Update (24/09/14) - The Return of the Update Posts!

It's been a while...

Yeah, sorry I haven't been keeping up with my update posts. It's been nearly three weeks since I last posted one. Yikes!

Everything is starting to get back to normal now, and I can safely say that I will return to writing my weekly update posts. However, I'm going to be writing them every Wednesday from now on, and not every Tuesday. 

Right, now I've got that out of the way, let’s continue with what I have to tell you guys.

For a few weeks now, I've been promising you guys my written review of Saviour Tea, and for various reasons I've been putting it off. But, I can safely say it will be posted either on Friday or Saturday. I'm 95% certain it will be posted this Friday, but if not, it will definitely be posted on Saturday. I can't wait to publish it! I now you guys are going to enjoy it.

On the subject of promises, I have also been promising the latest edition of "10 Years of BJJ" for some time now. I can definitely tell you that it will be posted this weekend along with my Saviour Tea review. 

Recently, I've been sharing a few videos from Motion Training CO. I'm glad many of you enjoyed their content, and I hope to be sharing their videos again in the near future. If you didn't get the chance to see any of the videos I shared, then you can find them all HERE. 

As some of you might know, recently, I hit my goal of 100,000 views. I was very pleased to reach my end of year goal so soon! Actually, I'm not that far off 110,000 views and hopefully I can reach 150,000 by the end of the year. To mark the occasion I wrote a post which can be found HERE.

That's pretty much it for this week. You can expect both my Saviour Tea review and the latest edition "10 Years of BJJ" to be posted later this week. 

Catch you later,

Giordano

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 11 - Guilherme Mendes vs. Justin Rader - 2008 World Championships (Brown Belt)

(Last week’s edition can be found HERE)

The match I bring to you this week is Guilherme Mendes vs. Justin Rader from the brown belt featherweight semi-finals of the 2008 World Championships. 

Guilherme Mendes is a black belt under Ramon Lemos and fights for Atos Jiu-Jitsu. Today, Guilherme is considered to be one of the best fighters in the light featherweight division and arguably one of the best pound for pound. He is the older brother of multiple time world champion, Rafael Mendes. 

Just like his younger brother, Guilherme also has many a long list of accomplishments at the black belt level. He is a four time World Champion (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014), a two time European Champion (2010, 2011), a one time Pan American (2013) and Brazilian National Champion (2010). Guilherme was the first member of the Atos team to win a gold Medal at the World Championships at the black belt level. 

Guilherme is very well rounded. He is excellent both on the top and on the bottom. In lots of his matches, you will see Guilherme use a fake guard pull to an ankle pick and from there you see him immediately start to pass the guard. When passing the guard, he uses a tremendous amount of pressure on his opponent with the use of either a baseball bat or brabo choke and passes either from a leg drag position or a knee slide from the half guard. 

Guilherme Mendes

Justin Rader is a black belt under Rafael Lovato Jr and is the first black belt under him. Just like Lovato, Justin is one of America's most successful Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. He is one of the top competitors in featherweight/lightweight division today. 

Justin is a three time World NoGi champion (2013, 2010 black, 2009 brown), a one time World (2007 purple), Pan American (2009 brown), American National NoGi (2010), and Grappler Quest Pro Champion (2011). He also took bronze in the 2013 ADCC, the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world. He defeated Joao Miyao in the third place match.

Coming from a wrestling background, Justin has very good takedowns and overall, his top game is very strong. He starts off his matches immediately shooting for either a single or double leg. He uses lots of chokes in his matches such as the guillotine or d'arce choke.

Justin Rader
Source: Alicia Photos

In this match, you see Guilherme demonstrate his world class guard work. He uses his guard to create multiple sweep and submission attempts. You also get to see his superb guard passing. However, Justin being the experienced grappler that he is makes it no easy task for Guilherme. Throughout the match, you will see him escape multiple bad positions and his submission defense is excellent. 

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

Mission Accomplished - 100,000 Views!

Sorry, it's a little late! But, two weeks ago, my blog reached 100,000 views.

When I started blogging, my goal by the end of the first year was to reach 100,000 views, and if I stuck to it, I thought it might be possible. Fast forward eight months later and that is a reality. 

Initially, I didn't want to be a BJJ blog. I actually wanted to have no topic and I would just talk about whatever I pleased. I did that for about a month and I found it was really hard to market a blog like that and have a consistent audience. When I conducted my first interview with Seymour Yang, it got over 1000 views and that was ten times more than any other post I had on my blog at the time. At that point, I knew I had to stick with writing about BJJ.

On the subject of interviews, that is something I love to do. I see a lot of interviews on the internet and most of them I find are really short and not very detailed. Basically, when I interview somebody I want to ask them lots of interesting questions and try to stay away from the more cliché questions. Obviously, I'm not saying my interviews are better than anybody else's, but they are different and I think that makes me stand out. I've had lots of positive feedback from all of my interviews and I'm glad many of you enjoy them. 

It really is incredible how fast my blog has grown. For the first few months, everything was pretty slow and I was getting a decent amount of views, but nothing spectacular. Once I started writing a few articles and my "10 Years of BJJ" series, things started to take off nicely and from there the views have just been increasing by the week.

I hope to continue to write a few more articles soon, and continue with my "10 Years of BJJ" series.

I guess it's come to the point in this post where I should thank a bunch of people.

Okay, first up, I'd like to thank everybody who has viewed any of my content, shared it, and given feedback. It really does mean a lot that people all around the world read my blog and enjoy it.

Secondly, I'd like to thank the companies and groups who share my content. Those being Gi Soap, BJJ Eastern Europe, BJJ Addict, Montreal BJJ Scene, Want vs Need, BJJ Scout, GrappleTV, BJJ News and We Berimbolo. If I have missed anybody out I apologise, but you know who you are. 

I'd also like to thank everybody who has given me the opportunity to interview them. To date I have interviewed Seymour Yang, Michael Liera Jr, Mason Monsevais, AJ Agazarm, Budo Jake, Kit Dale and Edwin Najmi. Thank you guys for taking time out of your day to answer my questions. You are a big part in why blog continues to be successful.

Finally, I'd like to say a massive thank you to my sponsor Akuma Gear. I just want to say thank you for believing in me and I hope we have a great future working together.

So, what does the future hold? Well, I just want to continue with what I'm doing and keep creating fresh content. I want to start writing more articles and carry out more interviews. I'd also like to invest some money in making the blog better and working with a web designer to make it more professional.

In short, I want to keep improving and I hope you guys continue on this journey with me! Next stop 150K.

Catch you later,

Giordano

Self Defense Jiu Jitsu EP 4 with Ralston Gracie | Motion Training CO

Today, I bring you guys another self defense Jiu-Jitsu video from Motion Training CO. 

Last week, I shared episode 3 in the series which featured Clark and Ralston Gracie showing you how to defend a neck hold from the back. If you didn't get the chance to see that, you can find it HERE.

Like I mentioned previously, the significant majority of us practice Sport Jiu-Jitsu, and hey, there's nothing wrong with that! Heck, I only train Sport Jiu-Jitsu myself. Although, it does seem these days that we are losing the self defense side of Jiu-Jitsu, and I think it's good that Motion Training CO are trying to keep that side of Jiu-Jitsu alive by sharing these techniques.   

In the video, Ralston demonstrates how to defend against a haymaker. You can find the video below. 

I hope you guys enjoy!   

Please LIKE Akuma Gear and Motion Training CO on Facebook.

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 10 - Paulo Miyao vs. Travis Stevens - Copa Podio 2013 Middleweight Grand Prix

(Last week’s edition can be found HERE)

Welcome to the tenth edition of Match of the Week! 

Today, the match I will be sharing with you is Paulo Miyao vs. Travis Stevens. This match was the bronze medal match from the 2013 Copa Podio Middleweight Grand Prix, which took place on September 8, 2013 at the legendary Tijuca Tênis Clube.

If you follow Jiu-Jitsu, I'm pretty sure you would have heard of Paulo Miyao. Him and his brother, João (typically referred to as the Miyao brothers) have been phenoms in the Jiu-Jitsu world since blue belt. They have virtually won every major title at the lower belts and been on the podium of every absolute division.

Paulo is known for his intense rivalry with Keenan Cornelius. He suffered multiple consecutive losses against Cornelius throughout the purple and brown belt level before finally defeating him in the absolute final of the 2013 World Championships. 

The one thing Paulo is known for is his berimbolo. He literally uses it in all of his matches. He also utilises many other "modern" Jiu-Jitsu techniques such as the 50/50 guard and reverse de la riva. In his matches, his main objective is to somehow take his opponents back using his slick guard skills. 

Paulo Miyao

Travis Stevens is a black belt under John Danaher and fights for the Renzo Gracie Academy. Even though he is a tremendous competitor in Jiu-Jitsu, he's probably best known for his Judo background. He has medalled twice at the Pan American Championships and took 4th place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is currently ranked in the top 5 in the world in Judo and is considered by many to be the greatest American Judo practitioner ever.  

Obviously, Travis is known for his aggressive throws and takedowns in Jiu-Jitsu. In the majority of his matches, he looks to immediately take his opponent down and pass his guard. One thing about Travis is he is very aggressive and always tries to keep the pace of the match high. There is very little stalling in his matches.  

Travis Stevens
Source: Copa Podio

This match sticks out in particular for me personally from the entire Grand Prix. It’s probably my favourite.

Travis is in no way intimated by Miyao's guard and at one point even manages to almost take his back! WOW!  But, Miyao makes the match no walk in the park with his tricky guard work. Actually, the match is very close and could have gone either way. However, I think the right person won the match at the end of the day. Let me know if you disagree. 

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

Self Defense Jiu Jitsu EP 3 with Clark and Ralston Gracie | Motion Training CO

Today, I bring you guys another awesome video from Motion Training CO. I talked a little bit about them and my sponsor, Akuma Gear in the last post I did when I shared one of their videos. If you didn't get a chance to check that out, you can find it HERE.

The video I'm sharing with you guys today is something a little different. I will be sharing with you a self defense technique from Clark and Ralston Gracie (Clark's younger brother). Most of us train specifically Sport Jiu-Jitsu and we generally seem to forget that Jiu-Jitsu's origins were self defense.   

In the video, Ralston demonstrates how to escape a standing neck hold. You can find the video below. 

I hope you guys enjoy!   

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 9 - Kron Gracie vs. Gilbert “Durinho” Burns - BJJ Pro Cup 2011

(Last week’s edition can be found HERE)

This week's match is Kron Gracie vs. Gilbert “Durinho” Burns which was a super fight from the 2011 BJJ Pro Cup in Biella, Italy. I only saw this match recently myself, and thought that maybe it was a match many of you have never seen also. 

Kron Gracie is one of the top competitors today at the black belt level. He is the son of Rickson Gracie who is arguably the greatest Jiu-Jitsu practitioner of all time. Kron has been serious competitor since he was a teenager, making a big name for himself at the lower belts, claiming some of our sports major titles. During his run at the lower belts, he managed to rack up a 51 submission streak. 

He is a four time Pan American Champion (2005 purple, 2007 brown, 2008 brown weight & absolute), a two time World Champion (2006 purple, 2007 brown), and a one-time European (2009 black) and ADCC Champion (2013). 

Something which sets Kron Gracie apart from everybody else is his style of Jiu-Jitsu. The style of Jiu-Jitsu which Kron uses is very basic, something you hardly see in competition today. He does not rely on any guards such as de la riva or spider guard, and does definitely not rely on the 50/50 guard and berimbolo. Instead the only guard he mostly uses throughout his matches is the closed guard. 

Kron Gracie

Gilbert “Durinho” Burns is a black belt under Ramon Lemos, and was once part of the Atos team. He was once considered to be one of the top fighters in the lightweight division. He left full time Jiu-Jitsu competition in 2012 in order to pursue a career in MMA. 

Just like Kron Gracie, Durinho also has numerous accomplishments to his name. At the black belt level, he is a two time NoGi world champion (2013, 2010), and a one time World (2010), World Pro (2010), and Brazilian National Champion (2010). 

Durinho's game is very fast and aggressive. He is especially known for his fierce throws and takedowns at the start of a match. After the takedown, he looks to smash his opponents guard and transition to back control.  

Gilbert “Durinho” Burns

This match isn't very fast paced, but you do get to see some nice takedowns and passing attempts from Durinho. The thing which is special about the match is the finish. The variation of the submission used is something I have never seen before. 

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy! 

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

Jiu Jitsu in Depth | Motion Training CO

As some of you might know, my blog has recently been sponsored my Akuma Gear. Recently, they have teamed up with Motion Training CO and are making some awesome BJJ videos. They were kind enough to feature my blog at the start of the video, along with Akuma Gear and Jiu Jitsu Saved My Life.

The video is called "Jiu Jitsu in Depth" and features Patrick "Pirate" Welsh, a BJJ black belt from Checkmat. In the video he shows the monoplata and some cool variations of it.

I hope you guys enjoy!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

Update (05/09/14) - Sponsor, Possible Interviews, Facebook Group & More!

Okay, so for the past two weeks I’ve been a little all over the place and I apologise for that. Trust me, I do.

So, what exactly has been happening? Well, I've been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks, and that's why my usual schedule has been all messed up. Hence why there was no ‘Match of the Week’ last week and no regular update posts for last two weeks. Again, I apologise.

Over the past month, I've been publishing a few non-BJJ related articles which I've really enjoyed writing. However, I think I'm going to put that on the back burner for a little while. As some of you might know, I started to write about various other topics to get away a little from BJJ and focus on some other things just to keep it fresh, and perhaps expand my audience. After doing that for a couple of weeks, I started to feel like I was pulling away from my core audience and since I've stopped writing them. Of course, in the future I will start writing about other things besides BJJ again, but I think it's just going to be a one off thing, and not a permanent fixture.

Two weeks ago, I published my interview with Kit Dale. I thought I'd never see that day come, but it did. I'm glad you all enjoyed the interview and I received lots of positive feedback. Then, last Friday, I published another interview with the 2014 purple belt absolute world champion, Edwin Najmi. Just like my interview with Kit, it did very well and I'm very proud of it. Interviews are something which I love to do and it makes me stand out from the rest of the BJJ blogs out there. 

So, who am I going to interview next? Well, I'm hoping to get an interview with Jordon Schultz because of his interesting history with Alliance and Team Lloyd Irvin, and I think I can ask him lots of interesting questions which I'm sure lots of you are dying to know the answers to. Obviously, he may not want to talk about it, and of course that is totally up to him, but if he is willing to talk about it, I think it could be my best interview to date. 

For now however, I have lots of things I want to finish, and I'll give it a few weeks before I start approaching anybody. I have loads of articles in draft which are still to be finished and I hope to get some of them out in the next few weeks. 

Okay, so what has happened to my review of Saviour Tea? Actually, it's completely written. I'm just waiting on a discount code to be sent to me, so I can include it at the end of my article. So, as soon as I receive the discount code, all I have to do is just paste it at the end of my review and publish it. I've been in contact with Ollie from Saviour Tea, and he assures me that they are working on it and I should receive the code in the next couple of days.  

Something else which has seemed to slowly die off is my ‘10 Years of BJJ’ series. No, I haven't forgot, but I've just been so focused on new series and projects that it's pretty much been pushed to the side to make way for new stuff. However, I hope to publish the next edition this weekend. 

Those of you who are keen observers would have spotted that I now have a sponsor. I've been looking for companies to sponsor me for a while and finally somebody saw the potential in my blog to do so. So, officially "The Berimbolo Kid" is now sponsored by Akuma Gear. I'd like to thank them for the opportunity and I hope we have a bright future together. 

I am very close to 100,000 views on my blog and should hit that by the end of today. When I finally reach that number, I will write a special post. So, you can expect that for tomorrow (hopefully). Now, that I'm starting to get a large amount of readers and I have a sponsor, I think it's only right that I get a Facebook group. I've actually been thinking about this for a while and now it makes sense to make one. In the beginning when I just started blogging, there was really no point, but now I'm growing all the time and I feel that I need something separate from my personal account. I’m hoping to make one in the next few days.

That's probably the longest update post I'm ever going to write. I'm also going to publishing something again in the next few hours, so make sure you come back for that.

Catch you later,

Giordano 

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 8 - Marcio Andre vs. Isaac Doederlein - Worlds 2014

(The previous edition can be found HERE)

The match I'm sharing with you this week is Marcio Andre vs. Isaac Doederlein from the 2014 World Championship. The match is not exactly a classic as it only happened three months ago, but is still one of my favourites from this year’s World Championship. 

Marcio Andre is one of BJJ's rising stars. At the age of 19 years old, he is already a black belt and has taken gold in every major tournament. He is a four time World Champion (2014 brown, 2013, 2012 purple, 2011 blue), three time Brazilian National Champion (2013, 2012 purple, 2011 juvenile blue), two time European (2014 brown, 2013 purple) and World Pro Jiu Jitsu Champion (2014 brown, 2013 purple), and a one time World NoGi (2013 brown) and Pan American Champion (2013 purple). 

Marcio represents Nova Uniao and is a black belt under Fabio Andrade. He is best known for his guard game, specifically his open guard which he uses to great effect. From the open guard he typically sets up a sweep where he can begin working his pass. Although, he is known for his guard, Marcio also has a very good top game. His guard passing is excellent, and makes good use of pressure when passing the guard.

Marcio Andre

Just like Marcio, Isaac Doederlain is also a rising star in Jiu-Jitsu. He is a brown belt under Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles and has been on the podium in many IBJJF tournaments. He is a two time European (2014 brown, 2013 purple) and American National Champion (2013 purple weight and absolute). This year he also took bronze at the Pan Ams and Silver at the World Championship. 

Coming from Cobrinha's gym, you would expect nothing less than for Isaac to have a solid guard game. The two guards he uses consistently throughout his matches are the spider and de la riva guard. From both of these guards, Isaac has very good sweeps and after sweeping his opponent will generally transition to the back. 

Isaac Doederlein

Those of you with a keen eye would have realised that I have already given away the result of this match. I try not to give away the result in each 'Match of the Week' but since this was a finals match, the result would be shown in their credentials. 

The match itself is full of action. Both competitors exchange multiple sweeps on each other and try to aggressively pass each other’s tricky guard. This match is full of excellent guard work and passing. Be sure you watch until the end because "something" happens. 

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy! 

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)