Kayron Gracie. IBJJF

In action at the Asian Open held last weekend in Tokyo, Gracie Barra teacher Kayron Gracie displayed some beautiful BJJ in the middleweight division.

After having spent some time away from the competitive scene, the son of Carlos Gracie Jr. used tight, effective movements to finish each of his three matches with variations of the ezequiel choke.

In the final against the U.S.’s Nathan Medelsohn, Kayron used his solid guard game, then swept and exerted control from the top. When he took the back, Kayron successfully used the ezequiel. You can watch the complete fight in this video and study Kayron’s moves.

Whether you want to get ready for it or not, you can take advantage of this exclusive video below where brown belt phenomenon Keenan Cornelius unveils the secret of his signature Ezekiel choke, from the back.

[highlight]Click HERE to watch more Keenan Cornelius techniques

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Léo Nogueira in action in the 2012 South American Championship absolute division / Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

Last Saturday, current heavyweight champion of the world Léo Nogueira closed out the absolute division at the 2012 South American Championship with his Alliance teammate Léo Leite. He took silver in the open weight division, but on Sunday he came up with gold in his weight group.

“I feel I had a solid campaign. I got the tapout in all my matches at weight and open weight except for in the final [against Gracie Barra’s André Alberto]. In the gold-medal match the truth is that I prioritized strategy and chose not to expose myself much,” recalled Léo Nogueira in a conversation with GRACIEMAG.com.

“It was a different sort of competition for me,” he said. “Normally I stick to a game plan; this tournament I fought for the finish no matter what position I was in. I let my Jiu-Jitsu flow, and I enjoyed it.”

One of the Alliance black belt’s matches to cause the biggest buzz around the Centro Multiuso de São José arena was the one against Guto Campos of Guetho JJ in the absolute semifinals. Nogueira kept his game unfettered there too:

“I sunk a forearm choke as I made it to mount. Guto tried replacing half-guard and ended up leaving his neck open,” he explained. “You should use the forearm choke when the opponent tries sliding under you or replacing half-guard. It’s a habit: when the opponent tries replacing, as a consequence he ends up forgetting about his neck, and that makes it easy to sub him,” he advised.

What about you, gentle reader? Were you there at the South American Championship? What position or technique did you learn from the big stars at the CBJJ event? Share your thoughts with us in the comments field below.

Click here for the full results from the championship.