Vinicinho and Alan Moraes. Photo: Carlos Ozório
Caio Terra has been turning heads for being a roosterweight (Jiu-Jitsu’s lightest division) who beats the big guys in the absolute division, like he did recently at the Las Vegas Open and American Nationals.
However, brave little fellows successfully venturing into the absolute division is not a recent phenomenon. A Carlson Gracie representative who won the world championship as a brown belt and was world runner-up at black, Vinícius Cruz ran amok against the thick-framed fighters of his day.
Towards the end of the nineties, Vinícius won the open weight class at a major tournament in Rio de Janeiro. The fighter tapped out two opponents before closing out the final with teammate Vitor Dórea. In the match that caught the most attention, Cruz brought his bout against now-IBJJF referee Maurício Russo to conclusion with his weapon of specialty, the collar choke.
“The collar choke is an excellent weapon against heavier opponents. It’s saved my skin a bunch of times!” recalls the stalwart competitor.
In the video below, the black belt teaches two variations on the position: the traditional way of performing the collar choke and then a method the specialist on the subject himself came up with. Watch and learn here on GRACIEMAG.com.
