MY THOUGHTS: "THE UNIVERSAL MISUNDERSTANDING." RYRON GRACIE'S PHILOSOPHY. 

I'm posting the link for the video, however seeing as I sometimes have the computer IQ of belly button lint, it may not work well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q25EzSDArkc&feature=em-uploademail

Ok.  First, my overall impression.  THAT WAS CRAP.

   Ok, Second, I love Ryron Gracie.  He is MUCH better at BJJ than I am.  And there are points to this 16 minute video to which I DO agree to some extent.  I will touch on those here in a second.  However first I have to tell you why I don't agree and actually think this is HORRIBLE advice.  
I will begin by stating the most annoying thing said.  "It should only take you 6 years to reach black belt!"  Ok, We are NOT trying to turn BJJ/GJJ into a Mcdojo where the quicker to black belt the better.  Almost everyone in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who is serious realizes how much dedication is necessary to reach black belt.  Heck, it took me 16 years!!!  I DO NOT want a black belt in 6 years.  Unless I'm the freak prodigy. 

   Now that THAT is out of the way, I'll move on to the meat of what was being discussed.  His main point is that people in Jiu-Jitsu need to stop trying to escape bad positions.  "We expect that the person on top needs to pass the guard. NO!  We expect the person mounted needs to escape the bottom.  NO!"
   I have actually mentioned this in class in the past as a TOOL to be used every so often to prepare for the correct mindset of your current situation.  So, here is one of the points I would AGREE with Ryron on.  IF you were preparing for a sub only/no points tournament, the mindset he discusses would make sense as the ONLY goal in this tournament is to not get subbed and sub your opponent.  Our Team actually LOVES this type of competition.  However, the only other time that this strategy makes sense to me is if your opponent is MUCH larger and better than you and you have to put him in the "oven and bake him" so to speak to wear him out.  In that situation, you simply survive until you CAN escape because he is now exhausted.  Otherwise, I do NOT agree with you Ryan, I'm sorry! 
   The REASON I started training BJJ was for realistic self defense!  I cannot in any way allow myself to believe that in a street altercation, that allowing myself to be sidemounted or mounted as long as my "opponent" is controlling me, to be a good strategy.  
     When I look at his reasoning, he states that people are more concerned about not being tapped out than with submitting their opponent themselves.   This is SO not my strategy, as I would rather lose because I was attempting to WIN a match rather than simply not tap.  It contradicts his later statement that you should WANT to be tapped out by your opponent in training, if you simply play defense and never give that person an opening to go for a sub by simply playing defense the whole time!!! 

   
   He also says that you should wait till your opponent stops his control in order to attack.  I don't know about you, but EVERY TOP black belt I trained with (and thus strove to be like) while coming up had super sick control EVEN WHILE they were getting the sub.  Marcello Garcia's pressure is SO tight that it is HORRIFYING to have him on your back, his control is insane, as is Roger Gracie's Mount.  They just get tighter and tighter until you have no choice but to escape as you'll be crushed!! And then you go to sleep.  It isn't a CHOICE.  The top guys crush you and FORCE you (while they use NO energy) to try to get out.  Mario Sperry had SUCH tight top cross body on me that when we rolled, all I DID was defend, but I was doing everything I could not to tap from his CONTROL.  At Team McLeod we often roll with no subs, no points, and simply the goal of making your opponent QUIT from insane pressure.  I was asked to write an article in Jiu-Jitsu Magazine (issue 3) about it.  I want my students to know that if they get mount, and can DOMINATE that position such that the person beneath has no will to live and would rather be at a Justin Beiber concert than in that position, that the person ON BOTTOM will be forced to move and thus give them something.
   Now we can also look at BJJ as a street fighting art rather than sport, and I can NEVER in good conscience tell a student to just hang out under some dude in mount until he gives you room to escape.  What if while he's just controlling you, his buddy is raping your wife??  What if while he's controlling you, he's simply biting your ear off or using the zipper on his jacket sleeve to gouge you in the eye?  He certainly isn't going for an armlock or leaning back to rain punches, but you DO NOT want to just wait there!  
   And shat should we say about the "not passing the guard" idea?  I agree with this if I am allowed to hit you.  But in a match, in training, why would I NOT want to pass?  Because he might tap me?  I thought the idea was to get SO dominant with your guard passing that your opponent could not sub you while doing so?  I consider it stalling if you are doing nothing while in a guys guard.  Don't you? 
   I train BJJ/ martial arts to avoid danger.  I train my BJJ to be as dominant as I can be and win on the street as quickly as I can so as to avoid other attackers.  If I am hanging out under you, there are only a few reasons for it.  I'm so much better than you that I'm bored and letting you work your stuff.  YOU are so much better than me, that escape is just exhausting me and I'm hoping you get tired or make a mistake.  I'm in a sub only tournament and I may have 4-1 hour long fights.  You are the size of a Chevy truck and I'm waiting for you to gas.  Or lastly, I've somehow managed to get to roll with Eve Torres and I just don't really WANT to get out.  Yep, sorry Ryron, that about covers them.