Tag: gracie jiu jitsu

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"It's Science" Videos

Romulo Barral Jiu Jitsu Stats, Info, & Matches

romulo barral

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGPvcT0NjNA&w=560&h=315]

Romulo Barral Breakdown

Welcome to our second season of “It’s Science”. We are going to kick off  with a quick look at Romulo Barral. The recently “retired” Barral is one of the most accomplished competitors of all time. Let’s dive deep into what makes him so successful.

Abstract of Romulo Barral Jiu Jitsu Study:

All matches observed of Romulo Barral, used in this small sample, occurred at IBJJF events, in his weight division, and between 2011-2013. 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 via YouTube – selected using a random generator from 20 total available IBJJF matches between 2011-2013. 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.

So what did we learn?

Romulo Barral has a very defined game. My initial impressions of him were in many cases correct, but there were a few surprises. You will immediately notice in the 13 total matches observed that Romulo Barral limits his arsenal to just a few defined techniques. I have always perceived him as a spider guard player – and perhaps that is true – but one thing that is overwhelmingly obvious is how this game has evolved into a sit-up guard style system from the bottom.
In fact, 70% of Romulo’s sweeps came from the sit-up guard position. From there his passing style of choice is a very heavy half guard style of passing with 66% of his passes coming from half-guard. It was also very obvious that Barral’s end-game involved the mount.
All but one submission occurred from the mount position. So is this style of game successful? In short, yes! In the random matches we observed, he won 12 out of the 13. That’s pretty good.

Notable Stats:

  • Sit-up guard accounts for 70% of sweeps
  • Half guard passes account for 2/3 of all passes
  • 4/5 submissions were cross collar chokes from the top
  • 4/5 submission also occurred from mount
  • Barral scored first in 10/13 matches, and 10/12 that he won
  • His average match length was 7.23 minutes
  • He pulled open guard in over 50% of his matches

The Data

Top Competitor **Romulo Barral**
Successes Sit-up Guard, Half Guard Passes, Mount Chokes
Avoided… De La Riva, ButterFly Guard
Top Submission Utilized Cross Collar Choke
Number of Matches Observed 13
Submits Opponent 5
Wins by Points 7
Minutes of footage watched 94
Scores First 10
Total Wins 12
Total Loses 1
Sweeps (Position)
Spider Sweeps 2
X-Guard 1
Sit-up Guard 7
Sweeps (Type)
Scissor 1
Trips/Off-balancing 3
Sit-up and overtake opponent 3
Collar Drag/Arm Drag 3
Total Sweeps 10
Passes (Position)
On Knees 2
Half-Guard 10
Standing 3
Passes (Type)
leg drag 3
knee through 1
x-pass 1
Knee cut from HG 4
Reverse Sitting HG Pass 4
knee up, from half-guard to mount 2
Total Passes 15
Taking the Back
Guard 2
Standing 1
Total Back-Takes 3
Submissions (Position)
Mount 4
Half-Guard Top 1
Submissions (Type)
Armbar 1
Cross collar top 4
Total Subs 5
Start of Match
Open Guard Pull 7
Tight Guard Pull 1
Opponent Pulled Guard 4
Took Opponents Back 1
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BJJ Study and Statistics Articles

Pass The Guard Like Leo Vieira

Don’t You Wish You Could Pass Like Leo?

By: Tyler Bishop
In 2005, the event that everyone was talking about was Rickson’s Budo Challenge. It was a tournament done in an unusual format, with a unique scoring system that primarily rewarded submission attempts over positioning. Naturally, young up and coming jiu jitsu nerds watched in awe of the likes Leo Vieira effortless passing the guard, but what is most amazing is how impressive this performance remains today.
With the resurgence of submission only BJJ tournaments, many should look at this past event for inspiration. This was not a submission only event, but the rules certainly inspired action. However, I did not write this article to talk about tournament formats, and point-systems. I wrote it to talk about the impressive passing acumen of Leo Vieira in his prime. The reason the rules are important is because they allowed Leo Vieira to cut lose, and the results were down right scary. In his first match Leo Vieira fought Barret Yoshida. Yoshida was well known (and still is) for his dynamic and aggressive guard. In this case, Leo was far more aggressive in his passing. Leo attacked Yoshida’s guard relentlessly. It wasn’t until I finally broke down the film – piece by piece  – that I could finally understand the genius and detail of Leo’s passing style this day.
x-pass leo
Leo’s first pass was a great X-guard pass – in which Yoshida appeared stunned. Leo attacked the sit-up guard by positioning his legs out of reach, attaching his grip to the knee, and his other grip to the collar. Before Yoshida could react, Leo stepped out of range, and onto Yoshida’s stomach. Leo kept both grips, solidified his base through his opponent, and scored his first pass of the day.
leg weave leo
Another one of Leo’s impressive passes that day was from the leg weave position. It seemed to catch Yoshida by surprise. Leo attacked the pass by threading his arm between the legs, stepping his leg out of half guard, then pressuring Yoshida to defend the same side pass. When Yoshida commits to the defense, Leo steps over the legs, and switches his hips while maintaining his leg grip. This allows Leo to establish another effortless looking pass.
grips leo
Finally – one of the most important details I noticed in studying this match from 8 years ago – is the ability of Leo to control space when passing. A large part of this control comes from one specific grip. Leo dominated the grips in this match, and that is why he passed the guard close to 10 times. But, it was the grip shown above that really gave Yoshida the most problems. Many guard passers will control the knees or shins. Leo controlled the very end of the pants, and used this to continually nullify and pass Yoshida’s guard. He was able to setup multiple passes from this grip, and ultimately went on to when the match by double digits.
In this day and age – where the guard player has such an impressive arsenal of attacks, it is good to study someone who has effectively shutdown this time of game before. Sure, guard games are evolving, and there is only one Leo Vieira, but is it possible that we are missing techniques and strategies that could be saving all passers a lot of energy? You tell me. Hopefully this was as helpful and insightful to you, as it was for me. You can watch the entire match of Leo vs. Yoshida below.
God Bless – Tyler
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZdkQ4yHw2o&w=560&h=315]

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BJJ Study and Statistics Articles

It's Science: Submission Only BJJ

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb6VY3U8S-Y&w=560&h=315]
That’s right, we’re back with a brand new edition of “It’s Science”. In this particular case, we did a small – very limited – sample of the popular new prevalence of submission only jiu jitsu tournaments. We wanted to look at the high level black belts and break down some of the numbers that may go otherwise unnoticed. For this study the only events we looked at were Gracie Worlds 2012 and Metamoris Pro. We only included matches that ended in submission, and tracked only a few stats we thought were significant. The results were very interesting.
We found that even though no points were awarded, that the competitors who accessed the first IBJJF recognized points would win 70% of the time. We also noticed that an overwhelming majority of the submissions were initiated from a top position. This again was very intriguing since a guard pull occurred in 70% of the matches ( with the puller winning on top 5 out of 7 times). Armlocks and chokes accounted for 80% of submissions leaving shoulder locks and leg locks with a measly 20% combined. Finally, in the instances that a takedown did occur, the competitor who scored the takedown won in every observed match.
The raw data is below. We recognize that this is an extremely limited sample. But this does help establish some initial baseline trends that will have to be studied in further detail as more of these events begin to take place. It is also fair to mention that matches included in this study ranged from 140lbs to 220+ lbs.
itsscience

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BJJ Study and Statistics Articles

Pan Championship Competitor Case Study

tbpanstudy - 1
The 2013 jiu jitsu season is finally here. At BishopBjj.com, we want to pick up  were we left off last year. We completed the first 2 scientific case studies of jiu jitsu competition ever, and this year we want to take it a step even further. We are currently seeking 15-20 participants for a IBJJF Pan Championship competitor case study. The study will be used to provide scientific insight into three areas of jiu jitsu competition including: training habits and personal performance, training habits and match outcomes, preparation methodology and overall success. It is imperative for this study that we take a look at all walks of life, so that means white belts, blue belts, purple belts, brown belts, and even black belts are needed.  We are looking for variety from our participants (i.e. different training schedules, part-time athletes, full-time athletes, etc.). We believe that this may be one of the most talked about pieces of media inside of jiu jitsu in 2013 when it is completed.
The criteria to participate in the study is listed below:

  • Must be 100% confident that you will attend and compete in the 2013 IBJJF Pan Championships.
  • Must be willing to complete a quick and easy journal on training habits once a week (provided by BishopBjj.com)
  • Must be willing to provide detailed accounts of your personal performance, match outcomes, and overall successes following the event
  • It would also help if you could provide video of your matches at the 2013 Pan Championships

What you will receive for participation:

  • An advanced copy of the study – which will provide an empirical insight into what competitors habits and outcomes appear to be inter-related.
  • Free training habit journals that can aide in gameplan building and performance tracking.
  • Free early-access to our 2013 Pan and Worlds jiu jitsu studies.
  • National recognition on the award-winning BishopBjj.com

To apply, enter your information below and will get back to you asap:
[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Belt Level’ type=’select’ required=’1′ options=’White,Blue,Purple,Brown,Black’/][contact-field label=’Sex’ type=’select’ options=’Male,Female’/][contact-field label=’Typical Weekly Training Volume’ type=’select’ options=’1-3 times per week,3-5 times per week,5-7 times per week,7+ times per week’/][/contact-form]

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BishopBjj News

2012: A Jiu Jitsu Year In Review

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzIOlzVrhyQ&w=853&h=480]
2012 was a great year for BishopBjj.com because it was our first year in existence, and it would be hard to imagine that it could have gone much better. We’ve had over 100,000 unique visitors since March, and our YouTube account is nearly double that. We can’t wait to see what the New Year brings. Make sure to watch our buddy Phil’s deep thoughts after the video above!
Our studies, research, and unique perspective on jiu jitsu has attracted the attention of some of the people we respect the most in this industry, and for that we are truly humbled. We want to make sure to thank the people that have helped make this site so great this year. Everyone listed below deserves your attention if you love jiu jitsu.
Neocell Sport
– The only reason we can train twice a day everyday is because of NeoCell Sport. We genuinely believe that.
BudoVideos (Budo Jake and Budo Dane)
Science Of Skill
The Jiu Jitsu Lab
BJJ Eastern Europe
Jiu Jitsu Mag
Gracie Humaita St. Louis
Royler Gracie
GracieMag
DSTRYR
Subculture USA

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Live Technique and Perspective Videos

What Is The Tanquinho Sweep?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ouS_-RdV6o&w=640&h=360]
Since early this year Tyler has only been able to label the above sweep one way, “it’s the Tanquinho sweep”, said Tyler. “I watched Augusto Mendes execute this sweep flawlessly in several matches last year, and decided to make it part of my game. Since then, I have never thought of another name for it. Since I learned it from watching him, I decided to simply use his name to reference it”.
The above sweep is simple, easy, and effective. You might want to try adding it to your game. Try to think of other techniques you’ve seen in competition and would like to learn, and send them to us on Facebook. We will break them down and post them on our site. If your submission is selected we will send you a  free copy of Jiu Jitsu Magazine featuring our most recent article.

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BJJ Study and Statistics Articles

Jiu Jitsu World Championships Full Study (Free) – 2012

For the very first time ever we are making our Revised 2012 World Jiu Jitsu Case study available for free online (which includes our additional stats from the December issue of Jiu jitsu Magazine), and are providing unbridled access below. We don’t need an e-mail, name, phone number… nothing! You just click the report below, and pages of unprecedented jiu jitsu knowledge will be at your fingertips.
case study cover pic

2012 World Jiu Jitsu Case Study

This entire project took Jena and I months of planning, film watching, and research to complete. The report itself still doesn’t accurately reflect all the intricacies of jiu jitsu competition that we learned while completing this project. However, our hope is that the 2013 studies will be even bigger and more powerful, with greater in-depth analysis. We’ve appreciated the tremendous feedback we’ve received from researchers that work for major universities, Google, Adobe, the government, scientific journals, and more. Neither Jena nor myself have degrees that merit true scientific study. This is a passion, and we originally started it to provide ourselves with an edge in competition strategies. The entire process got out of hand, and three months later we completed the Pan study –  which we used to prepare for the 2012 Worlds. I can say unequivocally that using the information in this study has improved our competition jiu jitsu seven-fold.
In 2013 we plan to return to the “It’s Science” series with more in-depth competitor breakdowns along with several other new series that will focus on the statistical elements of jiu jitsu. Obviously, our largest projects this year will be the new studies. We want them to be bigger and better than ever – which means they will take even more time and energy than they did this year. We have had a ton of people that are far more qualified than ourselves volunteer to help us work on these projects (which is fantastic!!!). But, this all takes a lot of time and effort, so all of your feedback, support, and attention makes it fun to do what we do. Thank you for all of your support from the bottom of our hearts.

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Interviews

Royler Gracie Perspectives #1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrr7dCO9FRg&w=640&h=360]
This video breaks down a few things that Royler communicated with us last time he was in town. See what Royler has to say about the evolution of jiu jitsu and it’s popularity.
Check back a few months in the archives to see the whole interview with Royler.
As son to the late Grandmaster Helio Gracie, Royler is a member of the renowned Gracie family, and thus related to number of other prominent Gracies, such as his brothers Rickson, Royce, Rorion, Relson, Robin and Rolker. He holds a 7th degree red/black belt in the style pioneered by his family, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[12]
Prior to his retirement, Royler competed in the black-belt ranks for 20+ years. He and Marcelo Garcia are the only individuals to have won the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship (ADCC) for three consecutive years. Royler is also a four-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Pena/Featherweight Black Belt Category and has placed in the Absolute Division.
Royler is known as an excellent teacher, having been the lead instructor at the Gracie Humaitá Academy founded by his father in Rio de Janeiro for over a decade. Some of his famous students include Saulo Ribeiro, Leonardo Xavier, Leticia Ribeiro and David Adiv. In 2008, he moved to San Diego, California and established Gracie Jiu-Jitsu San Diego where he is the lead instructor.

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Live Technique and Perspective Videos

Jiu Jitsu Techniques To Study #1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ssrmfY_zrY&w=640&h=360]
Check out our first episode of Technique Journal. Technique Journal is a series where we break down several techniques from live competition that we want to work on each week. We thinks it’s important to identify what makes the techniques work, and what properties the specific player we are breaking down uses to make it successful.
If you don’t keep a technique journal already, we encourage you to start.
Follow us on Facebook, or we will find you (no we won’t)…