Photo: Personal Archive

At 23 years of age, Jeferson Guaresi is one of the strongest athletes from the new generation of Jiu-Jitsu. The black-belt from Unity Jiu-Jitsu proved he deserves this distinction as he won the IBJJF’s World Championship and No-Gi Pan in the last two months. These are medals at the highest level of the sport, especially in the black belt division.

With just two years of experience as a black-belt — a promotion given to him by Murilo Santana — Jeferson has accumulated 29 wins, nine of which were by submission. At the No-Gi Worlds, for example, he won four matches and scored two submissions against Rodrigo Lopes and Joseph Watson. In the medium heavy final, Jeferson played the strategist to beat Pedro Rocha, a fighter known for his guillotines. Jeferson spoke about his performance in a recent interview.

“The final was an interesting fight, because my opponent only had one move about which I had to worry,” he said. “It was a fight where I had to be very focused on not losing my concentration, but I knew my jiu-jitsu is up to date. It just came down to not messing up, and I’d walk away with the win. That was when I scored two points right away and then managed my advantage.”

Jeferson is an avid competitor who has won more than 100 medals in national and international tournaments — including gold at the IBJJF’s No-Gi Pan, No-Gi Worlds and European Championship — in the past eleven years, the time he has been practicing jiu-jitsu. He shared some thoughts on this journey:

“My goal in jiu-jitsu has never been just to be world champion; that’s a consequence of my training. In the course of this time, my goal is to help all who are parts of the sport. I want to make the sport grow more and more, and I want to help people achieve their goals. I want the practitioners of jiu-jitsu to be good people to society too. I’m greatly inspired by my master, Murilo Santana, who is a big influence on what I’ve become today. Rafael Godoi, my first teacher, is also an important part in my education as an athlete.”

Jeferson is considered by many to be the originator of the “thrown by” guard pass — a move that has earned him multiple gold medals in different competitions, including at the No-Gi Pan. Here’s a pioneer’s perspective on how the guard pass works:

“It’s important that you know how to create space to position yourself when it’s time to move. The guard pass I do is intricate and requires perfect timing and form; the secret is in the positioning of the hip and knee, responsible for preventing the guard player’s returning with the leg to defend. Then, I use one of my hands to control my opponent’s hip and advance my entire body to win the three points.”

To see how it works, check out Jeferson’s step-by-step tutorial in the following images.

Cover photo by Bruno O’Hara, www.brunoohara.com

Learn more about Professor Draculino and Gracie Barra Texas at www.graciebarratx.com.

Learn more about Pete “The Greek” by visiting www.riojj.com.

Learn more about Andre, Hannette Staack and Brazil-021 by visiting www.brazil021.com.

For more information on Brazil-021, visit their website www.brazil021.com. Keep checking back with GRACIEMAG.com for more technique videos from our GMAs.

Uflacker Academy is located at 5527 S. Harlem Ave., Chicago, Il 60638. Call the academy at (312) 890-3675 and visit www.bjjsouthside.com for more information.

GRACIEMAG stopped by Gracie Barra Santa Ana to chat with resident black belt Martin Morachimo. In this video, Martin teaches a pass-to-submission technique that has worked well for him during his time on the mats. Check out what the Romulo Barral pupil teaches above.

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In case you missed it on GRACIEMAG.com yesterday, Renan Borges applyed a beautiful choke to win gold at the Boston Summer Open. Borges applied the “loop choke” while Francisco Iturralde was working to pass guard and secure the back. A few moments later, Borges put his opponent to sleep to take the match and the tournament.

Check out the video above as black belt Marcelo Monteiro from the Indianapolis Jiu-Jitsu Academy gives a step-by-step tutorial on how to accomplish this beautiful submission.

One of our GMAs, Alberto Crane of Gracie Barra Burbank in Burbank, CA, teaches some secondary omoplata techniques exclusively for GRACIEMAG.com in this video. Watch here as he applies the techniques with one of his students. Try these the next time you roll and see if you find success in your training.

Rafael Lovato Jr. gave GracieMag.com readers a taste of his guard passing system

American World Jiu-Jitsu champion Rafael Lovato, Jr. taught a free seminar this Wed., March 27 at GracieMag headquarters.

We broadcasted it live at GracieMag Google+ Page, but if you couldn’t catch up, we have a gift for you: the replay you can watch below.

Plus, if you want to see more techniques from Rafael, you can go here.