Raphael Cadena represents RMNU HQ team. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Professor Raphael Cadena, our GMI in Florida, answered GRACIEMAG’s request and prepared a series of exercises for you to sharpen your grips on the spider guard. A representative of the RMNU HQ school and trained by A2 Jiu-Jitsu teacher Leandro Azara in Teresópolis, Raphael is a seasoned competitor and has prepared for you a simple and efficient spider guard sweep for you to implement in your game.

Check out the sweep below:

Raphael Cadena is an experienced competitor in Jiu-Jitsu. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Professor Raphael Cadena, our GMI in Florida, answered GRACIEMAG’s request and prepared a series of exercises for you to sharpen your grips on the spider guard. Representative of the RMNU HQ school and trained by Professor Leandro Azara, from A2 Jiu-Jitsu, in Teresópolis, Raphael is an experienced competitor and has prepared for you the best tips for you to leave your opponent trapped in the spider’s web.

Check out the exercises bellow:

Guilherme Mendes getting to leg drag position during his second match at the 2013 World Championship. Photo: Kristen Mendes

The Mendes brothers are known for their guards but also their passing which shows their ability to connect moves as well. After seeing a match online with a pass that seems to use three techniques in one then analyzing a certain grip that seems to help a passer prevent someone from recovering guard, we decided to ask Guilherme Mendes about this outside grip on the pants. Normally with knee slice positions we see a grip made on an opponent’s side and then the other hand grips the opponent’s arm or leg. But this grip is different.

Check out Guilherme’s second match from the 2013 Worlds and the grip he uses to make this knee slice, long step, leg drag pass possible and then read our interview him below for explanation:

GRACIEMAG: When you first get to that knee slice position what grips are you looking for?

I’m always trying to get a good control, my first try is always the under hook but when you fight against top level guys it is hard to get and we need to combine attacks until we achieve the position that we want.
We always tell the students that passing the guard is about combination, if you connect the techniques very well and explode you have great changes to pass the guard.

Why do you choose to grab the pants instead of gripping the person’s side/grabbing their gi there?

I always feel my opponents and I try to figure out what guard and grips they are looking for, when I fight against someone who likes the leg lasso or spider guard I use this grip on the pants because I control my opponent’s leg and it’s hard for them to step on my biceps or step on my hips.

Besides that long step pass when you switch your hips, what other passes can you get from that position/grip?

I tell the students that we need to have many attacks from the same grip, because once you get the grips during the fight you can keep attacking the opponent without changing any grip and it will make your pass very powerful. I use that grip for knee slide pass, long step, leg weave and shin slide pass.

Are you always looking to get into the leg drag position or does it depend on how the opponent reacts?

I’m always trying to stabilize in the leg drag position to have a better control. Also the leg drag position gives you the option to choose between back and side control.

It’s all about connecting techniques. I control the pants to prevent the spider guard or leg lasso and I grab the collar to prevent the deep half guard. Once I get my grips I start the knee slide pass, my opponent will push me away to defend and I connect to long step, he starts turning into a double leg to defend the pass and I keep the same grips and jump over his legs getting the leg drag position.

I would like to say thank you so much for all the fans for the amazing messages that we have been receiving on our social media, God is amazing to us and we are very blessed to live our dream. I would like to invite everyone to stop by Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy one day and train with us, our Academy has open doors to everyone! Also, if you wanna watch our classes online visit www.mendesbros.com, we upload every class that we teach and it has been helping a lot of people to learn our moves and concepts! Thank you everyone OSSS

Tarcísio Jardim with the blue gi against Alexandro Ceconi, in Brazilian 2012. Photo: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

The heavyweight Paul Tarcisio Jardim is training at full speed to do well in Abu Dhabi on April 13 and 14 in the WPJJC professional event, with millionaire prizes. To shine in the event of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the black belt from CheckMat has sharpening his takedowns and his guard, not just at the gym, in João Pessoa, Paraíba. He also competed in the Pan 2013, at the end of March, where he won third place in his weight division.

Today, Tarcisio teaches some traps from the sitting guard so you can use it on your friends at the gym. The starting position begins in half guard, as he shows in the video below.

Note that, at :33, the black belt from Paraíba teaches how to master the grips and to fit the right leg on the opponent’s thigh in order to sweep.

At :39, with the grips, Tarcisio releases one grip and goes up to hold the opponent’s lapel and going over the right leg, taking away the opponent’s option of rolling and passing the guard.

At :57, Jardim comes back to the starting position with the grips dominated and encourages the opponent to pass the guard to the left. After that, he stretches the opponent’s leg taking the base away, but defends the position with his hand. Now you just need to release the grip on the left arm of the opponent and take the back. Use the hook on the opponent’s left foot, kick back and take the back.

And what if the opponent defends the sweep? Replace the hand on the lapel and sweep.

At 2:37, see how the professor passes the lapel from one hand to another. Note that he keeps the right leg stretched on the thigh of the opponent.

At 2:40, he supports his hand on the ground, lowers the leg and rotates the hip to sweep the opponent. Note that Tarcisio Jardim doesn’t release the lapel when the opponent is with his back on the floor.

Did it fit to your game? Tell us.

Fabio Tom-b and Osiris Maia at Brazilian Fight academy / Photo by Junior Samurai/Graciemag.com

One of the greatest life lessons Jiu-Jitsu teaches us is that there’s always an option.

That’s what black belt Osiris Maia, the headmaster at team Brazilian Fight and winner of the senior 2 medium heavyweight division at the latest International Master championship, teaches us today.

On attacking the back, Osiris teaches what to do if the opponent manages to get his head free. All he does is change sides of the collar and switch grips from a four-finger grip to one with the thumb on the inside.

Remember to keep your body flush up against your opponent when going for the choke.

Now what about your master, has he got a cool position you’d like to share with GRACIEMAG.com readers?

Email a YouTube link to us at videos@graciemag.com.