Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros in action in Jiu-Jitsu / Photo: personal archive
Following the lead of Bráulio Estima, Roger Gracie and André Galvão, two more competition Jiu-Jitsu stars are confirmed for the inaugural World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, to take place May 12 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.
Highly decorated Jiu-Jitsu champions Robert Drysdale and Rodrigo Comprido will be there teaching free seminars to participants at the Expo headed by Jiu-Jitsu and MMA star Renzo Gracie.
And two-time absolute world champion Rodrigo Comprido showed he’s still got it last weekend, when he won both his weight class and the absolute in the master division at the IBJJF Chicago Winter Open, where he derived some lessons that he promptly shared with GRACIEMAG.com readers.
Jiu-Jitsu tip: pull guard right away
“I only had one match in my weight division; I beat Wanderson by 5-0, with a takedown and a guard pass. I tried submitting him a number of times, tried mounting, but unfortunately I didn’t manage to. Now in the absolute my student Scott Huston won the heavyweight division and then closed out with me, so we didn’t have to fight. But our big conquest was the team trophy, the second title in a row Brasa Warrior International wins,” recounted Comprido.
“The main thing I learned was about the new rules. I did a refereeing course by André “Negão” Terencio to be sure I’d have a grasp on the rules. The IBJJF changed some rules I think all practitioners should learn about , so we’ll all have a better understanding of our sport,” said the black belt who teaches on the banks of Lake Michigan, in Chicago.
“Besides paying attention to the rules, I go to Brazil every year for refresher courses. And I’ve been working a lot on my guard; there are so many new things coming up that learning everything is no easy task. The best way to learn a new concept is to practice it as much as you can. Where the guard is concerned, I recommend that in training you always pull guard right away when you roll, so when you’re at a tournament you won’t waste time butting heads trying to take your opponent down,” he concluded.
Watch Comprido in action at the Chicago Winter Open 2012.
