Thiago Barreto and his guileful guard at a tourney in Recife / Photo:Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com
Black belt Thiago Barreto has been turning heads at Jiu-Jitsu competitions in the Brazilian Northeast. And at the Abu Dhabi WPJJC, the lightweight from team One Brasa put on a show and made it to the under-70 kg final, where he came up short against Fernando Vieira by 3-1 on advantage points.
“I learned that six minutes isn’t enough time to think, you’ve got to execute. The second thing is that I should have stuck to my initial plan in the final, been more aggressive. I feel the match would have gone differently,” the guard player from Rio Grande do Norte State told GRACIEMAG.com.
USE THE GUARD TO SWEEP OR FINISH
Gearing up to raise the roof on the big stage, Thiago lays out his competition plans, “I want to compete at the Worlds in California in late May and early June. I’m just waiting on sponsorship. If I get it, I’ll put my guard to work.”
To wrap up, the Potiguar, as people from his state are known, taught an open-guard position exclusively for your favorite Jiu-Jitsu website. “From here you can sweep or finish. It’s important that you learn variations. By having a plan A, B and C, you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way in battle,” he explains.
Check it out, and keep in mind that you should practice under the supervision of a qualified Jiu-Jitsu instructor.
