Systematically Attacking The Guard by Gordon Ryan
361 reviews · 4.98 / 5
Gordon Ryan · Combo
The Pillars of Defense: Pin Escapes - Defensive to Offensive Cycles by Gordon Ryan has 273 customer reviews in this archive, averaging 4.97 out of 5. 97% are five-star and 0 are one or two stars. Reviews run from April 18, 2022 to August 1, 2026. All of them are published below in full, unedited.
102 of these reviewers gave their belt rank when they submitted the review. BJJ Fanatics asks for rank, age and years training at the point of review, so this breakdown is self-reported by the customer.
| Belt | Reviews | Average rating |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | 37 | 4.95 |
| White | 32 | 5.0 |
| Purple | 13 | 5.0 |
| Brown | 12 | 5.0 |
| Black | 8 | 5.0 |

The Pillars of Defense: Pin Escapes - Defensive to Offensive Cycles by Gordon Ryan is currently listed on the BJJ Fanatics storefront at $349.00 USD. View The Pillars of Defense: Pin Escapes - Defensive to Offensive Cycles by Gordon Ryan on BJJ Fanatics
Great Instructional - more excellent material by Gordon Ryan
Great
Excellent product
Excellent Instruction!
抑え込みからのエスケープが上手になりました。
Bar far the positional escape I've seen
Great instructional. Immediately deployable techniques and conceptual explanations that will elevate any game.
This is a must have for any no-go grappler.
So so detailed
Must have for those wanting to be competitive
Must have for competition focused people
Must have for competition focused people!
Absolutely amazing instructional. *Pillars of Defense* genuinely changed how I see the battle happening beneath the surface of grappling. Instead of treating escapes as desperate reactions, this series reframes defense as a structured system built on understanding where control actually lives — and how to remove it piece by piece. One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning to identify **what truly gives an opponent control**. Rather than chasing random escape movements, Gordon breaks down the positional hierarchy and shows how small adjustments in framing, posture, and awareness shift the entire exchange. It feels less like memorizing techniques and more like learning a language — you begin to see why positions succeed or fail. The focus on returning to guard, wrestling up, **or even transitioning directly into submissions from defensive positions** was eye-opening. Instead of viewing bad positions as purely survival moments, the series shows how to turn being pinned into a launch point for offense. You’re not just escaping — you’re redirecting the exchange. There’s a strong emphasis on recognizing the instant your opponent’s control weakens and using that window to attack, shifting from being dominated into a fully offensive threat. What stood out most is how conceptual the material is without losing practicality. It encourages you to slow down mentally, recognize where the real control points are, and dismantle them with intention. After studying this, I found myself calmer in bad positions because I could clearly see the steps needed to rebuild structure, regain initiative, and even hunt submissions mid-transition. For anyone serious about NoGi — especially those who feel stuck under pressure or pinned too often — *Pillars of Defense* feels less like a collection of moves and more like a blueprint for survival, reversals, and counter-offense. It’s one of those instructionals that doesn’t just add techniques to your game — it upgrades how you think about grappling itself.
I do gi-jujitsu, but I got a good idea through this content. It was good that there was a part that could be used not only in Nogi but also in gi.
I do jujitsu, but I got a good idea through this content. It was good that there was a part that could be used not only in Nogi but also in Ki.
This lesson also applies to gi jiu-jitsu. I gained many ideas from it, and it helped my strategy a lot.
Very informative
I’ve been getting stuck under bigger guys in side control. This series really helped me
Excellent details
most practical and systemic approach to pin escapes.
Great in depth defense theory from the best!
Great insight from the goat
I love the idea of going straight from a defensive position to an attacking position instantaneously. This really helps my game
I love the approach to many of the conventional pins . I really do love the level of detail .
You need this if you want to escape with high level grapplers
361 reviews · 4.98 / 5
292 reviews · 4.98 / 5
277 reviews · 4.99 / 5
210 reviews · 4.99 / 5
201 reviews · 4.98 / 5
178 reviews · 4.97 / 5
Every number on this page is computed from the 273 reviews above at build time, out of 87,673 in the full archive. See the methodology for how the corpus is collected and what is excluded.