There’s a deadly beast unleashed in the brown belt division. Who can rein him in? Photo by John Cooper.

Recently-decorated brown belt Keenan Cornelius, a jewel in the Team Lloyd Irvin crown, put in another sterling performance at the Long Beach Pyramid, last Sunday in California.

As has now come to be expected of him, Keenan took home two gold medals, at the 2012 No-Gi World Championship.

At medium heavyweight he tapped out all his opponents; at absolute he again met up with his rival Francisco “Sinistro” Iturralde of team Alliance, and the only fighter he didn’t submit was his teammate Wilbur Leonard, his opponent in the final, another gold medalist, the winner of the ultraheavyweight division. Once again, the athletes on Lloyd Irvin team refused to close out, and locked horns for real.

Is there anyone in the brown belt division who can stop this wizard of the mats?

Who would you like to see Keenan facing next season?

Commitment in Belo Horizonte

The young American has a few commitments on his agenda for next year. In January, he should be popping by the IBJJF European Championship, in Lisbon, Portugal. On the 28th of April, Kennan is one of the attractions at the Copa Pódio event in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, headlined by the Lightweight Grand Prix. The Lloyd Irvin athlete is set to take part in one of the supermatches.

Let us know what you think, Jiu-Jitsu lover: who can stop Keenan Cornelius?

Watch the brown belt in the final of his weight group and share your prediction.

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”.

Alexander Trans (CheckMat) in Jiu-Jitsu action / GRACIEMAG archive photo

Double gold winner at the big tournaments in 2011 as a brown belt, Alexandre Trans is now spreading terror in the black belt division.

NECK FINISH FROM BACK CONTROL

Against the seasoned Thiago Gaia in the ultraheavyweight final, the Dane defended handily, moved to back control and finished with a choke. Check it out and learn how to get back control and keep the pressure on till finishing. Then let us know: what did you learn from the match?

Paulo Miyao on his way to gold at 2012 IBJJF European Open / Photo: Kuba Sawicki/MANTO

In Jiu-Jitsu, winning’s great. But what really makes the effort worthwhile is putting on a great show, giving it your best shot, and etching your style into the spectators’ memories.

Slide to back and choke

That’s what young purple belt Paulo Miyao taught us at the  IBJJF European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, winning the light featherweight division with his fantastic guard, and drawing applause from the Lisbon crowd.

Despite the title of the video, the athlete featured is Paulo Miyao, not his talented brother João. Watch and learn:

Kayron Gracie (bottom) in his victorious match with Sergio Moraes at 2012 Pan / Photo by John Lamonica

Eight weeks removed from the IBJJF Pan-American Championship, and Gracie Barra doesn’t want to hear about resting on its laurels after having won the team title at the European Championship.

The focus now is on trying for a repeat performance in their own backyard, at the March 29 Pan to take place right down the road from team headquarters, in Irvine, California. Hence, Master Carlos Gracie Jr., the school’s leader, decided to make some changes to the team’s “tactical setup,” especially where the pre-Pan training camp is concerned.

TURBO-CHARGED TRAINING CAMP TO FUSE TOGETHER FORCES

A conversation between Carlos Gracie, GB director Marcio Feitosa and Professor Zé Radiola yielded five main measures to be taken, to strengthen the competitors and bind the team’s efforts.

1. PUT TOGETHER SPECIAL TRAINING CAMP

The camp will include daily training for the 2012 Pan, with Flavio Cachorrinho, Kayron Gracie and others of the team’s biggest stars.

2. A few weeks before the tournament, the competition team will be housed as near to GB America, team headquarters, as possible. Thus they intend to attract, provide support and strengthen the team’s top athletes.

3. MORE TRAINING CAMPS IN OTHER CITIES

Throughout California, GB will be organizing other camps for its athletes in different towns and cities, like in Los Angeles, San Diego and other GB-school locations.

4. THE STRENGTH IS IN THE UNION IN JIU-JITSU, TOO

Competitors from all the camps in Southern California will get together on Wednesdays for a special Pan 2012 training session.

5. EXPERIENCED COACH IN COMMAND

GB Pernambuco headmaster José “Radiola” will fly up to California from Brazil to lead the camp and select the teams to represent the school association at the 2012 Pan.

For further information, visit the official GB website, site oficial da GB, or send an email to pan2012@graciebarra.com.

Michelle Nicolini armbars Monica Vanessa at European Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Photo: Raphael Nogueira/GRACIEMAG.com.

The black belt Michelle Nicolini (CheckMat) won the women’s absolute division at the IBJJF European Championship this past weekend, outdoing two opponents. In her first match, she submitted Monica Vanessa with an armbar. In the final, she went up against her teammate Ida Hansson, who is soon to become a medical doctor, and won by 16 to 4.

Even after a near perfect campaign, the new queen of Portugal sees her conquest through the lens of a champion: she doesn’t want to rest on her laurels; she wants to pursue new questions. Perish uncertainty, in with the next queries.

The Rodrigo Cavaca-trained champion, who literally lost count of how many gold medals she has in Jiu-Jitsu, remained in Europe, where GRACIEMAG.com caught up with her for a chat about errors, training, strategies and her evolution.

“I’m in Germany, then I’ll head to Switzerland, Sweden, and then Brazil. On February 11 I have a seminar with Andrei Andrezzo in São Paulo; all the readers are invited,” said Michelle in invitation.

IF GOLD IN JIU-JITSU COVERS UP MISTAKES, ABSOLUTE GOLD COVERS UP ABSOLUTELY

“I agree in full that victory covers up mistakes. And that doesn’t happen only in Jiu-Jitsu. In competitions of all kinds, the ones who win most are the ones who make the least mistakes, or know how to capitalize on the opponent’s mistakes best. But the error will always be there! As professional athletes we can realize where we went wrong and tune in to our trainers’ orientation regarding it. With so many years competing, I can tell how victory is something complex that depends on a lot of different factors, which mount up starting from concentration, controlling anxiety, patience, even mental and physical conditioning, the referee’s state of attention and the state the opponent’s in. Often we make mistakes, veer off the path we had set for ourselves but the opponent can’t capitalize on the situation and we get a chance to get back on track during the match.”

CHAMP MICHELLE NICOLINI’S MISTAKE

“Yes, I messed up at the Europeans. It was in the absolute final. I made a mistake, Ida scored, but I managed to keep up the pace and stay ahead on the scoreboard. This situation of risk is there the whole time in Jiu-Jitsu, and we have to keep on our toes to make sure we don’t repeat the mistake—after all, we might not get a chance to correct it during the course of the match.”

HOW TO ANALYZE MISTAKES IN JIU-JITSU

“With one keyword: Study. In my opinion, study via observing and analyzing matches are the tools that help us to be more keen to mistakes. I always ask for technical opinions from people who watch my matches and observe my opponents in action. I always see things in a different light that way. I also talk to Cavaca a lot about how my game is evolving. And there are some folks on my team who have a good strategic vision, like Leo Vieira and Carlos Holanda [also European champion]. I really like listening to what they have to say about my opponents. As they are very familiar with my style of fighting, they can point out where I might run risk, what the best strategy is for each match, and the best way to try and win.

NUMBER OF JIU-JITSU MEDALS

“I’ve been in lots of competitions in the main division over the last few years, besides the medals I won at the lower belts; that’s why I have to confess that I have no idea how many medals I’ve won. But you got me curious, I’m going to count them all as soon as I get back to Brazil!”

Scene at 2012 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship by Kuba Sawicki (MANTO)

In the absolute, Rodolfo Vieira’s first match was against the eventual winner of the middleweight division, Victor Estima.

At the other end of the bracket, sparks flew when Bernardo Faria and Rafael Lovato Jr. got at each other’s necks in the absolute semifinal.

Now in the heavyweight final, Rodolfo Vieira and Roberto Tussa faced off and demonstrated smooth moves even lightweights would proud of.

Young Jiu-Jitsu black belt Oliver Geddes in photo by Callum Medcraft/BJJ Style

It was during the absolute. England’s Oliver “HarDrive” Geddes, a Roger Gracie black belt based in London, was getting put through the wringer by the stalwart Marcos Souza (Bonsai).

GOOD SURPRISE JIU-JITSU POSITION FROM TOP

At the end of the match, Oli pulled a rare below-the-belt position out of his sleeve, as you can see in this video by England’s BJJ Style.

Dug it? Already familiar with it? Comment below?

Bernardo Faria against Lucio Lagarto in superheavyweight final at European Championship / Photo por Raphael Nogueira

Numa final sem espaços no superpesado, o faixa-preta da Alliance Bernardo Faria tentou passar a guardinha carne-de-pescoço de Lucio Lagarto. Como não teve êxito, buscou uma alternativa e se deu bem, ao grampear e pegar as costas.

Foram quatro pontos que definiram o sanhaço, e a técnica você confere agora:

GFTeam star Rodolfo Vieira in photo by Raphael Nogueira

In the spaghetti western that was the 2012 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Rodolfo Vieira and Bernardo Faria had a late-afternoon showdown, a repeat of their duel in the absolute division final at the last World Championship.

Check out how it went this time around, and let all the other readers know: what is the main lesson you derived from this latest chapter of the Rodolfo Vieira-Bernardo Faria saga?

Bruno Frazatto attacking from back control in sport Jiu-Jitsu / Photo de Ivan Trindade

Another European Jiu-Jitsu Championship comes to a close, and yet again the most oft-used finishes were chokes from back mount, as basic as they are effective.

If you’re into mixing it up in competition, it’s worth keeping in mind that getting back mount is worth four points in sport Jiu-Jitsu—that is, when an athlete puts both hooks in at the opponent’s thights after gaining back control.

The basic escape for this recurring technique is well known. You have to protect your neck, bridge backwards and remove one of the hooks, slipping your hip out to the side where the hook was removed.

What about when it goes wrong?

GRACIEMAG.com took the back of three wizards of the gi, who were swift in intercepting the attack, and they asserted: nothing is more vital than to defend the neck with care.

Check out how they go about doing that:

1. SIMULTANEOUS MOVES ARE A SALVATION IN JIU-JITSU

“My pointer for you,” Vinicius Cruz (Carlson Gracie) begins, “is to move your arm, the arm of the hand on the side of the hand holding your collar for the choke, to the other side of the neck. At the same time, you need to remove the hook with your other hand, keeping in mind that you have to bare the weight of your hip down on the opponent’s leg, and creep your back out to the side.”

2. EVEN WHEN DEFENDING, MAKE YOUR OPPONENT UNCOMFORTABLE

“The important thing is to cause your opponent discomfort by baring your weight back on him, never letting him feel at ease. And defend your neck the whole time. Then it’s all about getting one of the hooks out and trying to flounder out,” recommends Thiago Maia (SAS-Ceará).

3. DON’T TURN YOUR NECK IN AGAINST THE LAPEL

To wrap up, Abraão Amorim (Evolution) put together a video showing how he escapes back control. He recommends never turning your neck towards the lapel pressing against it, and shows a hip move often used by Kron Gracie.

Victor Estima in final against Alan Finfou at European Open. The teacher at GB England sunk a reverse triangle and won. Photo: Raphael Nogueira.

The new middleweight champion of Europe, Victor Estima has been having a splendid year so far. Firstly, because he was picked to be the director of the Gracie Barra school network in England. Secondly, because he helped his teammates capture the trophy for number-one team at the European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2012, last Sunday in Portugal.

In an interview on the official Gracie Barra website, the Zé Radiola student explained how directing a team and training hard are not mutually exclusive—quite the opposite.

We put the article through the strained and came up with the better bits of what Victor had to say. Check them out:

PLANS AND CHALLENGES AS A JIU-JITSU TEACHER

“We have to deal with people, and that’s always a challenge, but I have faith in the work being done at GB. My brother [Bráulio Estima] and I are showing how things should be done at the schools, and thus the changes become all the easier to make because we’ve already tested them. My plan is to bring all the academies in line with the official GB model—simple as that. Our program is really effective, and it revamped my school. That’s why I’m certain it will do the same with them all. I want to unify all the Gracie Barra schools in the United Kingdom with the aim of us all working under the same administration, so that the efforts of one benefit the rest.”

JIU-JITSU, RESPONSIBILITY AND SUCCESS

“It’s very important that a director have a good relationship with the people involved with Jiu-Jitsu and those not involved, as well. The teacher should be very familiar with how the sport is developing in the region and, furthermore, know the lay of the land—that’s a really important factor. The United Kingdom is a country still developing, where Jiu-Jitsu is concerned; it’s growing a lot. Gracie Barra is the strongest team in the area, but there’s still a gap between it and countries like Brazil and the USA. But the way I see it, it’s just a question of time.”

Victor Estima fondling the trophy as GB celebrated winning the 2012 European Open / Publicity photo

THE SECRET TO FOCUSING ON JIU-JITSU COMPETITIONS

“I’m more focused on competition than even. The secret is that I have a highly capable team helping me out on and off the mats.

TRAINER SIDE VERSUS ATHLETE SIDE

“I’m constantly teaching class to some UFC fighters, like Dan Hardy, André Winner, and some others who will be making their debut there soon. But I’m at the peak of my Jiu-Jitsu career, so I’m focused on that. Now my brother is getting ready to make his MMA debut, so we do remain more fighters than we are trainers.”