Rodolfo Vieira vs. Bernardo Faria at the 2014 Worlds. GRACIEMAG

Despite having made the jump to MMA, Rodolfo Vieira is still a BJJ teacher through and through, occasionally traveling to teach a packed seminar somewhere in Brazil.

A few years back, he paid a visit to Escola de Jiu-Jitsu Brasileiro, led by Edgar Guimarães in Blumenau, and taught a maneuver he used at the highest possible level: a final of the IBJJF Worlds. This may well be the detail currently missing from your top game.

It’s worth noting that it’s a guard pass with a double underhook, bringing the passer straight to the mount and earning them seven points (three from the pass and four from the mount).

Translated transcript:

“I’ll show a guard pass I employed at the Worlds final. He will be here keeping it all closed on half-guard. I’ve managed to gain the underhook there. I’m here wrapping his arm [0:25] with that traditional underhook, except I’ll change it up a little here. I’m gonna underhook under his arm. I keep my elbow at the level of his elbow, because if I come too close to the armpit, he becomes strong and lowers his arm. So I keep it right here [0:46] at the elbow and I carry his arm up. I close the hand-to-hand grip. Now I’m gonna prop my foot here, I raise my hip, I’ll step on his calf, and I’ll go right to the mount.”

Carlson Gracie Jr in 2010. Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG

Does your knee-on-belly lack the pressure you wish it had? As Carlson Gracie Jr. taught us, the trick may be a little higher up — on the neck, to be precise.

Check out in the video below the lesson, passed down from Carlson to Carlson Jr. to Graciemag readers.

Translated transcript:

“Here I like doing what my father taught me. You have to block your opponent. If the guy is very resourceful and can hip-escape well, you have to put concentrated pressure on his neck so he can’t escape. So when I come here on the side, this hand, instead of grabbing behind his collar, I’ll use these four fingers to grab on the front. Here I’ll put the pressure on his neck and I get my knee on his stomach.

“Why? If he tries to hip-escape… he can’t. So what do I do? I’ve started… I know that the moment I do this [0:53], he’s gonna get out. So what do I do? He’s gonna try to get out… I switch to the collar. Right?

“I can’t grab too far here, because there’s no pressure. I grab tight, lock, go to the neck. Hand on the floor. I go up, my whole weight forward, and I get my knee on his stomach. I know that in the moment here [1:40], you’re not gonna measure the force and weight. And here, when you go, you go with everything, right to his neck. He’s gonna worry about the neck and forget about the knee. So you get the arm out and stick the hand in his collar. And you work from here.”

“These are specific movements for BJJ,” they explain, “with variations on exercises to improve your grip, balance, isometric work and guard mobility.”

Teddy Riner suffers the counter that took him down and cost him his invincibility. IJF

After an undefeated stint that started in 2010, the French judoka Teddy Riner, 30, was surprised last week during the Paris GP. After 154 victorious matches, nine world titles and two Olympic gold medals, Teddy suffered a counterattack and was toppled at last.

The man who did it was Japan’s Kokoro Kageura, 24, in Teddy’s third match in the competition. After sustaining a tie in the regular time, Teddy, trying to win, went for an uchi mata. But Kokoro didn’t fall and, unbalanced and with a leg in the air, pulled Teddy by the sleeve, achieving the winning wa zari. Kokoro went on to lose to Henk Grol in the final.

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History is made!! After 154 consecutive victories over the course of 10 years @kokoro1206 is the man to end the reign of Teddy Riner! The whole of France looks on in shock . . . . #JudoParis #Judo #Sport #Olympics #Paris #France

Uma publicação compartilhada por International Judo Federation (@judogallery) em 9 de Fev, 2020 às 4:51 PST

The history of MMA has some heroic winning streaks as well. Examples include Rickson Gracie (1980 to 2000), Anderson Silva (2000 to 2013) and Fedor Emelianenko (2001 to 2010).

Kyra Gracie. GRACIEMAG

Always looking for new experiences, Kyra Gracie from Gracie Kore, located in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, recently welcomed a special guest. Luciano Jatobá, a blind competitor, is a black-belt in BJJ. And today you’ll learn his favorite submission starting from the guard.

Jatobá applied the choke on Kyra with his hand on her lapel, and the move got her so fast that she had to take a moment before weighing in verbally on its effectiveness.

Translated transcript:

J: “You are in my guard. I release the lapel and grab it here under the arm. The grip is this one here, Kyra.”

K: “With the four fingers here, right?”

J: “I close a fist here, and done. On the same side, I’m gonna put four fingers on the inside, way up on her neck. The hand is on the outside here. Theoretically, she thinks there’s nothing here. I pull this hand here to this side, and I already bring it down choking her with the blade of my arm. This is a very good position; I’ve won at least one championship with this position.”

K: “It really is. It gets you quickly.”

J: “And it’s an innocent position.”

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Abi-Rihan secures the gold medal.

Today’s throwback takes us to a confrontation of ten years ago, when the Brazilian Nationals still had the sacred temple of Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a stage — Tijuca Tennis Club in Rio de Janeiro.

In Brazil we use the Portuguese word for cauldron to describe an arena packed with a very loud crowd, and those wishing to understand what we mean should turn up the volume to watch the video below. It’s a battle between Raphael Abi-Rihan and Tarsis Humphreys in the medium heavyweight final of the 2009 Brazilian Nationals, held by the CBJJ.

Kron squeezes Tonon’s neck. Erin Herle/GRACIEMAG

Currently ascending in the UFC, Kron Gracie built his finishing style in BJJ tournaments, both classical and no-gi. The son of Rickson Gracie has, for example, an ADCC title.

In the under-77kg division of ADCC 2013, held in China, Kron beat Andy Wang, Garry Tonon, JT Torres and Otavio Souza to bag the gold medal. His quarterfinal match, in particular, sticks out in our minds.

A young athlete of Renzo Gracie Academy at the time, and nowadays a One Championship belt holder, Tonon had a great fight with Kron. The Brazilian brought danger with a supertight armbar, which Tonon foiled, but the American ended up caught in a merciless rear naked choke.

Watch it here:

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!”

Ryan Gracie. Luca Atalla

There aren’t many recordings out there of lessons taught by Ryan Gracie, the fearless BJJ and MMA competitor who died an early death. But our team has dug into the ol’ chest to bring you an exclusive lesson.

In December 2004, Ryan welcomed Graciemag into his São Paulo gym and revealed the secrets to his powerful guillotine. Note how he used to adjust the position by controlling the wrist of the hand that catches his opponent’s neck.

World champion Gabriel Vella helped out in this lesson. A true gem from the Graciemag archives that’s now available to enrich your jiu-jitsu. Enjoy it in the following video — no Portuguese needed.

Bruno Malfacine at the Worlds. Gallerr

At least once a year, California turns into the international capital of Brazilian jiu-jitsu with the hosting of the IBJJF World Championship. In 2018, a huge number of great athletes showed up at the Walter Pyramid looking for gold — but lots more happened among friends and colleagues before the Worlds proper. Some fighters almost lost their tournaments before stepping on the mat.

With a great selection of delicious meals and snacks, the shops and restaurants of California can pose an additional threat to the athletes that need to face the scale before they compete, and Bruno Malfacine was among those put at risk.

A ten-time world champion who recently retired, Malfacine nearly couldn’t represent Alliance this year — all because of an unplanned meal.

“The diet cheat that makes me happiest is the traditional rice, beans, meat and eggs,” he told us, “but if we’re talking quantity, it’s Japanese food. One week before the tournament, some friends had the idea to go to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. I tried to resist and said it wasn’t a good idea, until they convinced me saying we were going to control ourselves and eat just a little.

“It got to a point where I had to leave money on the table to let them pay my share, and leave, because I could no longer control myself. To sum up, I got to the hotel and when I went to weigh myself, I was four kilos above the limit — which is not normal for me a week before the event.”

“Thank God everything worked out,” the roosterweight champion added. “I managed to lose the excess and fight.”

Rani Yahya. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

ADCC champion Rani Yahya, who’s been parading his remarkable ground skills in the UFC since 2011, shares some knowledge with you in today’s lesson.

Wearing MMA gloves and no gi, Rani shows how to overcome an opponent who’s trying to thwart an RNC by isolating one of the attacking arms. To achieve that, Rani swaps the cross grip on his opponent’s chest for the ten-finger grip, thus getting the trapped hand closer. Then he puts his hand on the bicep, over his opponent’s arm, and applies pressure until he can finish.

This technique, which is easily adjusted to your gi training, can be the key to submitting an opponent who defends well when surprised by the back-take. Check it out in the following video.

Nicolini. One FC

Last Friday, eight-time BJJ world champion Michelle Nicolini faced a new challenge in MMA as she stepped into the cage at One Championship 69, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Her victim was Iryna Kyselova. A strong striker, Kyselova was taken to the ground right away. Dominant on the ground, Nicolini got to the mount and started hitting. Then Kyselova wound up turning her back to the Brazilian, and we all know how that goes.

After passing the arm and putting the hand on the bicep, Nicolini applied continuous pressure on the rear naked choke as she was weighing Kyselova down. The referee stayed close to the action awaiting Kyselova’s taps, which never came. After checking Kyselova’s arm, he realized she had become unconscious. Nicolini had achieved her fifth win, and her third consecutive one.

Check out Michelle Nicolini’s control in this video: