Photo by Ed Spider

[First published in 2013.]

One of the winners of the Natal trials for the 2013 Abu Dhabis, black-belt Bruno Ramos wants to keep up the pace. To do so, he signed up for a local Fortaleza, Ceará event: Copa Meiaguarda.

The curious part about him is that Bruno studies animal movements in defining his jiu-jitsu. “You can foresee your foe’s move, like we see happen on Animal Planet and other shows,” he says, half serious, half joking.

To prove he means what he says, Bruno broke down the cat movement he used in one of his recent matches. Take note: with the opponent in side control, Ramos creeps out his hip and gets his legs on his opponent’s torso. The climb and feline attack happen in a matter of seconds, as you can see below.

Extended Wide Squat. Source: Louisa Larson Photography

The most important part of a fighter’s body is his or her core. Strengthening your hips, abs, back and lower back is the best way to get in shape for Jiu-Jitsu. As a result of frequent training and physical preparation, your muscles tend to tighten up, making you stiffer in your practice sessions. Thus, while you want to build strength, you should also strive to become more flexible. In particular, opening up your hips will improve your technique and mobility on the mat.

Click here to learn 8 exercises from PopSugar Fitness to increase flexibility and loosen up tight hips.

The choke from side-control / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG

When you’ve made it past guard and are chest to chest with your opponent, you’ve reached side-control. What now?

The key to stabilizing the position is to latch on to the collar behind the neck and get a solid grip on the back of the pants. From there the next step is to go to the classic knee-on-belly and then on to mount.

But you can cut straight to the chase with an attack. Tom Oberhue, a GMA of ours in Portland, Oregon and Saulo Ribeiro black belt , teaches us the following choke from side-control:

Ricardo Cavalcanti at seminar in Fortaleza, Ceará State, last September / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

Ricardo Cavalcanti is a GMA of ours and the leader at Carlson Gracie Las Vegas, Nevada.

“At every seminar I teach, I learn as well. Everyone has something new to show. And Grandmaster Carlson Gracie has certainly been accompanying me at those seminars, because the thing he liked most was to see everyone training,” said the Jiu-Jitsu professor, today teaching us how to get an opponent out of mount.

Note how he grabs his own wrist as though to defend his arms. Next he raises his hip and puts a hook in at the opposite leg.

He thus sticks his opponent’s foot in his half-guard (as explained at minute 1:32), and then latches on to the leg, raises his legs and, with a seesaw motion, reverses the position and takes the back.

Always train under a qualified instructor’s supervision.

Roberto Cyborg in action at 2011 No-Gi Worlds / Photo by John Cooper/IBJJF

The No-Gi champion of the world in 2011, Roberto Cyborg is holding a series of seminars around the United States and isn’t yet sure if he’ll be putting in an appearance at the Long Beach Pyramid this November 3 and 4 to fight for a second world title.

Also known as Mr. Tornado, our GMA in Miami put together the following video, where he demonstrates some excellent exercises for getting an unbeatable guard and hips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyXY-LTXew

Now to get in on the 2012 No-Gi World Championship, click here.

Leandro Lo against Felipe Preguiça at Copa Pódio / Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

Riding the wake of the gentle art’s rising popularity in the Brazilian Northeast, the seventh installment of Best Fighters Jiu-Jitsu tournament will take place this coming weekend in the city of Fortaleza, and there are some major attractions for athletes and fans alike on offer.

There’s BRL 15,000 up for grabs—the winner of the absolute black belt division alone will pocket 3,500, according to the promoters. The sum has caught the attention of athletes from elsewhere, and they’re on their way to Ceará State to try and get their hands on the bounty.

One of these fearless competitors is Leandro Lo. The current lightweight champion of the world is confirmed to be there and is favored to win the title. “I’m going to compete in Fortaleza and stay there for two weeks. I’m going to train with Ricardo Costa, Fabio Jefferson and Dênis Chokito at DKB team. After that I’m going to try and win my way to Abu Dhabi at the Natal tryouts on the coming 15th,” the São Paulo native told GRACIEMAG.com.

Leandro Lo, proving he leaves no loose ends untied, reveals how to unravel the de la Riva guard in the following video.

As he shows it, the trick is to get a four-finger grip on the pant leg and push the leg down. Next, get your knee on the opponent’s belly and push the other leg, trapping the hip. This set of movements takes both legs out of play. Watch the video, and comment on what you make of the position.

Cavaca clamps down on Igor Silva’s foot at 2010 Brazilian Nationals. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com.

CheckMat ace Renato Cardoso made his name at last weekend’s São Paulo Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The recently-promoted Rodrigo Cavaca black belt won the medium heavyweight and absolute divisions, getting the tapout in all five of his matches, three of them coming by way of the trick his teacher, Rodrigo Cavaca, teaches in the video below.

Take note of the importance of being seated positions in order to successfully perform the foot attack.

After getting upright, point your knee away from your opponent to expose the his leg. Then you wrap your arm around, fit your wrist up against the ankle and grab the lapel, while bringing your torso forward first, before tilting sideways.

“What hurts him is my wrist bone,” explains Cavaca. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments field below.

To further your studies even more, we’re featuring an armbar attack from guard taught by Kid Peligro.

“The key detail in this move is to keep your pelvis flush up against the opponent’s shoulder. That way, when you raise your hips, there’ll be enormous pressure against the opponent’s elbow. If there’s any room between your pelvis and his shoulder he’ll be able to slip his elbow out,” Rafael Lovato, our GMA in the US state of Oklahoma, teaches in the magazine.

Check out the video with Kid Peligro in detail, and don’t forget to subscribe to GRACIEMAG by clicking here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMIELUN3FNo

Diogo Almeida in action at Copa Pódio / Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

GRACIEMAG.com is always pointing out which up-and-coming Jiu-Jitsu talent will rise to the top, and most of the time it’s right on the money. Such is the case with Diogo Almeida, a Celso Venicius student (refresh your memory here).

The black belt showed his mettle by winning the middleweight division at the São Paulo International Open last weekend. “I had a great campaign, and like I said I would, I showed my might by winning a CBJJ title. Soon I want to be doing MMA,” said the ace from Ryan Gracie team.

Diogo was also kind enough to share a position from his repertory with GRACIEMAG.com. A body part so important that it’s the main feature of GRACIEMAG #185, the hip is essential in the position he teaches. Take note of how he’s in spider-guard and sets a foot on the ground, forcing his opponent to come forward, without letting go of the sleeve.

Next, he shifts to X-guard and moves his grip to the armpit, cracking his opponent’s posture out and sweeping.

Check out the video, and get your copy of GRACIEMAG 185 at the bookstore nearest you to get up to speed on your hip movement.

And to make sure you don’t miss out on further invaluable lessons down the road, subscribe to GRACIEMAG by clicking here.

GRACIEMAG #185 is now in bookstores the world over, bringing you all you need to know about the hips. The issue is packed with pointers and teachings about the body’s pivot, a vital piece in the workings of your Jiu-Jitsu. “Your hips are the equivalent of your legs. Look at how a snake moves. It doesn’t walk; it zigzags. When Jiu-Jitsu fighters are playing guard they slide like snakes, just with their bellies up,” explains Carlos Gracie Junior in the FACE TO FACE section.

In the following video, black belt Marcos Vinicius Costa, the leader of Nine Nine Pernambuco, teaches hip movement and its application in combat, exclusively for GRACIEMAG.com. Notice how he uses his hand as support to switch base. This movement helps the teacher get up and reverse the position.

Learn from Costa, and get your copy of GRACIEMAG #185.

And if you want to be sure you don’t miss any other gems like this one in the future, click here to subscribe to GRACIEMAG.

Carlson Gracie Jr. during seminar in Recife—always tuned in to GRACIEMAG / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

The son of the late Grandmaster Carlson Gracie (1933-2006), Junior was in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco last weekend to teach a highly sought-after seminar at team Gutenberg Melo, the Carlson Gracie team branch in those parts. The black belt taught control techniques, side-control escapes, choke attacks, the traditional americana, knee-on-belly and sweeps, not to mention lettting GRACIEMAG.com in one the greatest teachings he received from his grandmaster father: “The lesson is to never think you’re the best, and most of all to never think you know everything. There’s always something left to learn in Jiu-Jitsu,” said “Juninho”, as he is known. “I hope that wherever my father is today he is happy with the work I’m doing. I want to always honor my father’s name through my work in Jiu-Jitsu.”

Carlson Jr. took the opportunity to teach the following escape from north-south position. Take note of the importance of breaking the grip through hip movement, to then grab the belt and get out from underneath. And once you’ve got that down pat, rush to your local bookstore to get GRACIEMAG #185, with all the tips on how to turbo charge your hip, the pivot on which your Jiu-Jitsu rides.