Renato Cardoso is signed up for the January European Open 2013. (Personal-archive photo)
Rodrigo Cavaca student Renato Cardoso had a successful competition run in 2012, his first year as a black belt, winning gold at tournaments like the Brasília Open and São Paulo Open.
Now the CheckMat heavyweight wants to take the level up a notch and win with gold medals at the 2013 European Open, coming up late January in Lisbon, Portugal.
The absolute division at the big event is a promising one, as, besides Renato, there will be Rômulo Barral, Alexander Trans and José “Ciência” Junior, among others all going for glory in the most thrilling division.
While not letting the cat out of the bag altogether, Renato did let GRACIEMAG.com in one a few of the positions he is developing to take his adversaries by surprise.
The first of them is a de la Riva-guard pass. The trick is to sink the first grip at the opponent’s shoulder while grabbing the pant leg at the knee with the second hand.
Renato then postures up and, taking one leg out of play, gets free by hopping over the hook (minute 1:02). To get around the de la Riva hook, the stronger of the two, he simply turns his foot outwards (minute 1:25).
Still with his hand on the knee, the CheckMat ace pushes the leg down and maintains the pressure on the shoulder with his other hand, allowing him to jump past guard (minute 1:30).
In the second position, Renato Cardoso plays sitting guard. With the help of a firm grip on the lapel, he pushes the opponent’s thigh with one foot, slips his hip out and, holding the collar, pulls the opponent while pressuring his calf.
How’d you like the positions?
To find out who all is confirmed for the 2013 European Open, click here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqEXqukmlIw
