Narrated by: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Not just another book about how to play pickleball, Pickleball Mindset dives deep into how to think on the court. Coauthored by Dayne Gingrich, top senior professional pickleball player and renowned mental performance coach, and Jill Martin, an attorney turned personal trainer and pickleball fanatic, this book follows their year-long coaching relationship in which Jill seeks to become mentally dominant on and off the court.
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Build The Confidence To Thrive in Pickleball
- By K. Ford on 11-16-24
By: Dayne Gingrich, and others
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Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
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Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
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A Damn Near Perfect Game
- Reclaiming America's Pastime
- By: Joe Kelly, Rob Bradford - contributor
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
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Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat—calling out the hacks, cheats, and ridiculous rules that have tarnished the game—and pitches A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect.
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Could use a better narrator
- By Jason Monroe on 12-07-23
By: Joe Kelly, and others
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Twisted
- The Story of Larry Nassar and the Women Who Took Him Down
- By: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Narrated by: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
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In early 2018, Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was sentenced to serve out the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to a variety of sex crimes. New York Times best-selling author Mary Pilon and Carla Correa chronicle the scandal from its inception, tracking the institutions that Nassar hid behind, the athletic culture that he benefited from, and the women who eventually brought him to justice.
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The Truth as told by the Survivors
- By DKMarkham on 07-27-19
By: Mary Pilon, and others
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Jiu-jitsu is more than a martial art; it is a lifestyle that promotes health, confidence, self-determination, and balance. Famed jiu-jitsu instructor Rener Gracie presents the core teachings of jiu-jitsu and explains how they can apply to all of our daily lives.
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I really wanted to like this book but it’s just not there
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The biggest problem that beginning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students have is that they begin Jiu Jitsu in the wrong way, making countless unnecessary mistakes as they do not possess a clear map through which to navigate their training. Jiu Jitsu Secrets provides the ideal framework through which to approach Jiu Jitsu, how to best perform Jiu Jitsu, and the psychology required that makes your success in BJJ certain.
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Deeper Meaning
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This is a manual designed to get white belts to competent blue belts in as fast a time as possible. Zen Jiu Jitsu is more a rendition of concepts than techniques. This is the simplest and easiest way to break down and simplify the many and varied ideas, philosophies, and combinations in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu arsenal. For both competition Jiu Jitsu and self-defense Jiu Jitsu, most white belts need to fully understand the concepts, but they can be VERY confusing!
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People are less in touch with their bodies - and especially their breathing - than ever before. Ironically, athletes and others who pride themselves on taking care of their bodies actually put themselves at greater risk. Why? Because they’re asking their body to take on next-level demands, but failing at life’s most essential skill: efficient breathing.
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Better to buy the actual book
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What listeners say about Opening Closed-Guard
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- KJA
- 03-31-23
Great history lesson
If you love BJJ, you want to read/listen to this book. Eye opening! I highly recommend this book.
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- Robbie Edwards
- 06-11-23
Great history lesson on the origins of BJJ
I thoroughly enjoyed this work by Professor Robert Drysdale. This book is not a slight against the Gracie family. In fact the book gives interviews with several members of the Gracie family to get their perspective on the origins of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand the true origins of BJJ.
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- KG
- 10-12-23
Great job
If you love BJJ then you need to know the actually story!! Can’t wait for the documentary to come out !
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- Benjamin Soto
- 02-19-24
The Unknown History of Brazilian JiuJitsu
Love this book. Interview format with the people that were a part of the history intertwined with the author’s own history in the art of BJJ as well as the making of this film. A great listen.
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- Taylor Carik
- 08-22-23
Must Read for BBJ Fans
Kudos to Drysdale for such an objective history of BJJ while being still very enthusiastic.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-22-23
Truth
I love the details and interviews in this book as well as The Rise and Evolution of BJJ.
I enjoy the non biased perspective to find the truth (to the best of) very appealing and honorable to the art. Grateful overall for where jiu jitsu is today because everyone who fought for jiu jitsu. Grateful to be a part of Jiu Jitsu.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-31-23
Great insight into colorful history of BJJ
We need more books like this that look at the history of our sport(dare I say sports as in my opinion Judo, BJJ, MMA, Luta Livre are pieces of the one same story) objectively, challenging previously established myths. Thank you Robert!
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- William
- 01-03-24
The book is fantastic but the reader stumbles
Great book. Robert poured his heart into this project and I loved the results. The performer was not good though. He often rereads passages and mispronounces things.
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- gilad
- 03-17-23
Jiu jitsu geeks will love it
As a jiu jitsu geek, I loved it. The narator was very good, even though he had some pronunciation mistakes. If you are not hardcore enthusiast of JJ history, I would suggest some other books for the general JJ audience like Breath.
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- Art
- 07-04-23
Finally!
As a Gracie Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, I really appreciate Professor Robert Drysdale for the time and effort he has put forth in the research for this movie and book. Very well put together and glad to see credit given to those who paved away. Well done!
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