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It's Science: Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-qsrivMmew&w=560&h=315]
Welcome to another episode of “It’s Science”. We  continue our 2013 season with a look at Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles (2010-2013). Now on to the fun stuff…
 
Abstract: All matches observed of Cobrinha used in this small sample occurred at gi IBJJF events, inside his weight division, and between 2010-2013. 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 matches between 2010-2013. 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.
Breakdown: Some things simply get better with age. Cobrinha may be a perfect example of this mantra. While Rubens Charles once reigned as king of the featherweight class, it’s in the last few years where he may be at his most dominant. We decided to only study the past 3 years of competition to keep techniques and styles relevant, in doing-so we leave out a lot of the bulk of Cobrinha’s career. Fortunately, he has remained competitive and strong. In fact, one could argue that today, in 2013, he is at his very best.
Most impressively, Cobrinha submitted his opponent in 9 out of the 14 matches we observed. That’s a 75% submission rate in all of his tournament wins. You would be hard pressed to find many other active competitors doing the same, much less one that is over the age of 30. His average match length was very short because of this – roughly 6:15. When matches are short, it allows you to be aggressive, fast, and dynamic. Cobrinha does exactly that. He pulled guard in almost all of his matches, and used a slick combination of De La riva Guard and Sit-up guard to score first by sweeping his opponent. His opponents often made the mistake of fighting the sweep and giving their back. This was the beginning of their untimely end. In our observation, Conbrinha did not lose the back once. Once he got to your back, you were finished!
It’s not often you find a competitor who not only stands the test of time, but improves as they get older. Cobrinha is likely to join the ranks of top competitors like Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, Royler Gracie, Pe De Pano, and Megaton – to name a few – that have been a force at their weight well into their master and senior years.  This was truly one of the most fun studies we have done.
Notable stats:

  • Submitted 75% of his opponents in winning matches
  • Scored first 58% of the time
  • Pulled guard 79% of the time
  • 56% of his sweeps came from the Sit-up guard
  • He averaged 1.12 sweeps per match
  • He finished a choke from the back in 5/5 matches in which he achieved the position
  • 83% of his passes were a “knee-through style” pass
  • His average match length was approximately 6:15 (almost the length of a blue belts full match)

 

Top Competitor Cobrinha
Successes Sit-up guard
Avoided… Takedowns
Top Technique 1 Sit-up guard to Single Leg
Top Technique 2 Choke from the back
Number of Matches Observed 14
Submits Opponent 9
Wins by Points 3
Minutes of footage watched 84 minutes
Scores First 10
Total Wins 12
Total Loses 2
Sweeps (Position)
De la Riva Sweeps 5
Spider Sweeps 2
Sit-up Guard 8
Sweeps (Type)
Ankle Pick sweep 5
Scissor 2
Sit-up to single leg 8
Total Sweeps 15
Passes (Position)
Half-Guard 1
Standing 5
Passes (Type)
knee through 5
knee up, from hg to mount 1
Total Passes 6
Taking the Back
from passing the guard 1
guard 4
Total Back-Takes 5
Submissions (Position)
Back 5
Side Control 2
Closed Guard 1
Half-Guard Top 1
Submissions (Type)
choke from back 5
armbar  2
omoplata 1
cross collar top 1
Total Subs 9
Start of Match
Guard Pull 11
Pulled on by opponent 3
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BishopBjj News

World Jiu Jitsu Championship 2013 Review (Behind The Scenes)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9HqntGg4gE?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Check out this awesome 15 minute review and look behind the scenes of the 2013 World Jiu Jitsu Championship.

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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!!!