He notes on his blog how important it is know the 50/50 is not a stalling guard like people have claimed. Rather, it is in the person who chooses to stall and the ability to do so can be done with any type of guard. This is one way you can initiate action within the guard and pass it like any other guard such as spider, closed, etc.

Check out the move and if you like what you see, head to www.caioterra.com for more info.

Caio Almeida (red gi) next to Abmar Barbosa after training in São Paulo (publicity photo)

If 50/50 guard is a disease, as so many are harping about these days, the study of Jiu-Jitsu is the cure.

That’s what the black belt Caio Almeida teaches us today as he and his brother Diogo lay out how to unravel one of the most modern and, perhaps for being so, mysterious guards in the sport.

To get free of 50/50 guard, first pay attention to how the Ryan Gracie Academy black belt grabs his brother’s heel and pushes it forward, undoing the triangle with the help of his hip, as you can see at minute 0.54 of the video.

Next, the Celso Venícius student finds space to spin past guard. With the 360 degree turn he ends up past guard and with knee-on-belly (minute 1:07).

When the opponent tries replacing guard, the trick is to spin over him to land in side-control on the other side (minute 1:19).

So does the position deliver? Let us know your favorite way to get free of 50/50 guard in training.

Paulo Miyao against Gianni Grippo at 2013 European Open (photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com)

Paulo Miyao and Gianni Grippo are two of the toughest brown belts in world Jiu-Jitsu. And fate would have it that their paths crossed in the featherweight division of the 2013 European Open, where they had a back-and-forth battle in 50/50 guard. In the end the scoreboard read one advantage apiece.

Watch the match and join the debate: is the 50/50 guard hindering Jiu-Jitsu, like a lot of people are saying, or is it just another stage in the art’s evolution? Watch and comment!

Amaury Bitetti teaching a Jiu-Jitsu seminar during a recent visit to the Northeast Brazilian city of Recife. Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com.

The first two-time absolute champion of the world, Amaury Bitetti has been on a tour teaching seminars around Brazil and elsewhere. Today, the black belt shows GRACIEMAG.com readers a nifty way to neutralize the dreaded 50/50 guard.

Note how he sticks his foot up against the opponent’s tailbone, distances himself and then advances to make it to his opponent’s side.

How’s that work for you? Let us know in the comments field below.

Check it out, and enjoy your training!

Jake Mackenzie in action / Personal archive photo

Canadian GFTeam black belt Jake Mackenzie added another gold medal to his collection last weekend at the Brasília Open, as you previously found out here on GRACIEMAG.com.

“I had two matches in Brasília. I tapped out my first opponent in the middleweight division with a forearm choke from back control. Now, I fought a really tough opponent in the final–Pedro Jordão. We’ve fought a number of times this year, and each time it gets more difficult. This time it was 2-2, and I won via referee decision,” he told GRACIEMAG.com.

“My master Julio Cesar has been helping me a lot at the academy every day. With his help and my training partners’, I’ve been feeling really confident at all the tournaments I’ve been in this year. This week I already got back to working hard to improve and not make the same mistakes I did last weekend at the South American Championship in Florianópolis,” recalled the half-guard specialist.

“I feel every fighter should know how to play half-guard on both sides. It’s something I neglected when I was a purple and brown belt. At black belt, among the elite, you have to be able to reproduce the moves on both sides,” he said in closing.

Check out Jake Mackenzie teaching an attack from 50/50 guard in the video below. You can either finish with a calf-crunch or move to back control. Which do you prefer?

Luiza Monteiro against Penny Thomas in the No-Gi Worlds final / Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com

As Grandmaster Helio Gracie used to always say, “Jiu-Jitsu was made especially for the weak, for women and children.” Therefore couples who train together aren’t just following the master’s advice; they’re taking the path to a healthy, safe and happy life.

That’s what Luiza Monteiro and her boyfriend, Leandro Lo, demonstrated last weekend at the latest No-Gi World Championship. The couple went home with four medals between them—one gold, one silver and two bronze.

While Lo’s path of victory halted at Xande Ribeiro in the absolute final and at Tanquinho in the lightweight semifinal, his black belt better half didn’t let the gold get away from her in the middleweight final, against Penny Thomas.

Luiza nearly pulled off an armbar, but Penny paid her back with a takedown. The Cícero Costha representative first drew even before sinking the battle-ending kneebar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n79gK_2eOXI

Paulo Miyao in back-control at a tournament in Natal / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG

Last weekend, Tokyo hosted the 2012 Asian Open, the fourth installment of the IBJJF championship in those parts.

At brown belt, recently promoted Paulo Miyao won the absolute and light-featherweight divisions, adding further medals to his vast collection.

In the open weight contest, the team Cicero Costha representative had his work cut out for him in making it to the final. He and Kit Dale locked horns in a neck-and-neck match. In the final seconds, one of them attacked with a figure-four footlock and nearly got the finish. Which one was it?

Find out in the video below. And to check the full tournament results, click here.

Brown belt Gianni Grippo won another in his backyard, at the 2012 No-Gi Pan. Photo by Mike Calimbas.

Brown belt Gianni Grippo is one of the Jiu-Jitsu standouts of the season, and he was no different last Saturday, when he won the featherweight division at the No-Gi Pan.

“I trained a lot because I always feel obligated to win in my own backyard [New York],” Grippo told GRACIEMAG.com. “I made it past some tough opponents, including the light featherweight world champion, Mateo Maldonado. All of them were talented fighters, which made victory all the sweeter.”

In the featherweight final, Grippo faced a game Carlos Rosado (Gracie Barra). Cool and collected, he escaped a straight footlock and later slapped on practically the same hold, just from 50/50 guard and switching to a figure-four grip.

“My coach John Danaher went over the details of the footlock with me a lot, making me sharper with attacks and escapes with every training session. It all worked out. I did it like I did at the academy and got my fourth No-Gi Pan title,” he said in signing off.

Check out the barnburner below, and let us know: What did you learn from the match? How did you like the moves?

Cavaca clamps down on Igor Silva’s foot at 2010 Brazilian Nationals. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com.

CheckMat ace Renato Cardoso made his name at last weekend’s São Paulo Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The recently-promoted Rodrigo Cavaca black belt won the medium heavyweight and absolute divisions, getting the tapout in all five of his matches, three of them coming by way of the trick his teacher, Rodrigo Cavaca, teaches in the video below.

Take note of the importance of being seated positions in order to successfully perform the foot attack.

After getting upright, point your knee away from your opponent to expose the his leg. Then you wrap your arm around, fit your wrist up against the ankle and grab the lapel, while bringing your torso forward first, before tilting sideways.

“What hurts him is my wrist bone,” explains Cavaca. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments field below.

Black belt Renato Cardoso atop podium in São Paulo / Personal archive photo

The big name to come of this weekend’s São Paulo International Open is Renato Cardoso. The Rodrigo Cavaca black belt wreaked havoc on the mats, tapping out every one of his opponents on the way to winning the medium heavyweight and absolute divisions. “It was an important tournament, being the first CBJJ competition in the state of São Paulo. I competed at medium heavyweight and open weight along with my teammate Bruno Matias from Rio de Janeiro,” he told GRACIEMAG.

“I trained a lot every day, doing Jiu-Jitsu twice a day plus physical conditioning and weight lifting. I had five matches in all—two at weight and three at open weight—and got the finish in all of them, attacking and going for the submission the whole time, giving my all,” added the black belt of two months.

The São Paulo native-Santos transplant explained his campaign at the CBJJ tournament:

“I had five matches and got five tapouts: In the first a got a triangle and armbar, and in the second I used my strong position, the footlock from 50/50. In the absolute I finished the first one with a triangle, the second with a straight footlock from 50/50 and did the same in the absolute. That footlock is actually our academy’s cash cow,” he said, before offering a pointer on 50/50 guard to GRACIEMAG.com readers.

“First you have to get in 50/50 guard, then wrap your arm around the foot up to the forearm and do a hand-in-hand grip while turning in the opposite direction as though you’re giving up your back. Then you just squeeze for the tapout,” explained Renato, who derived lessons of his own at the tournament.

“I learned a lot, of course. I learned that I have to be confident in my game when I compete, regardless of who the opponent is,” he said, before revealing his next target: “Now it’s all about focusing on my next objective: securing my spot by winning the Abu Dhabi Pro trials in Natal.”

Rodrigo Cavaca celebrates victory at Jiu-Jitsu Worlds. GRACIEMAG archive photo.

The top teacher at CheckMat in Santos and a world champion in his own right, Rodrigo Cavaca headed to Curitiba for a seminar and, with the help of his buddy Alexandre “Lombriga”, demonstrated a different sort of attack from one of their favorite positions—the 50/50 guard.

The main detail here is launching a surprise attack on the opponent’s hand, grabbing his ankle, and afterwards putting on the pressure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIloSZHj0zw

The attack is a good option for when the opponent tries a classic footlock defense, grabbing the opponent’s sleeve.

You dig that? Let us know in the comments field below. And to learn and brush up on Jiu-Jitsu positions, stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com.

For tricks and tips for revolutionizing your game, subscribe to GRACIEMAG by clicking here.