Black belt Renato Cardoso atop podium in São Paulo / Personal archive photo
The big name to come of this weekend’s São Paulo International Open is Renato Cardoso. The Rodrigo Cavaca black belt wreaked havoc on the mats, tapping out every one of his opponents on the way to winning the medium heavyweight and absolute divisions. “It was an important tournament, being the first CBJJ competition in the state of São Paulo. I competed at medium heavyweight and open weight along with my teammate Bruno Matias from Rio de Janeiro,” he told GRACIEMAG.
“I trained a lot every day, doing Jiu-Jitsu twice a day plus physical conditioning and weight lifting. I had five matches in all—two at weight and three at open weight—and got the finish in all of them, attacking and going for the submission the whole time, giving my all,” added the black belt of two months.
The São Paulo native-Santos transplant explained his campaign at the CBJJ tournament:
“I had five matches and got five tapouts: In the first a got a triangle and armbar, and in the second I used my strong position, the footlock from 50/50. In the absolute I finished the first one with a triangle, the second with a straight footlock from 50/50 and did the same in the absolute. That footlock is actually our academy’s cash cow,” he said, before offering a pointer on 50/50 guard to GRACIEMAG.com readers.
“First you have to get in 50/50 guard, then wrap your arm around the foot up to the forearm and do a hand-in-hand grip while turning in the opposite direction as though you’re giving up your back. Then you just squeeze for the tapout,” explained Renato, who derived lessons of his own at the tournament.
“I learned a lot, of course. I learned that I have to be confident in my game when I compete, regardless of who the opponent is,” he said, before revealing his next target: “Now it’s all about focusing on my next objective: securing my spot by winning the Abu Dhabi Pro trials in Natal.”
