But which position today would be the most efficient? The open guard? The loop guard? The closed guard? The De la Riva?

What do you think, faithful reader? What would be the guard who works more today?

And on the other hand, is there a guard who is already obsolete, outdated? Lets debate.

Here’s a video of GMA member Rubens Cobrinha showing the dangers of spider guard.

Caio Terra against Bruno Malfacine in Pan 2013. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GracieMag.com

Ending last Sunday, the IBJJF Pan 2013 also had plenty of excitement among the skinny.

At roosterweight, during a final decided by detail, the expert guard player Caio Terra stunned five-time world champion Bruno Malfacine 2-0 with a sweep.

Caio told GracieMag how his footwork confused Bruno.

“If he was confused with my guard I’m surprised. Actually, I think I just didn’t let him restrain me much, which made it easier for me to get into good positions all the time,” said Caio.

“The most important thing to win was the training. My preparation and my result was only proof that the training was done right. I had an excellent camp for 10 days at my gym in San Jose, California, with the help of several champions, like Leandro Lo, Rafael Formiga, Marcus Antelante, Ben Baxter, Luiza Monteiro and others. We follow a spreadsheet made by Itallo Villardo, who is the best physical trainer for martial arts in my opinion,” he praised.

Caio highlighted the tough semifinal against Fabbio Passos. “Our semifinal was one of the most complicated in the Pan. It was a tough fight and he surprised me. But in the end, the hard fight only gave me strength to get even more focused to win the final,” he concluded.

To check the final results of Pan 2013, click here.

Renato Tavares (ATT) with Chicago Open medals / Photos: personal archive

Jiu-Jitsu black belt Renato Tavares, our GMA at ATT Vero Beach, Florida, dominated the senior age group at the Chicago Winter Open last weekend in Illinois, USA.

A student of late Grandmaster Carlson Gracie, Renato won both the featherweight division and the absolute, and spoke with GRACIEMAG.com about his conquest.

“This year I managed to take first at weight and open weight. I had three matches: the two at weight I won on points, and the one in the absolute I won by submission, closing out the brackets with Giulio Timóteo, my teammate at Carlson Gracie’s academy back in the 1990’s. It was a good test for the Pan. Now it’s all about ironing out the mistakes and going for another gold medal at the Pan. I won it last year, in 2009 and in 2001,” he recalled.

JIU-JITSU IS REPETITION, POSTURE AND ATTENTION TO DETAILS

“All competitions are a learning experience. Whether in preparing for an event, in warmup, mental preparations, strategy—everything counts and you always learn,” preaches Renato.

“Each championship has a level, and for this one I’d been training hard to get ready for the Pan. I’ve been working a lot on the open guard and de la Riva guard from bottom position, as well as guard passing from top. The most important part is to get good at a given position and do the position specific to your game a lot. Always do a lot of repetitions and pay close attention to the details and posture,” said the teacher in conclusion.

In the video below, Renato shows how to develop and effective guard. Check it out and do lots of repetitions, always under the supervision of a qualified Jiu-Jitsu instructor.