One of the most common submissions in modern day Brazilian jiu jitsu, the straight ankle lock, also called Botinha, Achilles lock, straight footlock among other names, became popular greatly due to the influence of one coach who, in the early 2010 decade, revolutionized the use of the position, improving it drastically.
Rose Gracie is not only the daughter of 9th degree red belt Rorion Gracie (founder of the UFC) and the granddaughter of the great Master Helio Gracie, she is one of the louder voices against the current sporting format of the gentle art. Through her jiu jitsu tournament promotion, Gracie Tournaments, she plans to change the mentality in which BJJ is immersed today, and shift it back to it’s original roots. We had a chat with Rose regarding her plans, Find out more here.
Rafael “Fofitio” was one of the best competitors of the Galo (under 127lbs) division and the leading figure of an important Brazilian grappling team named Oriente Jiu Jitsu, of Niteroi, a team affiliated with Nova Uniao, that produced legendary jiu jitsu competitors such as Thiago Fernandes, Ramon Lemos, Gilbert Burns and many others. A former 2x world champion and 2x world cup champion, Fofitio was one of the top figures of the 2000’s decade.
Marcelo Mello is a former UFC fighter and a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, officially under Royler Gracie, who also trained extensively with the late Master Carlson Gracie. A historical figure in the sport having helped establish the Brazilian grappling style in places such as Argentina and the USA, Mello’s path in jiu jitsu is also unique one, as he was awarded his black belt on two separate occasions (in 1994 and in 1997) by two separate instructors, Carlson and Royler Gracie respectively. Full story here.
Check here the full results of the BJJ European Open 2015. All the fight results from all the adult black belt brackets. a comprehensive insight to what happened throughout Europe’s most prestigious Brazilian jiu jitsu tournament. The tournament had some of the sport’s major stars and a few newcomers who are quickly establishing themselves as real threats to the higher podium spots.
Check out the jiu jitsu European Open Live Stream Broadcast Here! The European Championship gets the ball rolling for IBJJF’s busy 2015 calendar. The first major tournament of the year is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, having started on the 21st of January (finishes on the 25th of January 2015).
Another fantastic year of jiu jitsu is ahead of us and as per usual, the honours will be made in Lisbon by the European …
Luis Carlos Atalla, commonly known as “Luca” Atalla, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under the illustrious Carlos Gracie Junior and a pioneer in jiu jitsu journalism, being the original chief editor of the sport’s leading magazine – GracieMag. Before turning his focus to journalism, Luca Atalla was one of the rising stars of jiu jitsu with one world title and three pan american championships in the lower belt divisions, find out more about this BJJ figure here.
This year the World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship seems stronger and more organized than ever. Their trials in the US earlier this month were a great success, and the Sao Paulo version of the event went down the same route. This competition served as a test for some of the newly graded black belts, such as Erberth Santos, Monique Elias, Cesar Felipe, Fabio Caloi, and the new kids did not disappoint, check the full results here.
Javier Vazquez, also known as “Showtime”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Medeiros, a rank he achieved in 2003, making him most likely the first Cuban black belt in the Brazilian grappling style. Javier is also a wrestler and a retired mixed martial artist with a successful career having competed at some of the top promotions in the world such as KOTC, WEC and the UFC . Javier Vazquez is also married to Rose Gracie, daughter of 9th degree jiu jitsu red belt Rorion Gracie, with whom he runs the “Gracie Tournaments” organization.
This article has been written by Luiz Dias, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Leoni Nascimento, who founded the Geração Arte Suave, an academy with strong …
The story unveiled by Demétrio Vecchioli last year for the “Estadão” website in it’s Olimpílulas blog, tells us the story of how government funds designated for jiu jitsu athletes were diverted towards family members of chairman Elisio Cardoso Macambira, president of the No Gi Jiu Jitsu federation in Brazil.
Henry Akins is a black belt in jiu jitsu, a rank awarded by Rickson Gracie. Akins was an important instructor at Rickson’s academy in California before becoming the head coach of Dynamix Martial Arts. Often regarded as one of the best black belts produced by the legendary Gracie, Akins is known for his controversial views on sport Brazilian jiu jitsu, comparing it to Tae Kwon Do, as an example of a sporting format which diluted the essence of a art martial.
The men on the sidelines of the matted areas are often the most important in the life of an martial arts athlete. On this article you will find some of the top instructors in modern day jiu jitsu, men who (in our opinion) have been developing the top talent in the sporting aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
One of the greatest prospects in Brazilian jiu jitsu during the 1990’s, Renato Miragaia made a name for himself in the lower belt tournaments of the sport, defending the Gracie Barra team banner. Though Renato left the sport early in his black belt career to pursue an occupation outside jiu jitsu, his legacy remained through one of his trademark position, a position many call “the Miragaia”.
One of the most common chokes in Brazilian jiu jitsu, the The Ezekiel Choke or Sode Guruma Jime (in Japanese) is a common submission utilized by grapplers in which the attacker uses his own kimono sleeve to choke his opponent. The choke became highly popular in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu during the 1990’s as it is one of the few chokes/attacks that a top fighter can safely attempt from inside the guard of his opponent. The Ezekiel choke has many variations, being the “arm in Ezekiel” one of it’s most commonly seen in high level competition.
Michael Liera Junior is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André Galvão, and a top competitor for the Atos academy, who is widely recognized as one of the most talented grapplers of his generation. This fantastic guard specialist from Littleton, Colorado – US, started making waves in jiu jitsu as a blue belt, winning two world titles a deed he repeated in all his belts before reaching black belt status.
Fabio Monteiro, also known as “Binho”, is an important figure in the development of Brazilian jiu jitsu in Manaus, Brazil, a remote city in the middle of the Amazon jungle known for having produced a tremendous amount of outstanding grapplers. Fabio and his brothers (Augusto, Yano and Lúcio) founded the Associação Monteiro, an academy that has brought to jiu jitsu, competitors such as Saulo and “Xande” Ribeiro, Cristiano Carioca, Omar Salum, Paulo Coelho.
Get to know the top 5 hot new prospects in the black belt division, most likely to medal at 2015’s top competitions.
The famous Yvone Duarte, recognized as the first female black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu‘s history, received this weekend the 5th degree on her …
