Team Nova União’s Marcio André at the 2012 Worlds: advanced studies of the guard, berimbolo and passes. Photo by Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.
Seventeen-year-old Nova União purple belt Marcio André is one of those Jiu-Jitsu competitors who gets down to the nitty-gritty in his studies, devoting a big chunk of his day to positional analysis.
His efforts have been bearing fruit, as you can see in this video from the last Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, in Long Beach, California.
After ten striking encounters with the brothers Paulo and João Miyao, Marcio André developed a safe and effective way of freeing himself from the web known as “berimbolo”, a position the Miyaos are wicked at.
“The opponent starts by grabbing my belt and sending me backwards. When he pushes me backwards, I land seated at the other side of his head. I need to keep a distance and take his right leg out of play, since that’s the leg he uses to push me backwards or threaten me. Once I’ve got the leg under control, I grab his left elbow with my left hand and pull it upwards, at the same time extending my right leg, which is between his legs,” narrates Marcio, a student of Professor Fábio Andrade of the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Bangu.
“After that, I switch the hold on his pants with my left hand, put my arm in the middle of his belly and move my knee forward, turning sideways. If he tries sweeping me by tossing me backwards, I prop my head on the ground, release the grip and fly to his black. If he throws me backwards, I pass my leg over his, continue with my underhook, force my knee out and pass his guard,” said the promising up-and-comer.
What do you think?
