See how many times the world champions use their dynamic moves against their opponents in this highlight reel:

Rafael Mendes and his brother Guilherme travelled to Japan to take part in the Rickson Gracie Cup.

Watch how Rafael used the most underrated of the submission techniques to win one of his matches.

Read here an exclusive interview with Gui Mendes about the competition in Japan.

Mendes brothers with the AOJ team in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Personal archive

The Mendes brothers, Guilherme and Rafael, traveled to Tokyo, Japan this past weekend as part of their annual trek to compete at the 2014 Rickson Gracie Cup. This time they took a number of their students form GMA Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy. All fared well and the brothers came away with a great experience plus some double gold achievements.

We spoke with Gui Mendes about the trip, what the Jiu-Jitsu scene is like in Japan and how the students did:

GRACIEMAG: What were your matches like in the weight division?

The double gold brothers. Photo: Personal archive

GUILHERME MENDES: Rafael had 3 fights and I had 2, we both were able to finish all our fights with the submission. I used the baseball choke in all the fights of my division and used choke from the back in the absolute, Rafa used armbar, choke and choke from the back.

Who was your toughest match in the open weight?

The level of difficulty was the same as our division. I believe that we fought with no pressure and focused on showing our technique and technical progress so we were able to apply nice moves.

What makes competing in Japan different than the rest? Why do you always keep it in your competition schedule each year?

The energy is different, the level of respect and love of our fans are some things that keep bringing us back every year. We do not do it for the medals or money, we want to be there every year because it’s fantastic to be around people that recognize your work and give the right value to it. Japan is our favorite place to compete so far.

How would you describe the Jiu-Jitsu scene in Japan?

The level of kids, blue belts and purple belts is really good. We saw amazing matches over there. In the brown and black belt [divisions] they have less competitors but it’s still good and fun to compete. It’s growing and in the future it will be even better!

How did your students do?

Gui, Mason Monsevais, Rafa, Danny Stolfi. Photo: Personal archive

Great! We had 9 kids from our school competing and it was another successful tournament. They train hard and achieved the result that they were expecting; they made us really proud one more time because we had the opportunity to show our work with the kids in a different country.

A lot of people came to us to say how impressed they were with the level of our students. Also, we had two of the AOJ coaches competing and they did amazing! Mason Monsevais won again, he is an amazing competitor and is building his name in the sport. We can’t wait to see him competing next year. Danny Stolfi is a purple belt middleweight and won double gold submitting most of his opponents. He is another student that has been improving fast and dedicating himself to become a great champion.

I see that all the work that the students have been putting in is starting to give them the results that they want. It’s motivating and exciting! I’m sure we will have a lot of champions in the next competition season!

Check out footage of the matches on artofjiujitsu.com!

With the kids of AOJ. Photo: Personal archive

All of their matches were ended with a submission but can you guess beforehand what Rafa submits with in this match?

Uma das reportagens de maior repercussão esta semana foi a conquista dos irmãos Souza, Marcos e Roberto Satoshi, campeão e vice no absoluto faixa-preta da Rickson Gracie Cup, no Japão.

Após terem perdido o pai, mestre Adilson de Souza (1958-2011), vítima de um câncer no pâncreas em maio, aos 52 anos, os dois irmãos voltaram a competir, mas não resistiram. Foram às lágrimas ao vencer, na bonita foto captada pelo nosso colaborador Kinya Hashimoto.

Duas medalhas de ouro no evento, Marcos Souza entrou em contato para agradecer a homenagem, e o GRACIEMAG.com aproveitou para conversar – e aprender – mais com ele.

“Olha, depois que perdi meu pai, eu não sentia mais a mesma vontade de treinar ou de competir. Cheguei a pensar em parar com o Jiu-Jitsu e ir fazer outra coisa…”, revelou.

“Quando vencemos em Tóquio, fechando pela segunda vez o segundo campeonato que lutamos juntos como faixas-pretas, o (irmão Roberto) Toshi me falou, assim que o juiz ergueu nossos braços: ‘Queria que o pai estivesse aqui para ver a gente ganhando…'”.

“Abraçado, respondi: “Ele pode até não estar aqui, mas com toda certeza está vendo tudo!”

A emoção não para por aí. Afinal, Roberto ganhou a faixa-preta no leito do hospital em São Paulo, cinco horas antes de o mestre Adilson se despedir, deixando os filhos como legado para o esporte.

“Meu pai deu a faixa-preta para o meu irmão no leito do hospital. Ele entregou a própria faixa dele, e pediu desculpas por não poder realizar tal condecoração em cima do tatame”.

“Ele ainda falou que tinha certeza de que o Toshi ia honrá-la”, concluiu Marcos. Desistir que nada, manos. Vocês têm ainda muitos aplausos a receber, daqui e lá de cima.

One of the articles to make the most waves on GRACIEMAG.com this week was the one about the Souza brothers, Marcos and Roberto Satoshi, winner and runner-up in the black belt absolute division at the Rickson Gracie Cup in Japan.

After losing their father, Master Adilson de Souza (1958-2011), to pancreatic cancer last May, the two brothers returned to competition. Their mournful tears upon winning were caught on camera by our collaborator Kinya Hashimoto.

Having won two gold medals at the event, Marcos Souza contacted us to thank us for the tribute, and GRACIEMAG.com took the chance to have a chat with – and learn from – him.

“Look, after I lost my father, I didn’t feel like training or competing at all,” he revealed, “I even thought about quitting Jiu-Jitsu and doing something else…

“When we won in Tokyo, closing out the second championship we’ve been in together as black belts, Toshi [his brother Roberto] told me, just as the ref raised our arms, ‘I wish dad could have been here to see us win…’

“I hugged him and replied, “He may not be here, but for sure he’s watching it all!”

The emotion didn’t end there. After all, Roberto got his black belt while at the hospital in São Paulo, five hours before Master Adilson departed, leaving his sons as his legacy in the sport.

“My father gave my brother our black belts while in the hospital. He gave his own belt, and said sorry that he couldn’t promote us on the mat.

“He also said that he was certain Toshi would do honor to it,” said Marcos in closing. No way to quit, bros. You have plenty of applause to receive yet, from here and from up there.

O fim de semana no Japão foi marcado por muito Jiu-Jitsu e emoções fortes, na copa Rickson Gracie. Nas lutas, até que deu a lógica, com os favoritos passando o carro. Logo após a final do absoluto, porém, foi que a emoção transbordou, como você vê nas fotos de Kinya Hashimoto durante o fechamento dos irmãos Roberto Satoshi e Marcos Souza (Bonsai), que haviam perdido seu pai e mestre, Adilson, em abril, vítima de câncer.

A alegria de vencer foi mais forte que a dor, e os alunos da Bonsai no Japão se superaram. “Entramos com 11 alunos e levamos nove medalhas de ouro, com 16 medalhas no total”, comentou Marcos, que recebeu o pessoal da Atos por lá, onde treinaram juntos. “No absoluto preta, tínhamos fechado da outra vez, e eu dei a vitória para meu irmão por ser seu aniversário. Desta vez ele retribuiu e fiquei com o título, e foi aquela emoção. Ganhei ainda o peso meio-pesado e ele o peso médio”.

Confira os campeões de cada categoria:

Galo: Koji Shibamoto (Tri-Force)

Pluma: João Paulo Kuraoka (Axis)

Pena: Guilherme Mendes e Rafa Mendes (Atos) fecharam

Leve: Bruno Frazatto (Atos)

Médio: Roberto Satoshi (Bonsai)

Meio-pesado: Marcos Souza (Bonsai)

Pesadíssimo: André Galvão

Absoluto: Marcos Souza e Roberto Satoshi fecharam.

Gui Mendes in Japan / Personal archive photo

After winning the ADCC, Rafael Mendes didn’t slow down one bit. Rafael and his brother, Guilherme, made the most of the trip to England to hold some seminars, before heading off for Japan, where they got the tapout in every match they were in and added some more gold to their coffers. Another who came up big in the Land of the Rising Sun was Bruno Frazatto.

“After the ADCC, we had the privilege of getting to see some incredible places and make new friends. In England, we got to see Sheffield, passed through Birmingham, where me hung out with our friend Bráulio Estima, and then we spent a few days in New Castle. Lastly, before heading home, we took the opportunity to see London,” recounts Rafa.

Rafa having fun in Abu Dhabi / Personal archive photo

“We spent a few days with our family in Brazil and Rafa was invited to train with Sheikh Tahnoon. Meanwhile, I went to Japan, where I conducted two seminars on my own and then another one alongside Rafa, before competing at the Rickson Gracie Cup,” Guilherme adds.

“The event was excellent. It was incredibly well organized and we were treated as best as could be by the organizers and the Japanese public. Every fighters should at least once in life get to compete in Japan and see what we’re talking about. It’s different, the energy’s incredible! Thank God, everything went smoothly, we got the tapout in all our matches, and we achieved our objective. Now we have a few more commitments before the end of the year but we’ll still be training at full steam,” says Guilherme.

Frazatto was victorious at the Rickson Cup. Personal archive photo.

The brothers will then return to Brazil, stay just three days with their family, and then take off for Australia, where they’ll do a tour teaching in different cities. Following another stopover in Brazil, they’ll head for the USA, where they’ll stay until December 20.

“Jiu-Jitsu has opened a lot of doors for us and provided us the privilege of getting to know the world. We’re thank God every day for having illuminated us so. We’ll only get more dedicated every day, since our objective is to evolve, create and innovate, so that we may teach others the art that has changed our lives,” says Rafael in finishing.

Gui Mendes no Japão. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal.

Depois do título no ADCC, Rafael Mendes não parou, acompanhado do irmão Guilherme. A dupla aproveitou para fazer seminários na Inglaterra e acabaou no Japão, onde finalizaram todas as lutas e garantiram o ouro. Quem também venceu na Terra do Sol Nascente foi Bruno Frazatto.

“Depois do ADCC, tivemos o privilégio de conhecer lugares incríveis e fazer novas amizades. Na Inglaterra, conhecemos Sheffield, passamos por Birmingham, onde tivemos o prazer de estar com nosso amigo Bráulio Estima, e depois ficamos alguns dias em New Castle. Por último, antes de voltar para casa, aproveitamos para conhecer Londres”, conta Rafa.

Rafa aproveita em Abu Dhabi. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal.

“Ficamos alguns dias com a família no Brasil e o Rafa recebeu um convite para treinar com o Sheik Tahnoon. Enquanto isso, fui para o Japão, onde realizei dois seminários e mais um terceiro, já ao lado do Rafa, antes de lutarmos a Rickson Gracie Cup”, completa Guiherme.

“O evento foi excelente, organização incrível e fomos tratados da melhor forma possível pela organização e o publico japonês. Todo lutador deve, pelo menos uma vez, lutar no Japão para sentir o que estamos falando. É diferente, uma energia incrível! Graças a Deus ocorreu tudo perfeitamente, finalizamos todas as nossas lutas e conquistamos mais um objetivo. Agora temos mais alguns compromissos neste fim de ano, mas os treinos irão continuar a todo vapor”, conta Guilherme.

Frazatto também venceu na Rickson Cup. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal.

Os irmãos voltam ao Brasil, ficam apenas três dias com a família e já viajam para a Austrália, onde farão um tour ensinando em diferentes cidades. Depois de mais uma passada pelo Brasil, partem para os EUA, e por lá ficam até 20 de dezembro.

“O Jiu-Jitsu nos abre portas e nos dá o privilégio de conhecer o mundo. Agradecemos todos os dias a Deus por ele ter nos iluminado tanto, nossa dedicação só irá aumentar a cada dia, pois nosso objetivo é evoluir, criar e inovar, para que possamos ensinar às pessoas a arte que vem mudando a nossa vida”, encerra Rafael.

This November 20 the Rickson Gracie Cup 2010 takes place in in Kawasaki, Japan, and some of the gentle art’s biggest names will be there.

Among those confirmed are Gracie Barra’s Braulio Estima and the duo from Atos Rafael and Guilherme Mendes.