Nivaldo Oliveira plays top position on William Martins at 2012 Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com.

The city of Barueri, Greater São Paulo, will be hosting the São Paulo International Open this weekend at José Corrêa Gymnasium. Among the aces set to take to the mats is Brazilian national champion Nivaldo Oliveira, who’s gunning for top spot on the podium. “My outlook is always the best possible; I always try to be at my best when I compete. And as this competition is in São Paulo, I expect there to be good fighters. In the end each competition is just a good way of preparing yourself,” Nivaldo told GRACIEMAG.com.

With medium heavyweight and absolute titles from the Brazilian National Championship on his record, the CheckMat black belt forges ahead in training, with his priority on physical conditioning. “I’m doing the usual daily training, nothing special. I’m going to use this competition as a way of keeping in shape for the Worlds. I want to return to competition in the second half of the year, and this is a good opportunity to keep focused,” he said, going on to elaborate on what he’s concentrating on in training.

“I’ve been working on guard passes, a really important Jiu-Jitsu fundamental—when you have a good pass, other positions arise during the match, like taking the back, for example,” the São Paulo native added. “To sharpen up my pass, I work on using my hip weight more,” he explained.

The São Paulo International Open rgoes down this weekend in Barueri, São Paulo. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com to find out how the IBJJF tournament went.

Leandro jubilant after becoming the first ever Lightweight GP champion: the São Paulo native will now test his mettle at middleweight. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com

The 2012 season has been excellent for black belt Leandro Lo, who won the Pan, Brazilian Nationals and Jiu-Jitsu Worlds. But the Cícero Costha team representative doesn’t want to hear about slowing down, and he’s already got another mission marked for the coming 21st of July, when he takes on the Copa Pódio Middleweight GP.

“I’m really stoked to see how I do at middleweight. I’ve been lifting weights to get stronger but I’ll stick with my same old game,” he told GRACIEMAG.com. “I don’t feel like I’m putting all my titles in jeopardy. I won the World Championship that day. I won the lightweight GP on that day. When the championship wraps up, that mission is over. Now it’s time to think about new championships, new challenges, like sticking my neck out at middleweight, for instance.”

Lo denies he’s favored to win, despite the frenetic, victorious pace he’s been keeping in sport Jiu-Jitsu.

“I don’t feel I’m the favorite; I’m just one among nine,” he stated humbly. “I want to thank GRACIEMAG.com and the gang for cheering for me at Copa Pódio,” he said in closing.

Copa Pódio goes down July 21 at Clube Hebraica, Rio de Janeiro. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further news on the tournament.

Keenan overcome with emotion with his achievement, after outscoring Paulo Miyao / Photo: Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG

From black to purple, Saturday was indeed an epic day. To remember yet another great moment from the 2012 Worlds, watch the middleweight Keenan Cornelius’s conquest over the valiant Paulo Miyao in the absolute final, and get a glimpse of the Lloyd Irvin student being tossed high on Saturday night. An unforgettable evening for team Lloyd Irvin and anyone who likes seeing records being set.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbkUkBL34HI

After all, KC made history yesterday in Long Beach, having snapped up gold in his weight group and the absolute in the four main IBJJF tournaments—the Europeans in January, the Pan in March, Brazilian Nationals in May, and the Worlds in June. The upward battle continues at brown for young Keenan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3V0yPwb6XQ

Middleweight Keenan Cornelius, during the yesterday's finals. Photo: GRACIEMAG

Jiu-Jitsu experts teach that consistency is one of the main qualities practitioners need to pursue. After all, an athlete who always trains, without fail, learns more than one who trains an entire month but then skips the next one.

Among athletes, consistency can also mean doing well at a variety of different championships, accumulating knowledge and achievements over an entire season.

The middleweight Keenan Cornelius is 2012’s king of consistency, at least at purple belt. Never missing a training session or competition, the Lloyd Irvin student came up big with one heck of an achievement this Saturday at the World Championship in Long Beach.

(Check out Keenan against João Miyao in the final of the Brazilian Nationals in the purple belt Absolute last May.)

Having overcome Paulo Miyao of Cícero Costha team by a narrow margin, Keenan is now the simultaneous holder of the following gold medals:

Europeans 2012 – weight and absolute
Pan 2012 – weight and absolute
Brazilian Nationals 2012 – weight and absolute
Worlds 2012 – weight and absolute

An unprecedented achievement. May your brown belt be nigh, KC!

Speaking of brown belt, another decorated warrior was crowned this Saturday, in the World Championship brown belt absolute division. João Gabriel of Soul Fighters overcame Felipe Pena of Gracie Barra in the open weight final and captured the brown belt throne. Congratulations to all.

To check the full results, click here.

To follow all the news from the Worlds, with photos, videos and results posted in real time, give our Facebook page a “like”.

Igor Rodrigues against Felipe Costa in 2012 Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship final / Photo: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

The roosterweight Igor Rodrigues had already assumed the post of Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu champion as a purple and brown belt. Two weekends ago in the Grajaú neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro City the CheckMat rep managed to achieve the distinction at the highest rank, as a black belt.

“I won three matches on grit, caution and attention. The first I won on points. The second came by points too but I had a kneebar in place when it ended. Now in the final I swept and finished Felipinho [Costa] via kneebar,” he told GRACIEMAG>com.

Watch Igor Rodrigues catching Felipe Costa by the leg in the 2012 Brazilian Nationals roosterweight final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhWUAx20JLU

The Ricardo Vieira athlete looked back on the course of his career in Jiu-Jitsu. He lives in Búzios, in the lakes region of Rio de Janeiro State, and trains with Ricardo in Rio de Janeiro City. “I come from a capoeira background. I made it to the top of the sport in 1998, when I won the Brazilian National Championship. In 2002 I became acquainted with the gentle art and fell in love. On that same year I started training under Jiu-Jitsu professor Marco Chuck in Búzios. I won a number of important titles under him. I got my black belt after winning gold in the brown belt division at the Brazilian Nationals. Still, I could tell that training in Búzios wasn’t competitive enough for me to go up against the best in the country,” he remembered, explaining why in 2009 he made the move to team CheckMat.

“Ricardo invited me to join the team, and I started to see Jiu-Jitsu from different angles. I carried on winning other competitions, and now I’ve conquered the Brazilian national title at black belt,” said Igor, who summed up how he achieved the quality he did at the CBJJ championship.

“My strategy, laid out by my trainer, was to attack the opponents’ feet and knees. I was opportunistic and got the holds when the time was right,” he said jubilantly.

Competition areas at Brazilian Nationals 2012 / Photo: William Burkhardt/CBJJ

CheckMat black belt Nivaldo Oliveira had his work cut out for him in winning his first Brazilian National title at black belt, last weekend. In the medium heavyweight semfinals the Rodrigo Cavaca student overcame world-title collector Rômulo Barral of Gracie Barra.

Watch them in action:

Fernanda Mazelli against Erika Correia at 2012 Brazilian Nationals / Photo: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

The winner of the medium heavyweight division and runner-up at absolute at the Brazilian National Championship, Fernanda Mazelli of Striker academy upheld the solid run from the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi last month.

“I’d had a great campaign in Abu Dhabi, and at the Brazilian Nationals I repeated the performance. I won my weight division and had three fights in the absolute, losing in the final by 7-2 to Michelle Nicolini,” said the native of Espirito Santo state, who derived a worthwhile lesson from the CBJJ championship. “I learned that no one’s invincible; when you’re prepared and focused anything can happen—even victory.”

In a chat with GRACIEMAG.com, Fernanda remembered the path she took ever since blue belt. (Below, check out Fernanda Mazelli against Talita Treta at the WPJJC tryouts in Gramado, Brazil, last March.)

1. Former ballerina, swimmer, and now Jiu-Jitsu champion—what was this trajectory like for you?

I always liked doing sports. I started with swimming, even competed at state level, and then went into ballet, but just for a day. I ended up really getting into Jiu-Jitsu because my sister and cousins did it. I didn’t have a clue what Jiu-Jitsu was but went in anyways, and I ended up liking it. I didn’t take it seriously until I started competing. Little by little I got to liking it and dedicating myself to it. My cousins and sister stopped, and I continued. I started when I was 11. I’m from Guarapari, Espirito Santo, and have trained with Thiago Oliveira since the beginning. My team is Striker JJ. It’s a new team but we’re a force in our state. We have lots of affiliates and new competitors coming into the scene. We’re the only Capixabas [natives of Espirito Santo State] to compete in Abu Dhabi—me and Pedro Paulo Agrizzi, who won at purple belt.

2. WHEN DID YOU START TO SEE RESULTS ON THE MAT?

I started coming up with good results when I was a blue belt. I won the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds. Today I hold six Brazilian titles at weight and three at absolute, from blue to black belt. I never lost a fight at blue belt—I won them all. But my big moment is now that I’m a black belt, the apex of Jiu-Jitsu. I’m training a lot—morning, afternoon and night. My Jiu-Jitsu is coming along; I’m more dedicated, and you can see the results. I’m beating girls I’d lost to for a long time, and now I’m getting back on my feet.

3. HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR GAME COMING ALONG?

My favorite technique is the guard; but I’m changing my game. I’ve been training better on top lately, but even so I love the triangle; it combines with my game because I have long legs, and that makes the move easier for me, besides how it makes it harder for the opponent to defend.

4. HAVE YOU ANY TIPS FOR READERS WHO WANT TO GET GOOD AT THE TRIANGLE?

The trick is to always practice the basics, the Jiu-Jitsu fundamentals. I don’t feel that it’s tedious. I do them many times every day. Repeat them a lot; it’s worth the effort.

5. WHAT’S YOUR GOAL FOR THE 2012 JIU-JITSU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?

I’m going all out. Right now it’s about ironing out some of the positions I got wrong at the Brazilian Nationals and trying to do better in California.

Leonardo Saggioro playing on top against David Lemes in the featherweight final / Photo: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

The runner-up at the 2011 Brazilian Nationals, BTT black belt Leonardo Saggioro got himself to the pinnacle of the podium this year. The Ricardo Marques student submitted everyone in his path on the way to the title, thrice via triangle and once with a choke from the back.

“My performance couldn’t have been better. I had a sense that it was my day, was confident in my training and ready for war. I had four matches and got the finish in all of them,” reported the fighter.

Take a look at Leonardo Saggioro, better known as “Cascão”, sinking a triangle on David Lemes in the featherweight final, and learn from him.

Nivaldo Oliveira against William Martins at Brazilian Nationals / Photo:Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

There’s a curious hex that looms over the absolute division of the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Held annually since 1994, only a single black belt has ever won the open weight division on more than one occasion. That man was Fernando Tererê, the winner in 2001 and 2003. The traditional round-robin was upheld in 2012, and the new open-class king, Nivaldo Oliveira Lima, harks from CheckMat academy in São Paulo.

The medium heavyweight captured gold in his weight division as well, and he commented to GRACIEMAG.com about his achievements. “Having taken on the best, this win was a strong sign that my Jiu-Jitsu is evolving,” he said.

1. WHERE DOES NIVALDO OLIVEIRA COME FROM?

I started practicing where I was born and raised, Guarujá, São Paulo State. These days I live in Vicente de Carvalho, a neighborhood better known by its old name, Itapema. When I started out in Jiu-Jitsu I was 16 years old, in 1999. I started training because of my elder brother at about the time Royce Gracie was fighting in the UFC. The first team I was on was Integração Jiu-Jitsu, led by Master Elcio Figueredo. Nowadays I train with Rodrigo Cavaca, and we’ve got a good group there, really high-quality training. I train with Bochecha, Palito, Baiano, Thiago Magrinho, Ingmar, Renato Cardoso and others.

2. WHEN DID YOU START TO SEE YOUR JIU-JITSU PAY DIVIDENDS?

I think last year, when I won the tryouts for the Abu Dhabis in Gramado. Ever since, I’ve been feeling good in competition. I’d made it to the finals at the Brazilian Nationals before, but I came up short by a hair twice. These days I feel a lot more experienced and sure of myself.

3. WHAT WAS THE WATERSHED IN YOUR CAREER?

The watershed was listening to the more experienced guys at the academy. I saw that if I put in a lot of hard work I could make it to the top. When you see someone who trains with you become world champion, you feel you’re in the right place to become a champion yourself. And it all depends solely on you, if you’re happy with what you’re doing. If you do something for the love of it, there’s no sacrifice at all. The lesson is to strive to do things right and shorten the path to victory.

4. HOW MANY BRAZILIAN NATIONAL MEDALS DO YOU NOW HAVE?

I won gold as a purple belt, now I have two titles at black. I took runner-up at brown and twice at black, not to mention taking third place in the absolute in 2011.

5. WHAT’S THE MAIN LESSON YOU DERIVED FROM THIS BRAZILIAN NATIONALS?

I learned that I have to compete without demanding too much of myself, just compete because I like it. With the desire to compete the results come naturally.

6. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TECHNIQUE? WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY, SO YOUR OPPONENT WON’T BE ABLE TO DEFEND?

I really like playing from the bottom in half-guard; it’s a really efficient position. I learned a lot about the technique from Lucas Leite. It’s not a position you see so often in championships; not too many people use it, in my opinion. What makes the difference in the position is some details and especially its variations, which render the opponent defenseless.

7. WHAT NOW, WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT GOALS?

The Worlds, the main focus of the year, is coming up in Long Beach at the end of this May. After the Worlds there’s Copa Pódio, to which I was invited to take part in the Middleweight GP. The focus now is in California, now the Brazilian Nationals are out of the way.

Gustavo Dantas with Nova União's first-place trophy at Phoenix Open 2012 / Publicity photo

Nova União is preparing the team for the 2012 Worlds with two main training camps, in Arizona and Texas. “We understand that this is a big challenge, but we’re going for it,” said Dantas. “We have good talent in the juvenile, female and male divisions coming in from Brazil, plus many standouts from the United States.”

The team standouts include black belt Marcelino Freitas, who will be flying over from the Land Down Under, Australia, to further bolster the heavily stacked featherweight division. The standouts making the trip from Brazil are young talents who come from very humble backgrounds. With the help of the veteran competitor and leader of Nova União Bangu Bruno Bastos and his black belt Fabio Andrade, who organized funding for the competitors from Brazil to travel, the future frontline of Nova União was given the opportunity to fly to the US to pursue their dreams of becoming world champions.

“Bruno has a big heart and does an amazing job with these kids; he literally takes it out of his pocket to support them,” Dantas explained. “Marcio Andre, who won the blue light feather division last year and just won the Brazilian Nationals last weekend will be returning to the fold, but not to defend his title, as this time around he’ll compete at purple belt. Other competitors like Isaque Bahiense and Paulo Silva, who also won the Brazilian Nationals, and Yuri Santos, who recently won at the Phoenix and Dallas Opens, are just a few of the competitors who have benefited from the fundraising programs organized by NU Brazil and NU USA. They come from very humble families, and live in neighborhoods where drugs, crime, and violence are rife. Without Jiu-Jitsu, it is possible that these young men would never leave the state, let alone the country. We help raise money and Bruno opens his arms and home to them because we truly believe in their potential and they deserve to have these kinds of opportunities.”

Team Nova União took first in the overall team contest in the adult male and beginners divisions at last weekend’s Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship. For the complete results, click here.

Beginners:

1 – Nova União – 23
2 – Alliance – 16
3 – Gracie Humaita – 13

 Adult Men:

1 – Nova União – 78
2 – Alliance – 69
3 – CheckMat – 43

Glamor, dazzling matches, surprises, rivalry, controversy—the tourney had it all, and the result of this explosive and exciting formula was Nivaldo Oliveira getting crowned the new king of the Brazilian Nationals. Amid so many favorites, CheckMat rep Nil made it through unscathed and captured gold at both weight and in the absolute. Nivaldo, who has been coming up with solid results for some time now, will be going into the Worlds at full throttle.

The campaign began on Saturday, when Nil secured his place in the final of the absolute. At medium heavyweight, on Sunday, the black belt had four matches, taking on the likes of Yan Cabral, who he beat by disqualification, and Rômulo Barral, who he outdid on advantage points. In the grand decider, Nivaldo had his work cut out for him against Willian Martins, who had a 4-2 lead over him from sweeps up until the eighth minute, whe Martins was caught off guard by a snug kneebar. Nivaldo didn’t need to go through with the final of the absolute division, as his teammate Antonio Carlos “Cara de Sapato” was there to close out with him.

Rooster warrior

The first of Sunday’s finals took place at 4:20 pm. At that very moment, just a few kilometers away, Botafogo and Fluminense were playing to determine the winner of the Rio de Janeiro soccer championship, and not long later Santos and Guarani would do the same for the state of São Paulo. But at Grajaú Country Club and all across Brazil, keeping up over Twitter, attention was turned to Jiu-Jitsu. Igor dos Santos of CheckMat and Felipe Costa kicked off the series of decisive matches. Igor landed a sweep, and when Felipe attempted to recover, he pounced for a spot-on kneebar.

“I came from Búzios to train with Ricardo Vieira. Over there I teach 120 people at a goodwill project. I get on the bus and come all the way here to Rio to train,” said a jubilant Igor after his three matches for the day were done.

Who’s Tiago?

Haven’t heard of him? He’s José Tiago, another from Cícero Costha’s stable of fearless students. He’s been having a string of narrow misses, but he came up spades in triumphant fashion in the light featherweight division at the Brazilian Nationals. He got the tapout in his first three matches—by wristlock, kneebar and a choke from the back—and in the final as well, facing the favored Ary Farias. He took it to Ary from the get-go. He passed guard, took his back and finished up with a choke.

“I’d lost to Ary in the final in 2008, when we were purple belts. I also took second when we were browns. This time I managed to win it,” said Tiago in celebration.

Saggioro’s time

Last year, Leonardo Saggioro hit a wall in the final, against Bruno Frazatto. This time the student of Ricardo Marques, the teacher who produced the black belt Bernardo Faria, secured top spot. In doing so, “Cascão”, as he’s known, submitted the four opponents he had in his way, three of them via triangle and the fourth by choke from back mount. The triangle was what he used in the early minutes of the final, against David Lemes. From the stands, the man who beat him last year could only watch, as Bruno Frazatto had been sidelined by the flu; but another encounter with Saggioro may arise at the Worlds. Promise of a great match.

Lo did it again

The current champ defended his perch, as Leandro Lo wreaked havoc at lightweight and again overcame Michael Langhi in the final. It was an evenly matched affair, where Lo landed a sweep early on and withstood Langhi’s attempts to reciprocate, to win by 2-0. Earlier on, on his way to the final, he managed a choke from the back and an americana lock from side-control. Leandro is yet another from Cícero Costha’s brood to capture gold at the Brazilian Nationals, and having also won this year’s Pan, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with at the Worlds.

Flawless victory

Alexandro Ceconi

First, Alexandro Ceconi got the tapout with a choke from side-control, then he did it again, and in the semifinal his opponent, Antonio Ricardo, got injured and had to pull out from the match. In the decider he met up with game CheckMat rep Paulo Tarcisio, who was a finalist one year prior. After a brief period standing, Ceconi brought on the pressure on the ground. He made it to side-control and scored 2-0 with a knee-on-belly.

Alliance double whammy

Léo Nogueira and Bernardo Faria dominated the super heavyweight division. Bernardo beat two opponents by submission, one a choke from the back and the next a kneebar. But gold went to Nogueira, the current world champion and winner at weight and open weight at the 2011 Brazilian Nationals. Nogueira got the finish in his first match via wristlock from side-control, then he made it past Pan weight and open weight champ “Cara de Sapato”.

“I scored an advantage and passed at the tail end, but I don’t know if there was time left for it to get computed,” he recounted. “I saw the predictions on GRACIEMAG.com, and I wasn’t picked. That just fueled my drive to win,” said Léo jokingly.

Danish champion of Brazil

Having won everything there is to win in the lower belt ranks, Alexander Trans has been on a tear as a black belt. He won the European Championship this season and had a repeat of the final from Lisbon in Rio de Janeiro, against Nova União’s Thiago Gaia. Thiago happened to star in one of the biggest matches of the day, overcoming Leonardo Leite. The final was an evenly matched affair, tied on advantage points up until the last few seconds, when Danish national Trans notched another advantage point.

“My first match was against Vitor Hugo, a really tough athlete, and I won on advantages. Then I took on Antonio Peinado and managed to sweep and pass guard,” he recounted.

Heated combat between the ladies

CheckMat’s Michelle Nicolini provided some great moments. She ended up losing to Talita Treta of Ryan Gracie in the super heavyweight division, one of the finest and most exciting matches of the day. Treta got two takesdowns; Michelle, two sweeps. And in the last few minutes Treta got the sweep to secure victory by a score of 6 to 4.

In the final of the absolute, Michelle faced Fernanda Mazelli of Striker team and came out on top by 7-2.

At light featherweight, Bruna do Nascimento got two sweeps and then finished Bibiana Silva with an armbar. At featherweight, Marina Ribeiro of CheckMat swept and then finished Michelle Tavares of Gracie Humaitá via triangle. Luiza Monteiro swept Barbara Gomes and then finished with a kneebar at lightweight. At medium heavyweight, Fernanda Mazelli took Edika Correia of Brazilian Fight down for the win.

Cara de Sapato celebrates beating Bernardo Faria. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

This Saturday the black belts took to combat in the absolute division of the Brazilian Nationals unfolding at the Grajaú Country Club in Rio de Janeiro. Among the favorites to win are the duo from CheckMat Antonio Carlos “Cara de Sapato” and Denmark’s Alexander trans. The two trained together under the guidance of Professor Helder “Bob Esponja” in the city of João Pessoa, in the Brazilian state of Paraiba, and they’re making some serious noise. Check out the conversation GRACIEMAG.com had with the two beasts:

1—How was training?

SAPATO: It was awesome; I’ve been getting put through the wringer by the guys here. It was great to meet up with old training partners after spending a season abroad. Training here is great, and there are great black belts. Bob is an excellent teacher. I love all this here; now I’m half gringo [foreigner], half from Paraiba.

2—What was this training of yours like?

SAPATO: We worked a lot on the specific positions we’re going to use in competition and had a lot of discussion about the ins and outs of each of them!

TRANS: I worked on getting more comfortable in open guard, trying to get my hip more mobile. All the guys here have really quick, free-flowing games, even the big guys. Bob is putting in a lot of time fixing the flaws in the positions I like doing, because the big competitions are approaching.

Trans winning the Europeans / Photo: Ivan Trindade

3—What pointers can you offer our readers regarding these positions?

SAPATO: Always work on adjusting the positions properly and doing lots of repetitions of each of them to get the timing down and feel comfortable.

TRANS: Always practice the basics. If you look at all the different situations in Jiu-Jitsu, modern or not, you’ll see the underlying concepts. Keep tight, try to stay comfortable, use the proper leverage and try to get a better grasp of balance. One important piece of advice is to know what to do against a black belt, when any misstep could spell defeat.

4—What are your targets now?

SAPATO: We’re going after the Brazilian National and World black belt titles at weight and open weight.

TRANS: Now I’m going to compete at the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds. I had a bad start as a black belt. I’m not that talented a guy; I have to work really hard to improve, and I feel that that’s why the results will be a bit slow in coming. It can be hard competing along, without anyone to let you know how much time’s left on the clock… This time I’ll have friends with me and won’t let anyone throw off my focus again.

5—Cara de Sapato, tell us about your campaign in Abu Dhabi…

I took third over in Abu Dhabi, lost to Xande at weight, drew with Galvão in the absolute and they gave him the win. But despite it all, I was pleased to have gotten to fight them; after all, they’ve been my idols in the sport ever since I started training Jiu-Jitsu. But I feel I didn’t fight that well, perhaps because it was really close to the Pan and the travel wore me out a lot. I was more tired than when I’d fight ten-minute matches! I feel the organization also slipped up a lot, which ended up hindering the athletes.

6—What is it you’ve worked on in training the most? Can you give our readers some tips regarding these positions?

SAPATO: I always varied game up a lot withing the guard, and these days I’ve been working on the berimbolo a lot. But what I feel is most important is working on proper positional adjustment to feel comfortable and confident in each position.

TRANS: I like playing half-guard. I feel what’s important is to get your head near the hips. When my head is near the opponent’s hips in half-guard, I feel more comfortable, it’s harder for them to apply pressure. Never let them get a hold of your head.