Bruno Ramos demonstrates a sweep with the help of the lapel. (Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG)

Middleweight black belt Bruno Ramos is training balls to the wall to put on a show in the land ruled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. To be sure he shines in Abu Dhabi this April, the Gracie Barra black belt is picking up steam, and to do so he took to the mats at last weekend’s Open Ceará tournament, where he one two gold medals–one at adult, the other at master.

Bruno made the most of the trip to Fortaleza to teach one of the sweeps he uses most. Check it out!

When the opponent tries passing guard, the GB Pernambuco representative sets a trap.

First he pushes one of his opponent’s legs and sits, grabbing the other leg and securing the opposite lapel, as you can see at the 1:05 mark of the video.

The opponent tries to advance, but Bruno sinks a hook and wraps the lapel around the opponent’s waist (1:20).

There the opponent starts to feel the treat and tries to grab his head. That’s when Bruno sinks an underhook to impede him (1:32).

To complete the movement he turns his hip and makes a swaying motion with his leg to achieve the sweep (1:44). From there the lapel comes in handy to help him move to mount.

What do you say? How did that work for you?

Hugo Britto in action at Southern Brazilian Championship in 2012 (Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com)

Hugo Britto, head professor at Gracie Barra Parnamirim, in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte, is a medium heavyweight pursuing the flexibility and speed of slight-framed fighters.

Today, the GB ace teaches a submission that is useful for anyone who makes it to omoplata but has trouble finishing from there.

If you’re fed up with just sweeping your opponent, how about finishing with the crucifix?

Jacob Mackenzie on Ed Ramos’s back during Brazilian Team Nationals in Rio (Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG)

Canadian black belt Jake Mackenzie is another one of the aces confirmed for combat at the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship to take place Jan. 24-27 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The middleweight, who is now training in London alongside Vinícius Marinho and Gabriel Ratinho at GFTeam England, spoke with GRACIEMAG.com about what he expects to find in Portugal.

“The European Open is always a fun tournament. I’m really excited about competing there at the end of the month,” said Jake, before offering his breakdown of his weight division. “I just moved to middleweight at the end of last year, so I haven’t had a chance to compete against all the top guys in the division yet. I know the competition in Portugal is going to be really stiff. That’s why I’m anxious to test myself out against everyone in the weight class.”

Known for his versatile half-guard game, the Canadian taught us an intricate back attack.

“In half-guard the game has to be really aggressive, with a series of variations; otherwise the guy will pass. It’s vital that you have a bunch of options so you’ll be able to confuse your opponent,” said Jake.

With the help of the decorated black belt Roberto Cyborg, Jake first pummels an underhook (minute 0.50) under Cyborg’s arm and loops his other arm around his buddy’s leg. Next he grabs the lapel and passes it under his opponent (minute 0.54). The trick is to be careful when lifting your body, because the opponent may roll out (minute 1.15). Upon pulling the lapel, make sure to unbalance the opponent (1:46 min), to next do the final roll (1:58 min) and make it to the back.

Renato Cardoso is signed up for the January European Open 2013. (Personal-archive photo)

Rodrigo Cavaca student Renato Cardoso had a successful competition run in 2012, his first year as a black belt, winning gold at tournaments like the Brasília Open and São Paulo Open.

Now the CheckMat heavyweight wants to take the level up a notch and win with gold medals at the 2013 European Open, coming up late January in Lisbon, Portugal.

The absolute division at the big event is a promising one, as, besides Renato, there will be Rômulo Barral, Alexander Trans and José “Ciência” Junior, among others all going for glory in the most thrilling division.

While not letting the cat out of the bag altogether, Renato did let GRACIEMAG.com in one a few of the positions he is developing to take his adversaries by surprise.

The first of them is a de la Riva-guard pass. The trick is to sink the first grip at the opponent’s shoulder while grabbing the pant leg at the knee with the second hand.

Renato then postures up and, taking one leg out of play, gets free by hopping over the hook (minute 1:02). To get around the de la Riva hook, the stronger of the two, he simply turns his foot outwards (minute 1:25).

Still with his hand on the knee, the CheckMat ace pushes the leg down and maintains the pressure on the shoulder with his other hand, allowing him to jump past guard (minute 1:30).

In the second position, Renato Cardoso plays sitting guard. With the help of a firm grip on the lapel, he pushes the opponent’s thigh with one foot, slips his hip out and, holding the collar, pulls the opponent while pressuring his calf.

How’d you like the positions?

To find out who all is confirmed for the 2013 European Open, click here.

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

George Andersch / Personal archive photo

In Jiu-Jitsu, the gi doesn’t just serve to clothe and protect you. It can be used to help execute a countless number of moves, from sweeps to guard passes.

So to finish, a good handful of cloth may be what was missing in your game.

George Andersch, our GMA in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, is big on lapel-laden techniques. Check out what he has to teach us today:

Eight effective attacks for catching everyone by the neck in training today.

Douglas Rufino wins Brazilian No-Gi Nationals. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com.

Douglas Rufino, a black belt in the masters age group, didn’t want to hear about what his competitor ID has as his year of birth, and locked horns with the young bucks at the Brazilian No-Gi Nationals. How’d he come out? With a gold medal in the adult light featherweight division.

“I was surprised by my performance because I’d never competed in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu before. I’d never even trained without the gi! I did one week of training for this competition,” said the CheckMat black belt. “Truth is, I didn’t do anything different. All I did was push the pace and go on the attack,” said the half-guard specialist.

“My game is bottom based, but I’ve been becoming more confident in my top, pass game lately. My tip for improving in half-guard is to do a lot of repetitions and work the grips on the opponent’s gi,” he said, before demonstrating a position for us.

“Lie down with your shoulder on the ground and hug your opponent’s leg. With the hand wrapped around the leg, grab his lapel and knee him in the butt to put him off balance. Post with your other hand and sweep.”

What do you think of the position?

In the following video, Buiú, the head of Carlson Gracie Miami, shows how to make use of the bow-and-arrow choke when the clock choke doesn’t do the trick.

Note how the opponent is all balled up, making it impossible to get hold of the collar or latch on to an arm. So, Michel passes the lapel over the neck to his other hand.

Even without much space, he moves his leg up and passes the leg back to the first hand, sits and grabs the pant leg to keep his opponent from escaping, and squeezes for the finish.

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.

Hugo Brito in action at 2012 Southern Brazilian ação Championship / Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com

Winner of the Southern Brazilian Championship and runner-up at the Rio Open, Hugo Brito is in Europe to teach a series of seminars. Alongside Max Carvalho, the leader of Gracie Barra Hungary, the black belt at the helm at GB Parnamirim taught two lapel attacks from side-control exclusively for GRACIEMAG.com readers.

Note how in the first one he traps the opponent’s arm and finishes with an americana. Now should the opponent break free, he uses the cloth to come up with a choke. Check it out:

Antonio Braga Neto sinks a triangle at the 2011 South American Championship. Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com.

Have you hit up the newsstand or bookstore to get up to speed on your triangle studies yet? The latest issue of GRACIEMAG is there waiting for you, packed with an unbelievable variety of tricks and variations on the move.

To remind our readers of the triangle’s importance, GRACIEMAG.com is following suit and serving up 5 triangles with which to enrich your arsenal. Test them out at training today, and let us know how it went afterwards.

1. Jason Scully and surprise triangle that works at World Championships

2. Professor Magoo teaches basic triangle

3. Bráulio Estima teaches how to use lapel to squeeze out triangle

4. Renzo Gracie teaches finish for when opponent defends triangle

5. Hillary Williams teaches basic details for squeezing out triangle

It’s Thursday, the first day of the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, and the team has been restless. To take the edge off, GRACIEMAG.com scoured the internet for five combinations that will enrich your sweep vocabulary. Comment below to let us know which one you liked best.

1. Robson Moura teaches sweep from De la Riva guard

2. Zé Radiola teaches spider-guard sweep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nsnHgwbtWU

3. Ruy Frade & Glauber Gruppi “Binho” (students of Diego Gamonal) teach sweep from the feet

4. Carlos Alberto Líberi teaches hook sweep with lapel

5. Daniel Vianna teaches spider-guard sweep

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

Ricardo Cavalcanti, our GMA in Las Vegas / Photo: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

Ricardo Cavalcanti is always looking to leave a good legacy in Jiu-Jitsu, and he does social benefit work as well. The Carlson Gracie black belt found out about the outreach project Ação e Reação via the internet and decided to help out with the campaign underway in the Brazilian state of Ceará. First, he donated gis. Last week, he arranged for new mats. “I’m now part of the Ação e Reação family; I help the kids there out whenever I can,” said the Jiu-Jitsu professor, our GMA in Nevada.

Besides the example he sets by helping out with a good cause, Ricardo is offering readers a position with which to bolster their Jiu-Jitsu in the lead-up to the IBJJF Worlds. In the video he teaches some variations of a choke to perform using the lapel. Enjoy your training.