Travis Stevens is a passionate American nationalist and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trainer. He is in the American jiu-jitsu circuit because of his BJJ coaching techniques, grappling skills, and dedicated training. Judo Olympic silver medalist, BJJ black belt under John Danaher, and an overall grappling bada$$.
Here's how you can build your ground game from the basics and fundamentals to advanced combinations and techniques, taught by one of the best instructors in the world and never fear the ground again, as Travis explains what goes into being an effective and aggressive grappler once the fight hits the tatami.
Travis Stevens: A Lifetime Dedicated to Martial Arts
The 40-year-old American has been training his entire life, starting Judo at the age of 7, and going on to become a world champion and Olympic silver medalist. Moreover, because of his hard work, Stevens holds a black belt in both jiu-jitsu and judo. Stevens took part in the Summer Olympics of 2008, 2012, and 2016 and battled in the 81kg men's division. In 2016, he became the third American male judoka to win a silver medal in the Olympics.
At a young age, Stevens moved to Tacoma to live with his grandparents because of his parent's separation. Stevens started practicing judo when he was seven years old. He was so passionate that he joined a local youth center in his city. At 13 years old, Stevens started to train professionally.
After working hard for almost 13 years, Stevens got a golden opportunity to meet the head coaches. He started his training with Jimmy Pedro in 2006. Jimmy Pedro has achieved a 7th-degree black belt in judo. Stevens met his new Instructor, John Danaher, on Feb 12, 2012, when he was training to participate in the Olympics. Suddenly, Stevens fractured his right foot during training. However, he still joined a jiu-jitsu school to learn how to guard. Stevens had taken classes at an American kickboxing academy after practicing with Danaher, learning how to master grappling. He acquired a better understanding of the grappling technique thanks to the instruction of his teacher. After some time, Stevens received a brown belt from Danaher. At the time, he became an expert in both judo and jiu-jitsu.
Read also: A Look at Stevens Wrestling
The Transition to BJJ and the Influence of John Danaher
Travis really got into it when a foot fracture sidelined him from Judo for a while, joining Renzo’s gym. There, he ran into Dnahaer, and the rest is history. Even though Stevens had taken Dave Camarillo’s BJJ classes at the American Kickboxing Academy in 2005-2006, Danaher’s grappling methods were new for Stevens. This is because, in the past, Stevens only saw jiu-jitsu as a workout routine. He wasn't inclined to pursue it professionally.
After starting his training with Danaher, Stevens focused more on grappling techniques. To learn more, he joined the American Kickboxing Academy from 2005 to 2006.
Stevens made a name for himself in the jiu-jitsu world. Eventually, he established his own academy, Fuji Gym in Wakefield, MA, on January 12, 2013, where he teaches judo and jiu-jitsu to many aspiring students.
Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle: A Comprehensive Guide
Even if you are a complete beginner trying to figure things out, the Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle is a super useful resource. Thinking about revisiting the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? The Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle contains around 10 hours of quality material that Travis goes over while wearing a Gi.
The first member of the Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle is an instructional that contains an entire BJJ curriculum breaking down the fundamentals of grappling. On this 8-volume series, Travis shares the most important keys to success in all of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s most common positions, so that you can improve as fast as possible.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Stevens Wrestling
Unlock your grappling potential with BJJ Basics by Travis Stevens! Build a strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu base with these technical fundamentals from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Judo Olympic medalist Travis Stevens, as he teaches a complete course in basic concepts for grappling success.
Key Points Covered in the DVD Bundle:
- Positioning: This Gi instructional begins by addressing how to stay in position, covering both the top and bottom.
- Transitions: Travis follows up with transitions, once again, covering attacking and defending principles together.
- Pinning and Submissions: Using the system he goes over every pinning position, sprinkling in submissions and offering ways out of everything.
Travis begins with closed guard concepts focusing on passing first. Pin-wise he goes over the usual suspects: side control, mount and back, offering positional pins, skillful transitions, and escapes, all based on motion and the crucial goals of BJJ exchanges.
Across eight volumes, join Olympic medalist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Travis Stevens as he teaches how grapplers of any level can score takedowns and win on their feet with his Ultimate Takedown Series. Travis breaks down every area of takedown fighting that you will need to succeed, including gripping, footwork, kuzushi, and more. Across these 8-volumes, combine them together into one system for attacking safely in all the most effective ways for BJJ.
Use Travis’s advice on gripping to totally dominate the setups and create your chances to get takedowns safely and reliably. Study each type of grip, how to use them, how to break bad grips off your gi, and more. Combine your grip fighting with kuzushi and footwork to move and flow like an experienced takedown artist.
Go through Travis’s full curriculum of positions, including guard, side control, mount, back control, and more, each time learning what the top and bottom fighter should be focusing on. Travis is an elite competitor and coach, with years of experience in teaching. By focusing on basics, Travis can help you build a base where you can confidently fight through any position with a much more complete style of technique. Study top and bottom position in guards like closed guard, butterfly, open guard, and more, and learn how to attack and defend from dominant pins like side control, mount, and back.
Read also: The Life of Tyson Stevens
Technical Specifications:
- An 8-part BJJ DVD, covering key fundamentals for Gi Jiu-Jitsu in just under 8 hours.
- A 2+ hours instructional that focuses on concepts and goal achievement through the presentation of moves.
Concepts For Defense by Travis Stevens
The Importance of Conceptual Understanding in BJJ
I was a late blue belt when I figured out you could be learning BJJ by trying to understand what drives the exchanges, rather than just go for moves and sequences. Since I was training data technique-based gym, I had to figure out the concepts myself, so instructionals, such as the Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle helped a lot. The result was a huge jump in my game and grappling skills, as I started to understand Jiu-Jitsu, rather than simply trying to memorize and copy-paste it.
I share this story to demonstrate there is a great way to progress in BJJ outside of the established monkey-see-monkey-do teaching system. However, be careful of replacing one god with another, as there are just as many concepts as there are techniques. Nothing provides you with results in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as much as a simple, basic game can! The Travis Stevens BJJ Basics DVD Bundle is a great way of exploring how to approach the fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu, both in terms of learning from a carefully devised curriculum and integrating the concept-based understanding of grappling.
Community Feedback and Testimonials
Here's what people are saying about Travis Stevens and his training programs:
- G. My wife and I love the program and the way it’s taught.
- A. M. My son is really motivated by judo/grappling.
- R. Great Program! This place is amazing.
- My kids (9 & 7) have been going for about 3 months, and they really like the training. Great instruction with Travis.
- I visited to take a BJJ class and was warmly welcomed. A truly great team environment with highly technical instruction.
- I have been here since May, after moving to the North Shore. This place is amazing! Within three classes I noticed a huge difference in my BJJ game. 5 months later I still can't get over what I have learned. The instruction is amazing, the guys I roll with challenge you and assist you in growing in your confidence and abilities, and the group genuinely enjoy one another.
These testimonials highlight the positive impact Travis Stevens has on his students, both in terms of technical skill and personal development.