BJJ Stars: The Return marked the return of superfights events to Brazil.

The night of this Saturday, July 25, is one for the history of jiu-jitsu. With Brazil still counting an average 1,000 daily deaths from the coronavirus, BJJ Stars, led by the promoter Fepa Lopes, delivered a high-level tournament in São Paulo while following a rigorous protocol of safety an hygiene, marking the return of BJJ competitions in the country. On the card, there were 12 duels with elite black-belts.

The main fight saw Kaynan Duarte (Atos) defeat João Gabriel Rocha (Double Five), who replaced an injured Felipe Preguiça on short notice, by points. Before that, Lucas Hulk of Atos beat Leandro Lo (NS Brotherhood) on points as well. Additionally, Patrick Gaudio (Alliance/DreamArt) had a highly anticipated rematch with Erberth Santos, winning by advantages.

Read about the most important moments below.

Kaynan fights smart, and João gets injured

In the final match of the night, Kaynan Duarte and João Gabriel had a technical duel. Kaynan, following his normal strategy, pulled guard with the intent to sweep and get ahead. But as he pulled haphazardly, Kaynan didn’t think twice before turning to the 50/50 to avoid the danger of João fighting on top with his weight and pressure. With lots of adjusting, Kaynan came up to score two points, but João promptly responded. With 4-4 on the board, still on the 50/50, João came up with his knee tangled, and felt pain. Arguing with the doctors, João asked to keep fighting. Kaynan came up to gain a lead of 6-4 and got rid of the guard. Even hurt, João tried to take him down and fought until the end, but the numbers remained at 6-4, giving Kaynan the win. Now Kaynan leads João in their encounters, 2 to 1.

Lucas takes Lo down

In the penultimate fight, Lucas Hulk wasted no time. In the first seconds, he shot for a successful takedown, scoring two points. On top and with firm grips, Hulk avoided the unpredictable guard of Lo, who was moving between the foot on bicep, the lasso and a sitting guard, trying to unbalance Hulk. With Lo visibly tired at the end, Hulk exploded, leaving Lo’s guard and trying to get his back. Lo defended, but wound up having Hulk on his back trying to choke him. Lo avoided the choke, but Hulk’s two-point advantage persisted to the end.

Patrick attacks and scores to beat Erberth

In one of the matches the fans were most hungry for, Patrick Gaudio and Erberth Santos took their social media spat to the mat. The fight was tense at first, with a lot of caution all around. After two penalties and one advantage each, for lack of combativeness, Patrick pulled guard and spun under Erberth, coming out on the leg lock. Erberth foiled the move by spinning his knee, and Patrick scored an advantage. Erberth tried to employ a leg lock of his own, but was ineffective. Then Erberth pulled and tried to sweep, but Patrick controlled on top and won with a 2-1 lead on advantages.

Also noteworthy were Gabriel Napão’s winning armbar over Léo Leite at the last second of their match, Isaque Bahiense’s ezequiel choke on Claudio Calasans, and the north-south choke applied by Serginho Moraes to beat Luis Marques.

Complete results:

BJJ STARS: THE RETURN
São Paulo, SP
July 25, 2020

Kaynan Duarte def. João Gabriel Rocha, 6-4 points
Lucas Hulk def. Leandro Lo, 2-0 points
Patrick Gaudio def. Erberth Santos, 2-1 advantages
Gabriel Napão def. Léo Leite, armbar
Isaque Bahiense def. Cláudio Calasans, ezequiel
Gabriel Rollo def. Caio Almeida, bow-and-arrow
Anna Rodrigues def. Bia Basílio, 3-1 advantages
Sérginho Moraes def. Luis Marques, north-south
Meyham Maquine def. Cleber Clandestino, 8-6 points
Charles Duende def. Gustavo Ximu, 1-0 advantages
Renata Marinho def. Sabatha Lais, 4-2 points
Marcos Petcho def. Robinho Jesus, 4-0 points

The champion Ffiona Davies stabilizing the mount in London. Ane Nunes/AJP

1. The mount is the supreme position, from which the BJJ player exerts ample control over their rival — and can even give themselves the luxury of resting without pressure from the ref to attack. It’s from there, with full view of the match, that they must work to finish. But it’s normal for a white-belt to relax and lose the position — so the first commandment is: adjust your weight on your opponent’s hips to they can’t upa and send you flying.

2. Upon mounting you must have this in mind: I want my opponent to carry all my weight. If you are poorly seated, sustaining your weight with your knees, you are giving your opponent space and time to breathe. Another thought: their hips cannot be allowed to move.

3. BJJ is balance — always. On the mount, like in other positions, it’s necessary to stay in constant balance, which means less risk. To exercise your balance, strive to practice your mount stability since your warm-up. Sit down without giving spaces and consult your teacher and check whether your knee, feet and hooks are good.

4. If you are attacking, you are keeping your opponent busy — and worried. That is why it’s necessary to repeat and repeat until you have one or two effective attacks. Remember that if you attack the collar or the neck, your opponent will need to defend with one of their arms, which opens up room for armbars. Also study the kata-gatame — the favorite move of nine out of ten MMA fighters when they reach the mount.

5. Attention to your opponent’s shoulders. Most mount escapes are set in motion by shoulder movement — necessary for the bottom fighter to get up, turn on their side, counter-attack, etc. Keep your opponent’s shoulders always on the mat, foiling their posture and escape.

6. Double attacks, always. From the mount, the guard, the back, the double attack is the best way to thwart the defense — and the way to avoid the obvious attacks that anyone will see coming. When you mount, try to study thoroughly the transition between chokes and armlocks, between chokes with the hand and the kata-gatame, and be a fearsome fighter on top. Always have a plan B!

7. Watch videos to study how the great specialists mount — with or without the gi, and even in MMA. Watching the best do it can take you a long way.

8. Having an effective mount does not mean you need to sit on top of your opponents like a stone. Take note of movement on top and how to keep them tired. Use your hands for support, throw your head forward and move your legs intelligently when your opponent pushes you. But don’t forget the bigger goal: to keep the mount.

9. One of the most common alternative plans from the mount is to allow your opponent to spin and give you their back, so you can more easily squeeze their neck. Keep this move under your sleeve.

10. When you reach the mount on the street or in a real-life scenario, remember the advice of the old masters: watch out for the bite! A dominated aggressor can get desperate and use their teeth. Use your shoulder on their chin to get yourself away from their mouth.

Looking to win his middleweight bout against Robson Ferreira on Aug. 23 at Future MMA 8, Caio Borralho has intensified his training. Working with him on his ground game is Demian Maia, leader of Vila da Luta — and the UFC legend made us a video showing one of his many tricks.

Demian and Caio show here how the passer can avoid an attack on their leg with a sneaky finish via kata-gatame. Demian stresses the importance of isolating his opponent’s hips so that the transition toward the leg can be completed. Then he slides his arm to his opponent’s shoulder, underhooking to get in underneath, making a hand-to-hand grip to then apply pressure and free the leg. Then he arrives on the side to squeeze the choke.

Check out this technique in the following video and don’t miss out on Future MMA 8, which will be livestreamed for free on the Future MMA app.

Translated transcript:

“I’ll ask him to get a knee bar from the bottom, and I’ll show how I counter the knee bar.

“I’m passing Caio’s guard here, and he has spun to my knee. His idea is to spin and stretch my knee.

“So once the guy spins to my knee, the first thing I have to do is shut down his hip here. With his hip here pressed against my body, I can’t do anything. So I’ll give it a little pull [0:43] and use my chest to shut down his hip. Push, Caio. It’s harder, right? I’ll make a base and get my hand in, to his shoulder, to defend. And here, nobody will notice the counterattack. Hand to hand. I’ll adjust, I’ll stretch my leg, crushing him, and arriving on the side. Right? He attacked me with a knee bar; I shut down his hip, spun and went to the kata-gatame.”

Future MMA 8
São Paulo, SP
Aug. 23, 2019

70 kg (title fight) – Jackson Tortora vs. Alex Canguru
66 kg – Marcos Babuíno vs. Cleiton Foguete
61 kg – Gustavo Erak vs. Rogério Carvalho
77 kg – Cleber Sousa vs. Vinicius Cruz
120 kg – Henrique Montanha vs. Hugo Cunha
70 kg – Augusto Abdias vs. Magnus Kelly
70 kg – Jack Godzilla vs. Rogério Karranca
61 kg – Luís Felipe Buda vs. Nilton Gavião
84 kg – Robson Ferreira vs. Caio Borralho
66 kg – Gabriel Oliveira vs. Alireza Noei
61 kg – Caionã Blade vs. Raul Baiano
57 kg (women) – Bruna Vargas vs. Alana Souza

Matheus is a sitting world champion. 

Always on the lookout for the most modern techniques in BJJ, Graciemag this time sought help from the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, with our friends over at Wilson Ulhoa’s DOMO Sport Training Center.

For today’s lesson we recruited Matheus “Teteu” Menezes, who became a blue belt world champion at the 2019 Worlds. Now a purple-belt, he demonstrated the move that got him there. He enters the one-leg guard, uses the hook of the X guard, and then comes up and takes down his opponent, winning two points.

Transcript: “I’ll do the traditional grip and pull to the one-leg X guard. I’ve pulled my opponent; he’ll start kneeling to try to defend the position. I’ll change to the throw-it-in-the-trash [0:39]. I’ve made the grip on the sleeve here to have the control, and I’ll get into the X position. I’m trying to throw him. He’ll fight it. I use force toward the ground, bringing his leg with me. And from here, I can already get started on the guard pass.”

Jefferson goes deep into the collar to get the choke.

A world champion and teacher at Gracie Barra Aurora, Jefferson Moura brings in today’s lesson a submission that tends to surprise one’s opponent, as the attacker achieves a choke despite there being only one arm in the equation.

The move, often used successfully by Jefferson in his training, starts on the guard pass, when his opponent tries to avoid yielding three points by getting on all fours. With the space made available, Jefferson attacks the neck with one hand really deep in the collar, behind the head. Then he transitions to the opposite side and makes his torso heavy to create the lever necessary to pull the arm and choke.

“I’m here positioning myself to pass his guard,” he says 30 seconds into the following video. “I’ve controlled his leg, I’ve controlled his collar, I’ve put my weight down. When I start arriving here, there are opponents who like to start pushing me here and getting on all fours, to try to recover guard — basically to do any sort of transition to any other position. At this exact moment, I have to use this right hand of mine, which was on the collar. I’ll put it way deep, behind his head. I get my shoulder in and slip my arm. I get it really deep. I have to open the hand to have a second adjustment. I pull his collar and hold here. But I can’t stay here on this side. I have to do a transition, at the same time, to the other side, putting this knee on the ground and, at the same time, putting my chest  behind his back here. What’s gonna happen? When I’m here [1:18], his idea is to try to put his back on the ground, and because of that, I have to put pressure that way. Usually I’ll be kind of mounting him here. At the same time I do a rotation on my hand, pull his lapel and put my chest on top of his shoulder until he taps out. This position can do no wrong. It’s a good position, because the guy that’s on the bottom recovering guard thinks I need the second hand to finish him there. So I’m able to finish him with just one of my hands.”

Ricardo’s surprise attack from the back.  

A teacher at Lotus Club in Torres, Rio Grande do Sul, this week Ricardo Zanelato presents an option for simplifying the placing of the hook once you reach the back, and concludes the position with a torsion of the arm.

In the lesson, the black-belt demonstrates the back-take with a backpack-style grip, his hands on his opponent’s lapels. With one hook already secured, Ricardo attempts to place the other one and waits for his opponent’s predictable defense, holding the leg to avoid the four-pointer.

With the arm exposed, Ricardo brings the opposite hand to break his opponent’s grip, places the hook, and even grabs his opponent’s unattended arm to submit him with an inverted kimura, twisting the arm in the direction of the back.

Watch the lesson right here:

Kyra Gracie adjusts a choke on Malvino Salvador. Carlos Arthur Jr.

Our partner school Gracie Kore, which has welcomed names like Robson Gracie, Roger Gracie and even Brazilian megastar Zeca Pagodinho, had last month a day of training featuring owner couple Kyra Gracie and Malvino Salvador testing out a few BJJ positions.

The session, documented exclusively by the Graciemag team, took place during the seminar with Roger Gracie. The ten-time world champion taught details for choking from the back, and the disciplined student Malvino, a purple-belt actor who has appeared in telenovelas for the past 15 years, recruited Kyra to perform the move.

With Roger’s tips, Malvino tried out the choke, and then it was Kyra’s turn to return the present, with her well-known pressure when attacking from the back.

Watch the happy couple roll here:

They have stood the test of time: Royler, Rorion and Rickson Gracie.

In the letters section of Graciemag #261, last year, we offered some tips to readers just starting their tenure in the masters’ age group and who want a longer life on and off the mat. Here’s that advice.

—

Educator, traveler and author Dan Buettner, who wrote The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest in 2008, mapped the blue zones — regions of the globe from Japan to Costa Rica whose dwellers usually grow old with great health and quality of life — and took note of some of the habits these people have in common.

Buettner’s work contains lessons that can be extremely useful to martial artists. Check some of them out below.

1. One of the places visited by Buettner was Icaria, Greece, known as the island where people forget to die. Its inhabitants, as well as easily making it to 90, have very low levels of dementia and diseases of the heart, brain and bones. As well as a diet that is rich in vegetables and almost devoid of red meat, the islanders like goat milk and practice daily exercise, such as walking.

2. In most blue zones mapped by the writer, there is reduced consumption of cow meat and milk.

3. In Okinawa, Japan, the people eat lots of soy and tofu.

4. In Nicoya, Costa Rica, the author checked out the quality of the water, which is rich in calcium and magnesium. This composition helps prevent heart disease and osteoporosis.

5. In all the blue zones, citizens drink little and don’t smoke.

6. People and families that prize spending time with friends and neighbors live even longer. Respect meal times, and invite your friends to break bread and share stories.

7. Another lesson from the peoples studied: They mostly use small plates for their meals.

8. Seek to know your body, and stop eating when you are 80% full.

9. If your mind isn’t calm and sated, you will want to eat whatever is put in front of you. Find a purpose in life and follow it with a passion.

10. Even if you love your job, don’t forget your leisure. Go on vacation with your family; after all, traveling feeds your brain.

Fake news hits BJJ. GRACIEMAG

The speed that information travels, thanks to the internet, may be the defining aspect of the era we live in. But alongside content that has relevance and quality, we have witnessed the rise of fake news — and it travels just as fast. In BJJ, as in any other field, fake news can be dangerous, as they spread wrong philosophies or give credit to harmful practices.

So we decided to invite a few teachers to say what, in their opinion, is the biggest piece of fake news about BJJ that they’ve heard. Here are their thoughts.

Fabio Gurgel: “The biggest piece of fake news? Wanting to turn the new generation of BJJ into Nutella. These kids are too tough!”

Roberto Godoi: “The most fun piece of fake news is that one popularized by UFC fans, about Steven Seagal. It was always hilarious to see the movie star give that final ‘polish’ moments before an athlete would go in for a fight.”

Zé Mario Sperry: “The biggest bit of fake news I’ve seen lately in the BJJ community is that athlete that posts a picture with a medal on his chest, boasting — and the title came after just one match, and won by W.O. at that. Brilliant.”

Bernardo Faria: “Tough one, but something that is fake in BJJ is when that higher-ranked guy turns to you and proclaims, ‘Oh, that position doesn’t work.’ I will never agree with that. Maybe that technique doesn’t work for you but fits great in someone else’s game. My half-guard is an example: When I started doing it, I’d let all my opponents arrive on top and gain the underhook, and I heard over and over that I could never let that happen, that it was a mistake… But I’d always end up sweeping everybody from there. In BJJ, there’s no right or wrong, and everything can work, as long as you comprehend the position deeply and know the right time to use that technique.”

Rafael Dallinha: “Fake news in BJJ is the matter of learning only online, without ever having trained on a mat with a real master, and getting promoted even so. I’m not chastising online learning in any way, which presently has many very high-level teachers helping students through this format; but I believe that in-person classes are vital to the total comprehension of the gentle art, its history and its benefits.”

Rolles Gracie: “In this age of fake news, the world of BJJ isn’t free from it. There are many frauds out there teaching in schools or showing techniques on Instagram. The student must watch out, do their research well to avoid getting duped.”

Muzio De Angelis: “Easy one: Fake news in BJJ is saying that Renzo Gracie will retire one day. We all know that Renzo will be fighting until the last day of his life — like, really old. Renzo, my man, you will be doing MMA at 70. Oss!”

Paulo Peposo applies pressure to stack-pass.

Our friend at Peposo Team in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, instructor Paulo “Peposo” Curi brings you today an important detail if you are to master the stack pass.

An expert of the art of advancing against all types of guard, Peposo explains how to pass in one of his favorite positions — that of stacking his opponent.

In this lesson, he explains how to position your body to pass, using your opponent’s lapels to add more pressure, and your body alongside gravity to knead your foe before using your shoulder to free the legs and reach the side.

Watch it here:

Neiman.

Physical training is important to serious athletes of BJJ and other martial arts — not just for strength, but also to prevent injuries. Making yourself stronger prevents tendons and some sensitive muscles getting injured under stress. Arms, legs and abs tend to get lots of attention — but what about your neck? Do you usually train it?

Neiman Gracie, a crack BJJ fighter who fights MMA in Bellator, takes really good care of his neck muscles. Anyone who practices BJJ will tell you that the region of shoulders, trapezius and neck takes a real beating during an intense session, and to Neiman, strengthening the region allows him to feel safer when training throughout the week. He uses a specific device to put a load on a hook and add resistance to the act of raising the neck, and does sets as with any other body part one would work out.

“I do it about three times a week to get my neck stronger,” he says. “I do it in the form of three to four sets, 20 to 25 reps, with weights of around 5kg. It helps me in my BJJ and boxing training. Having a strong neck is always a good thing.”

Watch Neiman’s routine below.

It’s in the details.

In BJJ, you have to get the little things right. With that in mind, today we remember a video by instructor Bráulio Estima teaching his technique for taping his fingers with adhesive plaster before training.

A teacher at Gracie Barra Birminghan, Bráulio shows in detail his trick tape his fingers and make sure everything stays in place throughout a training session or tournament fight — a real problem for many athletes out there.

Are you one of them? Well, not anymore, you’re not!