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BishopBjj News

10 Things Learned At The Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship (13')

pan jiu jitsu
Pan Jiu Jitsu 2013

By: Tyler Bishop
The 2013 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship is in the books. We are starting our extensive study of the event this week, and the results of the study will be up in about a month. It will piggy-back off of our 2012 studies of the Worlds and 2012 Pan. We hope to include elements of comparative analysis from year-to-year, and will attempt to see how the game may be changing this year compared to last.
Until science can tell us what really happened, we will have to rely on our objective observations. So, what are 10 things that we learned at the 2013 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship?

  1. Buchecha is the world’s best. He proved it last year, and gives us no reason to believe this year will be any different. Galvao made that last match exciting, but Buchecha had it well in hand.
  2. The rules are too complicated for the referees. Throughout the entire event you could see the same transitions and movements scored differently on every mat. The new penalties for stalling come quick, and often penalize the wrong competitor. And finally, advantages are often awarded carelessly and do not meet rulebook criteria. Ask a referee about any of these things and expect sightly different answers from most of them. The rules are in desperate need of clarification and simplification. The referees cannot keep up, and it’s not their fault. This is a major issue. To maintain the events professionalism, things will have to get better.
  3. Hard work pays off. Caio Terra has been competing more than ever, and finally overcame Bruno Malficine. Malficine has had his number as of late, but Terra was able to capitalize on Malficines recent injury and close the gap between them. The Worlds may be the stage for another epic rematch.
  4. Your gi is probably not legal. No seriously, this is not a joke. There is a strong chance that over 50% of the gi’s you own would fail IBJJF inspection. It had to be a record number of people sent away to buy gi’s and belts this weekend. I literally watched a checker walk through the warmup area and point at 8-9 people in a row and tell them that none of them would pass inspection. Those same 8-9 people simultaneously exploded. The rulebook criteria does not go over all the new specifications. This did not effect Jena or myself, but I watched hundreds of others turned away in a panic to find a new gi. This harkens back to #2 – the IBJJF has to communicate with the competitors better – and this starts with simplicity.
  5. Chokes from the crucifx/omoplata come on quick. If you missed Clark Gracie’s come from behind, last second victory over Lapela do yourself a favor and get on YouTube. Rarely can someone tap and pass out at the same time, that choke must have been tight!
  6. Berimbolo may be losing it’s appeal, maybe. The Budovideo’s crew tells me that there was less berimbolo incidents this year. Wait, what? Is that even possible? Was this popular new technique really used less this year than last? Our study will discover the true story, but these guys watch more matches than anybody else, so I trust their professional opinion. It will be interesting to see if this is really the case.
  7. While everyone slowly converts to Atos, Alliance quietly dominated the competition again. Atos is certainly in the presses for their individual accomplishments and rapid big name additions, but it is Alliance who continues to reign supreme.
  8. This is still a fringe sport. While thousands watched the stream online with careful attention, little did they know that in many cases only 10 people may have been watching the same thing live. Jiu Jitsu will continue to grow but there is very much a cap on it’s true popular potential.
  9. Gabi is big. Gabi Garcia was born to be larger than your average female. In fact, she was genetically gifted to be a lot larger. Unfortunately for her, there are very few others her size on planet earth, much less doing jiu jitsu. Her weight class is all but empty now, and the absolute – while entertaining to watch – has become empty to watch with her in it. All other females are outweighed by over a hundred pounds and give up almost a  foot in height. How long will victories against these opponents be fulfilling for her?
  10. The last 2 minutes of black belt adult matches are when you should start watching. 10 minutes is a long time to fight for points. Oncea competitor gets up on points, many times this signals the end of the action. This is because the competitor down on points saves their energy to score at the end, and the competitor that is ahead bides his time and has no sense of urgency. This is why so many finals matches are boring to watch, and often all the excitement is in the end. Could there be a clean way to fix this?

We hope you have enjoyed these observations. Post your recent observations of the 2013 Pan below.

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BishopBjj News

2013 Pan Jiu Jitsu Media Coverage Part 1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eLL1heIms0&w=640&h=360]
Check our video blog from the first few days of the Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship.

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BishopBjj News

2013 Pan Jiu Jitsu Predictions

pan dredict
We watch a lot of film at BishopBjj.com. In fact, whilst studying the 2012 World Championships for our study, we watched over 200 matches in a 2 week period of time. That certainly doesn’t make us experts, but it does make our opinions a little bit more informed than the average guy. Based on our knowledge, here are Tyler’s adult male picks for the 2013 Pan  Jiu Jitsu Championship.
Rooster: It’s hard to envision a scenario in which Caio Terra and Bruno Malfacine don’t meet in the finals. With Bruno coming off of injury Caio is the popular choice, but if Bruno has been able to maintain his physical abilities it is hard to see him losing
Bruno Malficine
Light-Feather: Let’s be honest, with only 11 guys in the division it looks as though Gui Mendes will probably clean up. His only recent loss is to Bruno – who moved down again to rooster again this year – so I predict an easy road for Gui Mendes.
Guilherme Mendes
Feather: This is such a tough weight class that likely comes down to the big 4  – Tanquinho, Cobrinha, Mario Reis, and Rafael Mendes. Mendes will be tough to beat, and there is strong chance he will meet Tanquinho or Cobrinha in the finals.
Cobrinha
Light: This weight class is full of talent, and with the exit of Leandro Lo, the field is wide open. The door is open for JT Torres to finally nab his title, but it’s likely that the current going-on’s of his former team have affected his training, so it’s probably safer to go with one of the boys from Alliannce (Lucas Lepri, or Micheal Langhi)
Close out – Langhi and Lepri
Middle: Possibly the toughest of weight classes, it is truly up for grabs. Leandro Lo will give everyone in the division a tough time, and suspect he makes it into the finals. However; Kayron Gracie always seems to come out of nowhere for at least one event a year.
Kayron Gracie
Middle-Heavy: This is going to be Galvao and Barral’s division to lose. I expect an epic rematch in the finals
Romulo Barral
Heavy: No Rodolfo, no problem. Expect a war in the division.
Roberto Alencar
Super-Heavy: Unfortunately, we’ve seen this before. It’s hard to imagine anyone in this division dethroning Faria or Nogueira.
Close out Faria and Nogueira
Ultra-Heavy: Buchecha is certainly the favorite, but don’t sleep on Orlando Sanchez. Sanchez looked hard to beat in Chicago earlier this year. Also, athletes like Alexander Trans and Gustavo Dias will not make it easy for the young Checkmat competitor.
Buchecha

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BishopBjj News

Pan Jiu Jitsu Preview

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4GoX-7q75A?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
In honor of the largest jiu jitsu tournament in the word, the Pan Ams, we’ve decided to start our preview with a look at the past. The video above highlights some of the best moments and most fierce action from the past years Pan Ams.
Speaking of the past, BishopBjj.com specializes in evaluating and measuring past jiu jitsu activities. The 2012 Pan Ams was our first large scale study on jiu jitsu ever conducted. We continued that effort at the 2012 World Championships, and will keep it moving this year with our evaluation of the 2013 Pan this week. This is very exciting – as it will mark the first time in history that we can evaluate real trends in jiu jitsu empirically. For some, this could not be more boring, so below we have done our best to make it interesting.
Last year, we observed that nearly 80% of adult black belt matches resulted in the first person to score being the winner. I suspect this will not change much this year. This was a trend that was largely intact at the 2012 Worlds as well. However, as tactics, positions, and strategies change there is no telling what effect this could have on the scoring paradigm. What do you think, are first points going to be just as valuable this year as they were last year?
Is guard pulling here to stay? Well obviously there will always be guard pullers, but at black belt adult last year nearly 70% of competitors pulled guard. Will this trend continue in 2013? My belief is that the trend will begin to swing back in another direction this year as advanced guard games have been studied more and new techniques have been developed, but it is hard to predict. The other question is if it continues will it remain a successful strategy? Last year the money was on guard pullers. They won nearly 60% of their matches. The only more successful strategy is taking the opponent down, which resulted in a victory rate of almost 73% (note: they also score first, so it’s kind of a double-whammy). Also, will we see this trend expand into the larger weight classes like we started to see in the worlds study last year, or will the big guys continue to fight for the top position? these will all be very interesting questions to answer
Finally, who’s going to win, and who’s going to steal the show? Last year Rafael Mendes stole the show by defeating Cobrinha with a nasty armlock, and Bruno Malficine prevented the lighter Mendes brother, Guilherme, from joining his brother atop the podium. Who will be this years standouts? It’s extremely likely that someone from the young crop of fresh black belts is able to surprise several veterans this year, but it’s hard to tell who will be the one to step up. What are your thoughts?
We will see you there, and will be providing daily media updates (including fresh footage), so stay tuned and keep checking the site everyday!!!

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BishopBjj News

Will Skittles Make You Better At Jiu Jitsu?

skittles bjj
Wait, what? This can’t be a real article, can it? The idea of the popular junk food candy Skittles improving a person’s jiu jitsu is an absurd proposition. What if I told you that the premise is largely true, and that Americas favorite rainbow treat could help competitors with a common obstacle?
So how can Skittles improve your jiu jtisu? Well, Skittles aren’t necessarily going to make your armbars tighter, your guard passing heavier, or your omoplata’s slicker, but they may help you with a certain psycho-nervous system reaction that can impede competitive performance. Xerostomia is a condition that can result from stressful conditions. Xerostomia is that dry-mouth-dry-eyes feeling you get before and during competition that can make breathing and swallowing more difficult. Even the most relaxed and experienced competitors’ likely experience some form of Xerostomia, as it results from the heightened secretion of neurotransmitters that relate to the bodies reaction to competitive or nervous situations.
So how exactly do Skittles help prevent Xerostomia? To be honest, it’s not just Skittles that can help, but just about any fruity candy or flavorful sugary treat. The sweetness of sugar and prevalence of flavor activate your salivary glands in a way that keeps your body from experiencing the bulk of symptoms related to Xerostomia. Simple sugars activate these glands, and flavors – such as those in Skittles – and create a reaction that keeps your mouth from drying out. Chewing on a hand full of Skittles minutes prior to a competitive experience can help prevent that dry mouth feeling, and actually improve your breathing. In fact, there are even a few mouth piece companies out there that celebrate this premise by flavoring their mouth pieces (so, if you wear a mouthpiece, that may be worth looking into as well). However, there is still the lack of sugar to consider when you go the mouthpiece route. Either way, even if you don’t dramatically experience these symptoms, research tells us it is still likely occurring in some capacity, so it is still likely that you would benefit from experimenting with these practices anyways.
So why exactly should we pick Skittles again? The great news is that you don’t really have to, but they are in-fact a great option. You can actually pick a healthier option that meets the same above criteria, but there are some exceptions. Fruit is likely too messy, and with the exception of something like pineapple, too filling right before a match. Honey and energy gels can often have the opposite effect because of the ingredient’s and consistency. Studies show that mints and candies typically work the best. Skittles are a good choice because they are cheap; available at most venue concessions stands, and are available around the world.
So next time you compete, don’t forget to bring the Skittles. And remember, if you don’t use Skittles, there is a good chance your opponent will. Make sure you level the sugary playing field.
Studies:
http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016%2805%2900406-2/abstract
http://www.exodontia.info/files/Oral_Diseases_2002._Drug_Effects_on_Salivary_Glands_-_Dry_Mouth.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19938253
http://ww2.orahealth.com/XyliMelts_Dry_Mouth_Study.pdf
Sekai pic1

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Live Technique and Perspective Videos

Omoplata To 50/50 Guard Armbar

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mJc-kd0wY&w=560&h=315]
We don’t really put out a lot of “technique videos”, mostly because the internet is saturated with them, but the feedback we’ve been getting has been asking for a little bit more of this kind of stuff. So we’ve decided to put a few videos up here and there for those who are interested. We decided to keep it primarily focused on unique techniques that we have proven in competition. This 50/50 armbar from a failed omoplata fits the bill pretty well, so we will start with it.
This technique is actually pretty hard to get because 90% of it depends on your opponent. If he doesn’t react by grabbing your collar and pressing into you once you’ve established 50/50 you have to switch to a different technique. We hope you enjoy.

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"It's Science" Videos

Rafael Mendes Jiu Jitsu Study & Profile

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDiuKxjurwo&w=560&h=315]

Rafael Mendes Jiu Jitsu Study & Profile

Welcome to another episode of “It’s Science”. We continue with a look at Rafael Mendes (2012-2013). Rafael Mendes is largely considered the best p4p BJJ competitor on the planet right now. We dig in to see what makes him tick.

Rafael Mendes BJJ Profile

All matches observed of Rafael Mendes used in this small sample occurred at IBJJF events, inside his weight division, and between 2012-2013. Only techniques, occurrences, and outcomes that were recorded are displayed in the data below (i.e. if no butterfly sweeps occurred, there will not be a representation of that in the sample data). Matches were selected at random based on available matches  – selected using a random generator from 20 total available IBJJF matches between 2012-2013. This is a limited sample – but given the estimated amount of matches in this time period – it is well above the percentage necessary to create a scientifically validated trend sampling.

What makes Rafael Mendes so good?

Rafael Mendes proved to be the most dominant and proficient competitor we have ever observed during his 2012-2013 performances. His game is very defined, and he is able to get into it with little resistance. This is largely due to the fact that he can play his De La Riva guard game whether he pulls guard or his opponent double-guard pulls along with him. 75% of his sweeps came from a De La Riva variation, but most would be defined as the berimbolo technique.
He used this position very effectively to take the back. From the back he was incredibly efficient – which is where he secured nearly 50% of his overall submissions. When it came to submissions, he seemed to prefer armlocks. Over half of all his submissions observed were armlocks.
However; he showed even less variety when it came to his passing game. Rafael Mendes obviously prefers to pass the guard one way, and he doesn’t care if you know it or not.
He leg drag passes from every position. Again he uses this position to setup back-takes and armlocks. there is an incredible fluidity to his game that is both dangerous and beautiful – which is why his match average less than 5 minutes in time.

Final Look

Overall, he is a very dangerous opponent, and deserves close observation. He is quickly defining a strategic blueprint for what an undefeated season looks like.

Notable Stats:

    • Won 80% of his matches by submission
    • Average match length was only 4.53 minutes long
    • Only scored upon 3 times in entire study
    • Scored first in 12 out of 15 matches recorded (In the 3 that he didn’t, it was because he submitted his opponent prior to a first score)
    • 85% of passes were leg drag variations
    • Approximately 57% of his submissions were armlocks
    • 75% of his sweeps came from De La Riva guard
Top Competitor Rafael Mendes
Successes DLR Sweeps, Armlocks
Avoided… Half-Guard Bottom, Mount
Top Technique 1 Leg Drag pass
Top Technique 2 Berimbolo
Number of Matches Observed 15
Submits Opponent 12
Wins by Points 3
Minutes of footage watched 68
Scores First 12
Total Wins 15
Total Loses 0
Sweeps (Position)
De la Riva Sweeps 8
Spider Sweeps 1
50/50 3
Sweeps (Type)
Ankle Pick sweep 1
Tomanagi 1
Sit-up and overtake opponent 4
Berimbolo 5
Omoplata sweep 1
Total Sweeps 12
Passes (Position)
Half-Guard 3
Standing 4
Passes (Type)
leg drag 6
Knee cut from HG 1
Total Passes 7
Taking the Back
side control 2
from passing the guard 1
guard 3
Total Back-Takes 6
Submissions (Position)
Back 5
Side Control 3
Closed Guard 1
Half-Guard Top 1
 Spider 2
Submissions (Type)
choke from back 2
armbar 7
neck choke (Guilitine, Brabo, etc.) 1
triangle 2
Total Subs 12
Start of Match
Double-Guard Pull 6
Guard Pull 6
Pulled on by opponent 3