Guilherme Mendes getting to leg drag position during his second match at the 2013 World Championship. Photo: Kristen Mendes

The Mendes brothers are known for their guards but also their passing which shows their ability to connect moves as well. After seeing a match online with a pass that seems to use three techniques in one then analyzing a certain grip that seems to help a passer prevent someone from recovering guard, we decided to ask Guilherme Mendes about this outside grip on the pants. Normally with knee slice positions we see a grip made on an opponent’s side and then the other hand grips the opponent’s arm or leg. But this grip is different.

Check out Guilherme’s second match from the 2013 Worlds and the grip he uses to make this knee slice, long step, leg drag pass possible and then read our interview him below for explanation:

GRACIEMAG: When you first get to that knee slice position what grips are you looking for?

I’m always trying to get a good control, my first try is always the under hook but when you fight against top level guys it is hard to get and we need to combine attacks until we achieve the position that we want.
We always tell the students that passing the guard is about combination, if you connect the techniques very well and explode you have great changes to pass the guard.

Why do you choose to grab the pants instead of gripping the person’s side/grabbing their gi there?

I always feel my opponents and I try to figure out what guard and grips they are looking for, when I fight against someone who likes the leg lasso or spider guard I use this grip on the pants because I control my opponent’s leg and it’s hard for them to step on my biceps or step on my hips.

Besides that long step pass when you switch your hips, what other passes can you get from that position/grip?

I tell the students that we need to have many attacks from the same grip, because once you get the grips during the fight you can keep attacking the opponent without changing any grip and it will make your pass very powerful. I use that grip for knee slide pass, long step, leg weave and shin slide pass.

Are you always looking to get into the leg drag position or does it depend on how the opponent reacts?

I’m always trying to stabilize in the leg drag position to have a better control. Also the leg drag position gives you the option to choose between back and side control.

It’s all about connecting techniques. I control the pants to prevent the spider guard or leg lasso and I grab the collar to prevent the deep half guard. Once I get my grips I start the knee slide pass, my opponent will push me away to defend and I connect to long step, he starts turning into a double leg to defend the pass and I keep the same grips and jump over his legs getting the leg drag position.

I would like to say thank you so much for all the fans for the amazing messages that we have been receiving on our social media, God is amazing to us and we are very blessed to live our dream. I would like to invite everyone to stop by Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy one day and train with us, our Academy has open doors to everyone! Also, if you wanna watch our classes online visit www.mendesbros.com, we upload every class that we teach and it has been helping a lot of people to learn our moves and concepts! Thank you everyone OSSS

Christian Broadnax at the 2012 IBJJF Toronto Open. Photo: Gustavo Dantas

Americans travel to Brazil often to gather knowledge from legends who are deeply rooted within the art of Jiu-Jitsu. One competitor, Nova Uniao brown belt Christian Broadnax, set up a way to train and learn from Nova Uniao professor Rodrigo Feijao in Maringa, Parana. “This will be a great life experience for Christian, who is only 19 years old,” says Gustavo Dantas, the leader of Nova Uniao Arizona. “He will be competing at the South America, Rio Open, Sao Paulo Open and the Brazilian National by teams.”

On his way to Brazil, Christian Broadnax took time to talk with us about his journey and how he feels it will benefit him:

GRACIEMAG: You’ll be training with Rodrigo Feijao who is known for turning good competitors into great competitors. What are you hoping to have him help you with while you’re with him?

CHRISTIAN BROADNAX: Well I want him to help me with patience and maintaining positions. This is something Gustavo [Dantas] has been helping me with for a while and I have somewhat improved upon, but I feel sometimes I get too antsy during my matches. The last tournament (The Arizona State BJJ Championship) I competed at I slipped up and got caught in a triangle in the finals of my division. Luckily there was only 30 sec left in the match and I held my composure and won (I was up by 7pts). I got antsy because I wanted to make the match exciting and pass the guy’s guard and submit him. I know Feijao will help me with more than patience though when I train with him. I still have a lot to improve on in my game.

What happened at Worlds this year?

I won my first match 4 – 0 and I got DQ’ed in the second match. I was winning the match and I went for a knee bar on my opponent and he escaped. When he escaped he turned his body in a way where it seemed as if I was reaping the knee. The ref stopped the match and I got DQ’ed. I was very disappointed I trained really hard and sacrificed a lot, but it’s a part of the game. I have to look forward to the future and train harder.

As a 19-year-old, you’re ahead of the game. A two-year degree, a BJJ brown belt around your waist and titles galore. What advice can you offer to kids and teenagers looking to follow similar footsteps?

My advice is to always follow your dreams, keep an open mind, always believe in yourself and have a positive mindset. Also you should always keep positive people around you and surround yourself with people that have the same goals as you do. This will create better productivity and more motivation for attaining ones goals. I’ve been training since I was 11 yrs old and I told myself that the first time I go compete worlds I will win first place. Many people have discouraged me and told me that I wouldn’t be able to even win when I first compete at worlds but in 2009 I won the juvenile division for blue belts when I was 15.

Do you think heading to Brazil on your own and living there for three months will help you mature even further? What kind of qualities do you think you’ll gain while there that will better yourself as a person?

I think the experience I will get from this will be very beneficial for me as a person. Lately I’ve been through a lot of bad personal situations and my coach Gustavo and I know that I need this. I know I will learn to relax more (laughs). I know that I will be more confident in myself and my abilities. I’m sure that I will have a different perspective on many things not only in Jiu-Jitsu but also in life. I love Jiu-Jitsu and without it, I’m not sure where I would be. I’m blessed to have this opportunity. I just would like to thank my coach Gustavo Dantas for believing in me. He has been with me through all my up and down times and he’s always helped if I need anything. He means a lot to me and my plan is to become the best I can for not only myself but for him and my team.

I would like to thank God for bringing me this far, my sponsor living canvas tattoos Gentle art x Body art, Arizona Biomechanics and Shoyoroll. P.S., another word of advice for kids is to always stay consistent in everything you do and work hard; you can never go wrong there haha.

See Christian in action at the 2012 IBJJF Toronto Open:

Young talent, Brazilian Marcio Andre won his second purple belt world title and received his brown belt on the podium. Photo: Erin Herle

Shortly after winning the purple belt featherweight division at the 2013 Worlds a few weeks ago, Marcio Andre was back on the competition mats in Rio with his new brown belt.

A nice way to break it in, the eighteen year old from the Nova Uniao team was able to submit with a toehold in his final match and secure his first gold. Watch the match below as he submits with a toehold:

During the Worlds 2009, Otavio tested his no-gi game with success and closed the medium heavy with Romulo Barral.

With the second world championship title of Jiu-Jitsu in June, Otavio Sousa (Gracie Barra), 26, not only won the gold medal and recognition of the fans as the best black belt of the world at middleweight.

The student of Jose Olimpio, Zé Radiola, also earned an invitation to participate in the ADCC in Beijing, China, on October 18 and 19 this year in the 77kg division.

A Gracie Barra professor living in Irvine, Otavio talked about the next challenge and detailed his training by email exchange with GRACIEMAG. Check it out.

GRACIEMAG: How does it feel to participate in your first ADCC, and in China?

OTÁVIO SOUSA: It was the best thing that could have happened, because I could not participate in the ADCC trial in Brazil, in April, because I was very busy here in California with the gi training for the Worlds and classes at Gracie Barra. This invitation came at the right time, the competition is very tough but today I am a more mature athlete with more confidence. I feel that my positions are more accurate and adjusted than a few years back. Let’s see now without the gi. I still remember when I was a kid and watched the ADCC, with all those black belts giving shows and performing unforgettable fights. This year I will fight the most classic of the tournaments without the gi there in China, and I’m pretty happy about that.

How do you evaluate the 77kg division, of the legendary Marcelo Garcia, who will still have Leozada Nogueira with his guillotine and perhaps Kron and others?

The competition will be ruthless, as usual. It is a slightly lighter weight than I usually compete, which goes to 82kg. So I still need to lose some weight, but nothing else. I’m excited and I’m not a true beginner; after all, I already attended other events without the gi. In 2009, I even closed the medium heavy at the No-Gi Worlds with my partner Romulo Barral here in California.

What do you change in your game during a no-gi tournament?

The game changes just a bit, but you need to make some adjustments. The difference in the end is that the fight slips a lot more and you can’t grip the same way. Techniques need to be better, so you don’t lose the move. And, of course, attention needs to be focused on the legs and feet, especially in ADCC, because all locks are allowed. As the fighter has nothing to hold, it becomes much more difficult to defend these twists.

How are you going to train for the ADCC? Did you change anything?

I’m focusing on my workouts to come back with the victory, God willing. I’m training no-gi Jiu-Jitsu with the beasts of Gracie Barra and wrestling with Jacob Harman, from Calvery Chapel. He teaches various MMA athletes like Renato Babalu, Rafael dos Anjos, Beneil Dariush among others. I am happy to be able to train with these beasts.

What is the main aspect to win a tournament like ADCC, Otavio?

One of the recipes to success is self-confidence. I worked a lot on it before the Worlds, I trusted in my game and I thought I was going to do well. I believe in my potential and I will do anything to be victorious in this too. Another recipe is to never underestimate any opponent and never expect an easy fight. In this regard, the Worlds and ADCC look the same. So I will continue applying this thinking to compete in Beijing, and continue with the same focus and training discipline I have always had.

Braulio Estima. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

After Copa Pódio, where he lost an invitational bout to Xande Ribeiro by having his guard passed, many thought Bráulio Estima, 33, had lost his rhythm.

He suspected so himself, but he signed up for the Worlds on the last day to find out for sure.

The results were a silver medal on June 2nd, after he closed out his division with friend Romulo Barral, and an impressive showing versus André Galvão, whom he defeated, 6-2, by taking Galvão’s back.

And the following week he had enough gas left in the tank to hold Rodolfo Vieira back at Metamoris by using his new guard with foot on lapel. Rodolfo wound up with a decision win.

“I’ve been developing that guard for years, I call it guard of the galaxies,” Estima says in the following chat:

GRACIEMAG: After a long stretch of MMA-focused training, how do you evaluate your return to Jiu-Jitsu?

BRÁULIO ESTIMA: Man, I think I came back very well. If you count the hurdles I had to overcome, like the flu, an infection and an injured right hand soon before the fights, I’m quite happy with the result. I’m glad to be back and be able to compete among the strongest athletes of today.

Before you closed out the medium heavyweight class with Barral at the Mundials, you had to go through André Galvão in the semi. What’s your take on that match?

The André fight was very well crafted; I was able to impose my game and manage the ending nicely. I was able to surprise him in a few spots and thus dominate at the crucial moments. A little after the halfway mark of the match I tore my right hand ligament, which forced me to slow down and play off of his errors. I thought it was a fun fight to watch, pretty balanced. I’m happy to be back and already able to do so well against someone of his stature.

And what do you think of the Rodolfo Vieira bout, one week later?

It was very tough. I was able to keep the plan I had, though I was quite limited by my still-swollen right hand. I played the right game to hold him off, but I was lacking a bit of variety.

Rodolfo applies a truckload of pressure and he just wouldn’t quit for even a second. The guy’s a machine. At the end I tried to set a trap, but he set up an armbar very quickly and I had to struggle to get out. I escaped and attempted a knee attack, but time was up. It was a very difficult fight for the two of us.

What was that guard you used against Rodolfo?

I’ve been developing that guard for years, I call it guard of the galaxies [laughs]. I only use it when necessary, and at Metamoris, where the bout was longer, with a weight difference plus the hand injury, I had to bring it out. I think we’re going to see a lot of people using it from now on.

The goal is to nullify your opponent’s pressure and make room for several types of guard attacks. Anything can come out of there. It’s a way to leave your opponent off base and move below him.

What did you take away from that match?

That 20 minutes is a lot of time [laughs]. In this fight I learned my limitations in several situations and my advantages in others. The biggest lesson was more on a personal level – I saw I’m still fighting well enough to take on the best in the world, and that makes me excited.

I’m anxious to get back to the gym and hone my game even more, and get ready for the next challenges.

Bernardo Faria became a two-time super-heavyweight world champion in 2013. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

Black belt Bernardo Faria has a few reasons to be proud after the 2013 Worlds , which ended last Sunday.

He was the only man to defeat Leandro Lo, in the quarterfinals of the open, with a sweep.

It was he who, at the end of the day, came closest to beating Marcus Buchecha Almeida, before getting swept with but seconds left in the absolute semis (in his weight class, Buchecha had been even in advantages with Alexander Trans, but was never behind).

He nabbed his second super-heavyweight world title (2012/2013) in an exhilarating final versus João Gabriel Rocha, certainly one of the sport’s biggest hopes going forward.

Bernardo Faria was the king of the sweep from half-guard at the Worlds, a technique some have dubbed “dental floss sweep,” because he holds the lapel and rubs it on his opponents’ legs like floss on gums.

With this near-unstoppable sweep and some dangerous submissions, the Alliance fighter got the best of Lucas Sachs and Luiz Fernando Panza and arrived at the final opposite João Gabriel. First he had to foil the Soul Fighters giant’s attempts at taking his back. Then he swept, mounted and celebrated with his Alliance friends.

And that wasn’t even all of it, as he later got to see his gym win the team championship title for the eighth time with a whopping 94 points. CheckMat (53) and Atos (45) completed the podium.

Romulo Barral is the 2013 medium heavyweight world champion. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

The 2013 Worlds were necessarily going to produce a four-time world champion. Many analysts and audience members thought that was going to be Rafael Mendes or his brother, Guilherme, but very few bet heavily on Romulo Barral or Braulio Estima, both from Gracie Barra.

Braulio wasn’t even his own favorite, since he had underperformed at Copa Pódio and arrived exhausted from England. His first idea was to use the Mundial to train for his fight versus Rodolfo Vieira, next Sunday at Metamoris in Los Angeles. But as it turns out, his technique was pretty darn sharp, so much so that Braulio caught the arm of Brazilian champion and GB teammate Rodrigo Pimpolho, and opened a wide 6-0 over André Galvão with a sweep and a trip to his back in the semifinal that ended 6-2.

In Barral’s case the question was also posed by his physical condition, as he’d had a muscle tear at the Abu Dhabi WPJJC during the final versus Galvão. “It was sick, my leg got all black. But I looked at the calendar and told myself: I have a month and a half to do physical therapy, get better and fight at the year’s biggest event,” recalls Romulo, who hardly cared he was coming off a loss to Guto Campos at the Pan American. “I lost my grip when we were shuffling and he cleverly jumped and landed on my side; it wasn’t that sort of concrete guard pass that makes me doubt my game.”

As he arrived in Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid to guide his pupils, Barral met with master Vinicius Draculino. The following exchange took place:

“How’s the leg? You 100%?” asked Draculino.

“Absolutely one hundred! I suffered but I wasn’t gonna let one muscle stop me from competing here,” smiled Barral.

“So if you are at 100%, listen to me: no one is gonna stop you this year. Tell me this: why do you practice Jiu-Jitsu?”

“Why, because I like it a lot, and besides –”

“Stop right there, that’s all I need to hear. If you love this, get in there and crush whoever’s in your path!”

In the end, having overcome the likes of Guto Campos along the way, Romulo and Braulio closed out the medium-heavyweight division. The former got his fourth title; the latter took the gold medal.

Otávio Sousa got his second middleweight world title at the 2013 Worlds. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

On the night of Tuesday, May 28, two days before the start of the 2013 World Championship, Otávio Sousa was the last athlete to depart Gracie Barra in Irvine, leaving only the cleaning crew behind.

It wasn’t just one final quick training session before facing some of the toughest competition around – instead it was one last class he had, er, got to teach the white and blue belts in the school. His gaze already sort of adrift in anticipation of the war he was about to fight at the Pyramid, Otávio taught his students some nice positions to use against side-control, the concept of fencing, submissions from the back.

That’s just one of many pieces of evidence that glory hasn’t changed Otávio, who works for five hours every day teaching beginners, his smile never fading.

In his downtime, the José “Zé Radiola” Olimpio pupil turns into a lion and battles five of the world’s greatest middleweights in succession, including Davi Ramos, Vitor Henrique Oliveira and Claudio Calasans, and then goes home with the gold. Just like 2012, by the way.

Monday at 9 a.m., not a full day after sweeping Calasans twice and scoring 4-2 to snatch another title, the disciplined Otávio Sousa is back teaching at Gracie Barra. His gaze now satisfied from another mission accomplished.

Rodolfo passes Lucas Leite’s guard in the heavyweight final of the 2013 Worlds. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

One hour after the absolute final, Rodolfo Vieira came down from the restroom of the Long Beach gym where he’d done his drug test, and was already in a good mood.

“Buchecha kicked my butt,” he smiled, “but this only makes me want to train even more for our rematch, which certainly takes place next year. Having an adversary of his caliber only makes me better.”

After the wise analysis, the GFTeam steamroller goes back to kidding around. “I don’t know what hair color I’m using next year. I lost as a brunet, I lost as a blond – I’m screwed,” he said, getting the reporters nearby to burst into laughter.

But on a serious note, Rodolfo gave signs that he is thinking of a way to try and even things out with Buchecha: He may fight the next Worlds as a super-heavyweight.

Good news for the men in the heavyweight division, since Rodolfo had hardly a hiccup as he became a three-time champ over there. On Saturday he subbed Elliot Kelly in the round of eight. On Sunday he started by scoring 8-0 on Yuri Simões, then in the semi he caught Nivaldo Oliveira in a katagatame. Finally, he choked out Lucas Leite. A victorious sequence over three tough CheckMatters, whose supporters found solace in chanting in unison: “Buchecha is coming for you…” Here the voice of the people – however biased – turned out to be correct, and the open’s final was what everybody’s already seen by now: Buchecha swept, took the back and passed, and then worked an armbar before time ran out.

How about next year, reader? Can a super-heavyweight Rodolfo bridge the current gap between himself and Buchecha? As strong as they both are, it seems neither is quite done evolving, so what’s certain is it’ll be worth the wait.

Marcus Buchecha won the ultra-heavyweight and the open at the 2013 Worlds. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

The final of the absolute showed Marcus Vinicius Almeida, also known as Buchecha, is one step ahead of the competition.

In numbers, Buchecha proved his supremacy in the 2013 Worlds: He fought eight times and finished five opponents – only Bernardo Faria, Alexander Trans and Rodolfo Vieira went the distance.

But there was another opponent he didn’t submit, or even fight, and that was a much more important one.

It was his master Rodrigo Cavaca, in the ultra-heavyweight final.

“Closing out with Cavaca was a dream I had since purple belt, but it was a distant dream. Today it came true, and I don’t think this has ever happened before – a teacher closing out with their pupil who’s been training with them since white belt,” Buchecha said as he walked out of the arena.

That was when someone congratulated him for his second absolute championship and his eyes shone even brighter. “Who’d say, two-time open champ… I’ve tied the feat of Jacaré, Xande and Pé de Pano,” he mused, mentioning some of his idols.

If it’s all up to Buchecha, who claims not to be thinking of doing MMA anytime soon, there are some Jiu-Jitsu records about to be pulverized sooner rather than later. And this young man may become the most successful competitor in the also young history of tournament Jiu-Jitsu.

Can he do it?

We may find out very soon, dear friends.

Leandro Lo got his second world title at lightweight. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Lightweight Leandro Lo achieved quite a feat in the 2013 Worlds last Sunday, June 2nd.

He was one of the champions praised most by athletes, masters and the audience, even without subbing anyone in the process. The now two-time champ impressed people with his technique, his guard play and his stamina. These traits kept him completely out of danger against black belts as strong as Rafael Rosendo, Vinicius Marinho, Lucas Lepri and runner-up Michael Langhi, whom he swept in the final for a 2-0 score.

Could Leandro have a weakness?

Before the 2013 Worlds, we sent a reporter to the city of Niterói to get the scoop on Lo’s daily routine during his stay in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Upon returning, our detective had the following to say: “Lo trains all day. P.S. He drinks soda by the gallon.” We asked Lo what he loves more than Jiu-Jitsu. “Maybe the beach. If I lived in Rio I’d be at the beach all day every day and probably wouldn’t train.”

So, while opponents might have a hard time putting this to use, there’s the weakness.

Gabriel Moraes (in white) is the light featherweight world champion of 2013. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

Veteran black belt competitor Gabriel Moraes hadn’t won at the BJJ Worlds since 2004. With his 2013 title, he is now the black belt with the furthest apart gold medals in history. (Gabriel Vella had the old record with wins in 2002 and 2009.) However, it was not through this hiatus that the CheckMat fighter proved his persistence. In his fights at the Worlds last weekend, he would never give up until he heard the whistle. On Sunday, Gabriel had to hack away until the very end to sweep Gabriel Willcox and beat him, 6-4.

In the semifinal he came across Daniel Beleza, who had knocked out Gui Mendes in a decision. Once again, victory came only with the last move, and he wasn’t even sure until he left the fighting area. “All I know is I was losing and then I kept pressing and pressing–I have no idea how I won or how I got the advantages,” he smiled.

Ary Farias’ drama

In the final, Gabriel did all he could to stop 2010 champ Ary Farias from scoring. Ary went to the back, Gabriel defended. Ary tried to catch a limb, Gabriel freed himself. And the fight went on tied with no points, Ary leading in advantages. The whistle blew and Ary was the champion for the next couple of seconds. That was when his emotions betrayed him and he took his two fateful steps toward the podium. The rule, although new, is very clear: The athlete that leaves the fighting area to celebrate will be punished with one advantage being given to their opponent.

Referee Muzio de Angelis had no choice but to grant Gabriel an advantage, thus changing the score to a draw in advantages, except Gabriel had one less penalty and had just become the world champion.

Devastated with the turn of events, Ary said of the lost title, “I fight five times against those lions, beat the toughest men in the division, and then this happens.”