Jeff Glover targets Caio Terra’s back at World Jiu Jitsu Expo. Photo by Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.

Having back control is about as strong a position as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter can have, as Roberto Drysdale underscores in the cover story of last month’s GRACIEMAG.

If you slip up and lose the position, there’s still something you can do to get the finish, though, as Jean Feijó, a black belt who teaches at Gracie Floripa, shows us today.

“When you’ve got the choke in place and the opponent tries removing your hooks and turning to defend, the trick is to not release the grips on his collar,” Feijó explains.

Now, if the opponent doesn’t turn on all fours, all you need to do is bring your arm across the neck for the arm-and-neck choke, as the instructor explains at minute 2:30.

“The trick to keeping the opponent from getting away in this position is to put your other hook in under his knee and keep a hand-in-hand grip,” says Jean. “Once he’s completely on his side, then you turn your hip, release your grip and wrap your arm around his neck for the arm-and-neck choke finish,” said the teacher at Gracie Floripa in closing.

Amaury Bitetti at seminar in Recife / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

The first (two-time) absolute champion of the world, Amaury Bitetti is on a tour teaching seminars all across Brazil. Last weekend was the City of Recife’s turn. On November 3 and 4 he’ll be in Fortaleza, Ceará State.

As a prelude to what he’s offering, Amaury demonstrates a guard pass with a bear-hug to bolster GRACIEMAG.com readers’ No-Gi games, whether for Jiu-Jitsu or MMA.

The position can ultimately wrap up with an arm-triangle. The trick is to squeeze with a hand-in-hand grip at rib height to overcome the opponent’s guard, and next to capitalize on the arm being in an uncomfortable position and squeeze out the arm-and-neck choke.

To find out where to catch up with Bitetti in Fortaleza, call (85) 8675 6799 or send an email to assessorial@bitetticombat.com.br.

Rafael Lovato against Rodolfo Vieira at 2011 WPJJC / Photo: GRACIEMAG.com archives

Rafael Lovato Jr. is one of the stars adorning the roster for Metamoris Pro, a one-off event featuring seven supermatches under innovative rules – no points or advantage points, and a match duration that at 20 minutes is twice the usual. The Jiu-Jitsu professor from Oklahoma State will be taking on Kayron Gracie in a “passer-vs.-guard player” showdown that has Jiu-Jitsu fans rubbing their hands with glee.

As part of his preparations for the October 14 competition in San Diego, California, Lovato took to the mats to compete at the September 16 Grapplers Quest event in Houston, Texas, and finished four opponents on his way to winning the absolute division.

Check out the American black belt’s performance facing Carlos Diego in the final. Note how calmly Lovato passes guard, mounts and finishes.

Léo Santos returns to MMA with his slick Jiu Jitsu. Personal archive photo.

The owner of one of the finest Jiu-Jitsu guards at the turn of the century, the black belt Leonardo Santos (11w, 3l) added another superb win to his MMA record last Friday in Jordan at the latest Cage Warriors Fight Night event.

The Jiu-Jitsu professor from team Nova União showed he’s still got the pressure from top position, sticking a shoulder in the face of Mark “Boots” Host (10w, 4l) until mounting and dismounting with a fight-ending arm-and-neck choke in place.

Watch how he did it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm3qt3fxEIQ

Cage Warriors Fight Night 7
September 1, 2012
New Boxing Arena, Amman, Jordan

Chris Fields defeated Pavel Kusch via KO at 2:05 min of R3 (title fight);
Jim Alers submitted Marcio Cesar “Gracinha” via choke at 2:27 min of R2;
Leonardo Santos tapped out Mark Holst at 1:15 min of R1;
Mohsen Bahari defeated Piotr Ptasinski via unanimous judges’ decision;
Olivier Pastor defeated Liam James via guillotine at 3:21 min of R2;
James Brum defeated James Saville via unanimous decision;
Robert Krecicki defeated Mohamed Ali via decision;
Brett Bassett KOd Mike Ling at 0.38 min of R1;
Jay Furness defeated Artem Lobov via unanimous decision.

Braulio Estima (black trunks) sets up the shot for takedown to tap out Chris Holland at Titan FC last weekend. Photo by Ryan Loco/publicity.

At 32 years of age, Bráulio “Carcará” Estima made his long awaited MMA debut last Friday in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at the MMA event Titan FC 24.

The decorated Jiu-Jitsu competitor and ADCC 2011 superchampion choked Chris Holland unconscious with an arm-and-neck choke 3:21 minutes into their fight, to the joy of Estima’s Gracie Barra and Blackzilians teammates, including Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans and others.

The Zé Radiola student then spoke to GRACIEMAG.com about what he learned with the experience:

GRACIEMAG.com: Was it an arm-triangle you’ll remember for the rest of your life? How did it come together?

BRÁULIO ESTIMA: Yes, for sure. I feel the arm-and-neck choke is one of my greatest weapons. Once I get my elbow around—whether in mount, half-guard or sometimes even in side-control—, I’m really close to my objective of ending the fight. I try and focus on not letting that elbow slip off throughout the entire process. I use that whole part of my body, but the most important part is the readjustment of the shoulder against the opponent’s neck right after I get his arm across to the other side of his head.

At what point in your debut did you have the most fun?

It was a great experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it, from training all the way to cutting weight. I feel everything went as smoothly as possible. I learned a lot throughout the journey and mainly during the fight itself. There are some aspects of Jiu-Jitsu that only click once you’re in there; it’s something you can’t explain.

Do you feel you made many mistakes? Is there anything you’d like to iron out for the next ones?

Yes, the biggest mistake I made was to go overboard with the food after making weight in Kansas City. I ate so much that I had to throw up after not managing to kick the mitts during warm-up. I wasn’t sick; I was just stuffed (laughs).

And what about during the fight?

I feel I have to walk in to the cage already revved up for war, because I went in there really relaxed, expecting things to build up slowly… And it builds up the whole time; you can’t let yourself lose focus. I also feel I need to position my guard better, seeing as the little gloves don’t protect you from your opponent’s strikes much. Anyone who does a lot of boxing has to be keen to that.

Do you have any tips for Jiu-Jitsu fighters who are thinking about practicing MMA?

To be a professional, it’s really important that you’ve got a foundation on your feet, even if it’s just enough of one to distract the opponent before shooting in on his legs. I recommend doing a lot of wrestling up against the wall and Jiu-Jitsu with the gloves on, shirtless and with Vaseline on your face to simulate what it’s really like in there, because it’ really slippery. I liked it; it was a good first step. Now I need to improve my guard to not end up backpedaling, which is where the danger lies.

For the first time fighting in Brazil, Jiu-Jitsu black belt Igor Gracie didn’t give Peru’s Richard Palomino an inch of wiggle room during their encounter at Duelo de Titãs last Saturday in the Brazilian town of Cuiabá. The Gracie living in New York needed just 44 seconds to take his pray down and sink an unanswered arm-and-neck choke, earning him the promotional welterweight belt.

The event also marked the MMA debut of Gracie Barra instructor Kléber Buiú, as well as the return of the King of the Guillotine Alexandre Pequeno, a former World Shooto champion.

Duelo de Titãs
Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
March 24, 2012

Igor Gracie subbed Ricardo Palomino via arm-and-neck choke in R1;
Alexandre Pequeno defeated Jean Carlo Payaso via desistance in R1;
Bruno Carvalho defeated Eduardo Pachu via knockout R2;
Sérgio Junior defeated David Cuba via knockout in R2;
Aloísio Dado and David Bull fought to a draw;
Leopoldo Serão subbed Renato “El Tank” via armbar in R1;
Marcelo Broa defeated Chiquinho de Cuiabá via doctor’s intervention in R3;
Ariel Machado defeated Wanderlei Camilo via knockout in R1;
Eduardo Simões subbed José Samuel Lopes via heelhook in R1;
Kléber Buiú subbed Pablo Cascão via arm-and-neck choke in R1;