inverted guard
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, recognized expert in the area of leg locks. Dan writes for Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more! - Find more of his leg lock articles and resources at www.MicroBJJ.com
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Master the fundamentals of the spinning Berimbolo back-take.....from a variety of positions! Start to dominate the back today!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1
Top Inverted Guard Players: Caio Terra
Section 2
Top Inverted Guard Players: Davi Ramos
Section 3
Top Inverted Guard Players: Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes
Section 4
Top Inverted Guard Players: Keenan Cornelius
Section 5
Top Inverted Guard Players: Ryan Hall
Section 6
Top Inverted Guard Players: Rafael Mendes
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Section 1
Top Inverted Guard Players: Caio Terra
If we are talking about the inverted guard, then we cannot forget Caio Terra, who has some of the best inverted guard variations at the black belt level.
Caio Terra is a great BJJ player for many reasons. As one of the best rooster weights in the world today, Caio Terra uses inverted guard variations like it’s no one’s business. Like many of the other inverted guard players we have recently featured on Science of Skill, Caio Terra uses all sorts of inverted de la riva and half guard varitations, with the main goal of taking his opponent’s back. Watch this match between Caio Terra and Brandon Mullins. Some really great inverted guard play can be seen in the first minute or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BktoQVU4gIk
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In this match, we see the classic double guard pull that is becoming ever so popular in the lighter weight divisions. The double guard pull is a position with many outcomes, but when Caio gets there; his main goal is to take his opponent’s back. When Caio and Brandon both settle into the guard pull, Caio is immediately threading his leg through for a de la riva hook and inverting, almost like a seated berimbolo. Brandon obviously knows what Caio is trying to do, so he attempts to move his hips away from Caio, keep his back facing the mat, and remove his legs from the entanglement. When Brandon starts to do all of these things, Caio is able to use the leg drag position he ended up in to help him invert yet again for another back take. Watch from 0:44 to 1:10 in this clip to see what i’m talking about. Seriously high levelinverted guard play. Here’s another match between Caio Terra and Marcelo Mafra. This one’s all about foot locks and inverted back takes. Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n1q6LIY7kGo This match is one of my favorites, because it just goes to show you how good Caio’sfoot lock defense is. Marcelo locks on a very tight Achilles foot lock right in the beginning but Caio defends by kicking his foot straight and rolling out of it, almost getting Marcelo’s back in the process. One thing that makes Caio’s inverted game so good is that when he inverts, he likes to put his knees and shins behind his opponent’s knees in order to get to the back mount. Not only do these notches behind the knees act as braces for Caio to use, but they also immobilize Marcelo’s ability to turn and escape from a possible back mount position. If his back take attempt fails, Caio will usually just come on top into a leg drag position for the sweep. Watch the 0:31 mark to see what I’m talking about. Some real slick inverted back take techniques right there.
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If there is one thing for certain, it’s that throughout the match, Caio is looking to take the back of his opponent. This is the main theme we see in most of the lighter weight divisions. Caio’s inverted guard game is one of the best out there because he is a master of taking the back from inverted positions and getting sweeps if his back takes fail, all while defending foot locks and counter back takes. If that’s not high level inverted guard, then I’m not sure what is.
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Section 2
Top Inverted Guard Players: Davi Ramos
Why is he always upside down!?!?
So guys, for the next few weeks, we will be popping out some killer articles on who we think are some of the best inverted guard players around. This list includes these names: There are definitely a few other guys that we could mention, but these are the guys that we felt are killing the game with either their sweeps or attacks from inverted positions. Whether you love it or hate it, the inverted guard is becoming more and more popular by the day, and we are seeing more and more competitors using is to much success. 10 years ago you might have seen two competitors grip fight for a bit, then maybe get a takedown or jump closed guard. Sure, we still see this kind of stuff today, but we are also seeing a large increase in players using inverted techniques like the berimbolo, reverse de la riva guard, tornado guard, and many others that include inversion of the body instead of the more traditional methods.
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The first player that I want to talk about is Davi Ramos.
A black belt competing with Team Atos, lead by none other than world champion Andre Galvao, Davi is a monster on the mats.
He is known for his aggressive guard and his deadly leg locks, and finishes most of his opponents via toe hold or knee bar. Here is a clip of what i’m talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yZvJPMQxIWM As you can see, Davi Ramos almost always uses his inverted guardto set up his gnarly leg locks. He is definitely one of the best competitors out there who is able to do such things upside down. One thing that I find interesting about Davi is that he has a very stocky and “barrel” type body. A lot of the players we see today that are using inverted techniques are more or less lankier guys (Ryan Hall, Mendes brothers, Caio Terra, etc…). Davi shows us that he can use inverted guard to his advantage, even though he does not have the length to trap his opponents limbs. Although Davi might lack the length of some of the other players using the inverted guard, he makes up for it in strong technique. When he gets a hold of his opponent’s leg or arm, he uses his larger than normal back and leg muscles to separate his opponent’s leg from the protection of their body. Another factor that makes Davi a beast is the fact that he’s a submission hunter. He wastes no time going inverted and attacking a leg. I believe that we will start to see more and more competitors start going for leg locks from inverted positions as soon as the match begins, and Davi is definitely paving the way for these types of players.
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Section 3
Top Inverted Guard Player: Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes
When it comes to the inverted guard, there’s no way that we could not mention Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes.
Nowawdays we see many jiu jitsu competitors using different variations of the invertedguard. However, this might not be the case today if it wasn’t for a certain BJJ competitor by the name of Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes.
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“Roleta“, as he’s more popularly known as, is one of the few great competitors to compete at the very first Mundials in 1996, and can be given credit for inventing and popularizing what we know as the inverted guard. If it wasn’t for Roleta, then we might not be hanging out upside down as much as some of us do today!
Back then, jiu jitsu was much different than it is today. We saw more throws and foot sweeps from the feet, more old school guard passes like the over/under pass and double under pass, and much less of the more modern techniques that we see today in competition. It’s actually pretty amazing how the sport has changed so much in the past 20 years or so. Roleta was a jiu jitsu pioneer of his time to say the least. He was able to frustrate and confuse his opponents with his crazy new inverted guard, because it was something that he essentially created, and no one knew how to defend against it yet! Here’s an awesome match between Roleta and Minotauro Nogueira from the 1999 Mudials in the absolute division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-KnnkyxxWmQ Watch as Minotauro tries to use the knee cut pass on Roleta. Roleta defends by inverting and following Minotauro’s knee over the top. As Minotauro tries to stay heavy on top and crush Roleta’s hips, Roleta is almost able to sweep Minotauro from the inverted guard, but Minotauro defends nicely and Roletaends up getting back to closed guard. If you watch the entire match, you’ll see Roleta inverting over and over to defendMinotauro’s guard passes, eventually winning the match. Really groundbreaking stuff for that period of time. One of Roleta’s greatest matches was against a competitor by the name of WallidIsmail. The two battled it out in the 1996 Mundials, and it was and extremely intense match to say the least. If you ask me, the stare downs of both competitors are pretty unnerving. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0fHoDHtt2f4
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This match is great to watch because Wallid had been unstoppable during the years leading up to this fight. Little did Wallid know that Roleta had an ace up his sleeve;the inverted guard. Wallid attacks from top for most of the match, trying to blast through Roleta’s guard and advance from there. Roleta begins to work his inverted guard on Wallid, butWallid ends up in the top turtle position in favor to take Roleta’s back. Nearing the end of the match, Roleta ends up executing a nasty inverted guard sweep as Wallid is in the top turtle, and actually ends up taking Wallid’s back with the sweep. He secures both hooks from the back mount, along with securing the win against Wallid. If there is a match that completely validates the inverted guard’s value to jiu jitsu, it’s this one. Roleta paved the way for the many competitors especially the ones featured in our earlier articles on top inverted guard players. With Roleta’s innovation, he changed the landscape of the sport forever, and gave us what we know as the inverted guard.
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Section 4
Top Inverted Guard Players: Keenan Cornelius
Nowadays we are seeing more inverted guard techniques in more divisions, and Keenan Cornelius has been leading the pack of up and comers using these techniques
If you follow the modern jiu jitsu game, you’ve probably heard the name Keenan Cornelius. Keenan Cornelius is one of the fastest growing names in the sport, primarily due to his recent competition success over the past few years and his powerful jiu jitsu. Keenan was recently promoted to brown belt under Master Lloyd Irvin after completing the IBJJF grand slam at purple belt. Completing the IBJJF grand slam means winning the gold medal in both the absolute and normal weight divisions in all 4 major IBJJF events (Europeans, Brazilian Nationals, Pan Ams, Worlds).
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I would say that’s a pretty serious assertion of dominance, wouldn’t you say? Keenan is a middle weight competitor, but is now moving up in weight in order to compete at middle heavyweight. For a not so small guy, he is very flexible and lanky, and he can be seen using inverted techniques such as the berimbolo and de la riva guard variations in competition. Here’s a match between Keenan Cornelius and Diego Mendonça Perseguin. Check out some of Keenan’s inverted stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3T6swhH828Y In a match like this where we see the double guard pull, the chances of one player using some type of inverted technique are greatly increased. Keenan is trying to entangle his legs in such a fashion where he can invert and get a sweep, better yet the back mount. At the 1:43 mark, we see a really nice inverted kick through sweep where Keenan does just that. The Mendes brothers like to do a sweep that is very similar, and inverted sweeps like these are becoming more and more prevalent nowadays. Here’s another match between Keenan Cornelius and Rustam Chsiev. This match is a no-gi match, and Keenan is facing one of the best Russian grapplers/wrestlers on the competition scene. These two factors make this match a recipe for slick guard games and inverted techniques. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WsdACh832Ik As you can see, Rustam has a tremendous wrestling base, and he is definitely one of the hardest guys to sweep because of it. However, Keenan keeps working his inverted techniques throughout the match, and is able to use them quite effectively. Keenan’s inverted guard techniques also make it very difficult for Rustam to pass his guard. Not only does Rustam have to try to pass an inverted guard, but he also has to keep freeing himself from dangerous entanglements that could put him into bad positions. At about the 4:20 mark, Keenan has a great transition to the back of Rustam. He starts off with a reverse de le riva variation, then inverts all the way to where he is behind Rustam and under his hips.
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He then works his way up Rustam’s back and sinks both of his hooks. A great example of a superb inverted de la rive guard techniques. As Keenan continues to improve, i’m sure that we will see more of his inverted guard game, as it will probably evolve into great things once he reaches the black
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Section 5
Top Inverted Guard Players: Ryan Hall
It’s no secret, Ryan Hall is a master of inversion from the guard.
When it comes down to having a dangerous inverted guard, Ryan Hall is definitely in that category.
He has the ability to move effortlessly through different positions while inverted and he always keeps an acute sense of where his limbs are at all times.
If you have seen some of his matches or maybe even a highlight reel, then you know that he has a
very strong inverted triangle, along with many other submissions from inverted guard variations. Here is a match between Ryan Hall and Nolan Dutcher from back in 2009.
This match is one of my favorite matches because it epitomizes how effective the inverted guard can be. Here’s Ryan Hall displaying some of his impressive inverted guard skills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fwj-x7-2bMQ In this match, you can clearly see that Ryan is totally comfortable being in precarious and ambiguous positions while inverted. He is able to keep his limbs in check and defend from Nolan’s passing attempts quite well. Ryan is super fast, and his counter attacks to Nolan’s attacks are tricky and deceptive. One advantage of playing open guard is that it gives you the ability to be deceptive while attacking from bottom. Most of the time, we train and drill our techniques from non inverted positions. When we run into someone on the mats who does have dangerous inverted guard techniques, most of us will be at a disadvantage due to lack of time spent in these specific positions, whether is playing inverted guard or passing inverted guard. Sometimes when you are trying to pass an opponent who is in some form of inverted guard, you can forget where your arms and legs are in relation to this upside down body attacking you. Before you
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know it, you’re stuck in a triangle you had no idea was even available, and your seconds away from tapping out.
That is the beauty of the inverted guard. Here’s another match featuring Ryan’s inverted guard. In this match from back in 2008, he faces Cobrinha (who also has a sick inverted game) and they duke it out in this no gi battle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JlO__FnYsuc Even though Ryan loses this match to Cobrinha, he is still able to use his inverted guard to get himself into the 50/50 guard position and sets up numerous inside heel hooks. As most of us know, Ryan loves to use the inside heel hook from the 50/50 guard to submit his opponents. He’s just as famous for that as he is for his inverted guard. I’m not sure what is more impressive, Ryan’s ability to actually get Cobrinha into the 50/50 heel hook position, or Cobrinha’s ability to defend it so well and not get the ligaments in his knee torn. Either way, Ryan Hall has some serious skills from the inverted guard.
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Section 6
Top Inverted Guard Players: Rafael Mendes
When we think of great inverted guard players, not many stand above Rafael Mendes.
Continuing our series on the top inverted guard players in the world, this week we are looking at one of jiu jitsu’s finest, Rafael Mendes. Rafael Mendes is at the top of the jiu jitsu food chain, with only maybe a few heavier competitors out there that could give him a run for his money. One thing we know about Rafael Mendes, is that he absolutely loves to use inverted back takes. Instead of using your typical back take from the transverse plane of motion, he takes other guys backs by moving along the sagittal plane. For example, instead of using the arm drag technique all the time, which involves moving around your opponent in a transverse motion, and can be quite difficult to use frequently at the highest levels of competition, he moves along the sagittal plane of motion to take peoples backs using inverted techniques such as the berimbolo. The berimbolo is an inverted technique that has increased a lot in popularity in the last few years, thanks to guys like Rafael, his brother Guilherme, Samuel Braga and a few others. If you’ve never seen it, it involves going inverted while in the de la riva guard, forcing your opponent on to his or her back, then finally inverting with your de la riva hook still entangled to get one of the coolest looking back takes. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WHikSZK5jc4
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Like I said earlier, the berimbolo technique is becoming more and more popular by the day, as well as inverted back takes in general. Not only is Rafael good at performing the berimbolo technique, but he is good at performing it while being pressured by his opponents. Inverting while being squashed by your opponent’s hips or chest can be super difficult, but Rafael makes it look easy and shows us that it’s not impossible for him to do. Check out these two matches where he faces Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, another one of the top light/feather weight competitors in the world, whom might I add, has some of the best pressure passing and top games in his division. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mfCoCL0Ss4E http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cuZZkM5SxOQ In these two matches, you can see that Tanquinho’s passing is super strong and his top game is indeed incredible. A very tough opponent to sweep indeed. Although Rafael Mendes was not able to secure the back mount from these inverted back takes and berimbolo attempts, he is still able to take the top position and get points for the sweep. When the back take fails or he cannot get the full sweep, Rafael also likes to transition to leg lock positions and attack with toe holds and other leg locks.
So basically, he inverts to take your back. If he can’t have your back, then he goes for the sweep instead. If he can’t have both the back take and/or the sweep, he’s attacking your feet and legs. All I can say is WOW. Rafael Mendes is a fairly young competitor, and I’m sure that he will continue to improve and amaze us with his jiu jitsu skills. His inverted guard attacks like the berimbolo are definitely the future, and I’m anxious to see more of what comes from him and his brother as competitors and teachers. Time to go work on my berimbolo defense…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, recognized expert in the area of leg locks. Dan writes for Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more! - Find more of his leg lock articles and resources at www.MicroBJJ.com
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TWO (2) DVD SET INCLUDES... DVD 1: 50-50 Fundamentals
50-50 guard sweeps, submissions and escapes - with or without the Gi! A beginner and intermediate guide to the 50-50 position. DVD 2: Berimbolo Back Takes
Master the fundamentals of the spinning Berimbolo back-take.....from a variety of positions! Start to dominate the back today!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1
Top Inverted Guard Players: Caio Terra
Section 2
Top Inverted Guard Players: Davi Ramos
Section 3
Top Inverted Guard Players: Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes
Section 4
Top Inverted Guard Players: Keenan Cornelius
Section 5
Top Inverted Guard Players: Ryan Hall
Section 6
Top Inverted Guard Players: Rafael Mendes
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Section 1
Top Inverted Guard Players: Caio Terra
If we are talking about the inverted guard, then we cannot forget Caio Terra, who has some of the best inverted guard variations at the black belt level.
Caio Terra is a great BJJ player for many reasons. As one of the best rooster weights in the world today, Caio Terra uses inverted guard variations like it’s no one’s business. Like many of the other inverted guard players we have recently featured on Science of Skill, Caio Terra uses all sorts of inverted de la riva and half guard varitations, with the main goal of taking his opponent’s back. Watch this match between Caio Terra and Brandon Mullins. Some really great inverted guard play can be seen in the first minute or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BktoQVU4gIk
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In this match, we see the classic double guard pull that is becoming ever so popular in the lighter weight divisions. The double guard pull is a position with many outcomes, but when Caio gets there; his main goal is to take his opponent’s back. When Caio and Brandon both settle into the guard pull, Caio is immediately threading his leg through for a de la riva hook and inverting, almost like a seated berimbolo. Brandon obviously knows what Caio is trying to do, so he attempts to move his hips away from Caio, keep his back facing the mat, and remove his legs from the entanglement. When Brandon starts to do all of these things, Caio is able to use the leg drag position he ended up in to help him invert yet again for another back take. Watch from 0:44 to 1:10 in this clip to see what i’m talking about. Seriously high levelinverted guard play. Here’s another match between Caio Terra and Marcelo Mafra. This one’s all about foot locks and inverted back takes. Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n1q6LIY7kGo This match is one of my favorites, because it just goes to show you how good Caio’sfoot lock defense is. Marcelo locks on a very tight Achilles foot lock right in the beginning but Caio defends by kicking his foot straight and rolling out of it, almost getting Marcelo’s back in the process. One thing that makes Caio’s inverted game so good is that when he inverts, he likes to put his knees and shins behind his opponent’s knees in order to get to the back mount. Not only do these notches behind the knees act as braces for Caio to use, but they also immobilize Marcelo’s ability to turn and escape from a possible back mount position. If his back take attempt fails, Caio will usually just come on top into a leg drag position for the sweep. Watch the 0:31 mark to see what I’m talking about. Some real slick inverted back take techniques right there.
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If there is one thing for certain, it’s that throughout the match, Caio is looking to take the back of his opponent. This is the main theme we see in most of the lighter weight divisions. Caio’s inverted guard game is one of the best out there because he is a master of taking the back from inverted positions and getting sweeps if his back takes fail, all while defending foot locks and counter back takes. If that’s not high level inverted guard, then I’m not sure what is.
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Section 2
Top Inverted Guard Players: Davi Ramos
Why is he always upside down!?!?
So guys, for the next few weeks, we will be popping out some killer articles on who we think are some of the best inverted guard players around. This list includes these names: There are definitely a few other guys that we could mention, but these are the guys that we felt are killing the game with either their sweeps or attacks from inverted positions. Whether you love it or hate it, the inverted guard is becoming more and more popular by the day, and we are seeing more and more competitors using is to much success. 10 years ago you might have seen two competitors grip fight for a bit, then maybe get a takedown or jump closed guard. Sure, we still see this kind of stuff today, but we are also seeing a large increase in players using inverted techniques like the berimbolo, reverse de la riva guard, tornado guard, and many others that include inversion of the body instead of the more traditional methods.
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The first player that I want to talk about is Davi Ramos.
A black belt competing with Team Atos, lead by none other than world champion Andre Galvao, Davi is a monster on the mats.
He is known for his aggressive guard and his deadly leg locks, and finishes most of his opponents via toe hold or knee bar. Here is a clip of what i’m talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yZvJPMQxIWM As you can see, Davi Ramos almost always uses his inverted guardto set up his gnarly leg locks. He is definitely one of the best competitors out there who is able to do such things upside down. One thing that I find interesting about Davi is that he has a very stocky and “barrel” type body. A lot of the players we see today that are using inverted techniques are more or less lankier guys (Ryan Hall, Mendes brothers, Caio Terra, etc…). Davi shows us that he can use inverted guard to his advantage, even though he does not have the length to trap his opponents limbs. Although Davi might lack the length of some of the other players using the inverted guard, he makes up for it in strong technique. When he gets a hold of his opponent’s leg or arm, he uses his larger than normal back and leg muscles to separate his opponent’s leg from the protection of their body. Another factor that makes Davi a beast is the fact that he’s a submission hunter. He wastes no time going inverted and attacking a leg. I believe that we will start to see more and more competitors start going for leg locks from inverted positions as soon as the match begins, and Davi is definitely paving the way for these types of players.
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Section 3
Top Inverted Guard Player: Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes
When it comes to the inverted guard, there’s no way that we could not mention Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes.
Nowawdays we see many jiu jitsu competitors using different variations of the invertedguard. However, this might not be the case today if it wasn’t for a certain BJJ competitor by the name of Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes.
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“Roleta“, as he’s more popularly known as, is one of the few great competitors to compete at the very first Mundials in 1996, and can be given credit for inventing and popularizing what we know as the inverted guard. If it wasn’t for Roleta, then we might not be hanging out upside down as much as some of us do today!
Back then, jiu jitsu was much different than it is today. We saw more throws and foot sweeps from the feet, more old school guard passes like the over/under pass and double under pass, and much less of the more modern techniques that we see today in competition. It’s actually pretty amazing how the sport has changed so much in the past 20 years or so. Roleta was a jiu jitsu pioneer of his time to say the least. He was able to frustrate and confuse his opponents with his crazy new inverted guard, because it was something that he essentially created, and no one knew how to defend against it yet! Here’s an awesome match between Roleta and Minotauro Nogueira from the 1999 Mudials in the absolute division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-KnnkyxxWmQ Watch as Minotauro tries to use the knee cut pass on Roleta. Roleta defends by inverting and following Minotauro’s knee over the top. As Minotauro tries to stay heavy on top and crush Roleta’s hips, Roleta is almost able to sweep Minotauro from the inverted guard, but Minotauro defends nicely and Roletaends up getting back to closed guard. If you watch the entire match, you’ll see Roleta inverting over and over to defendMinotauro’s guard passes, eventually winning the match. Really groundbreaking stuff for that period of time. One of Roleta’s greatest matches was against a competitor by the name of WallidIsmail. The two battled it out in the 1996 Mundials, and it was and extremely intense match to say the least. If you ask me, the stare downs of both competitors are pretty unnerving. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0fHoDHtt2f4
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This match is great to watch because Wallid had been unstoppable during the years leading up to this fight. Little did Wallid know that Roleta had an ace up his sleeve;the inverted guard. Wallid attacks from top for most of the match, trying to blast through Roleta’s guard and advance from there. Roleta begins to work his inverted guard on Wallid, butWallid ends up in the top turtle position in favor to take Roleta’s back. Nearing the end of the match, Roleta ends up executing a nasty inverted guard sweep as Wallid is in the top turtle, and actually ends up taking Wallid’s back with the sweep. He secures both hooks from the back mount, along with securing the win against Wallid. If there is a match that completely validates the inverted guard’s value to jiu jitsu, it’s this one. Roleta paved the way for the many competitors especially the ones featured in our earlier articles on top inverted guard players. With Roleta’s innovation, he changed the landscape of the sport forever, and gave us what we know as the inverted guard.
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Section 4
Top Inverted Guard Players: Keenan Cornelius
Nowadays we are seeing more inverted guard techniques in more divisions, and Keenan Cornelius has been leading the pack of up and comers using these techniques
If you follow the modern jiu jitsu game, you’ve probably heard the name Keenan Cornelius. Keenan Cornelius is one of the fastest growing names in the sport, primarily due to his recent competition success over the past few years and his powerful jiu jitsu. Keenan was recently promoted to brown belt under Master Lloyd Irvin after completing the IBJJF grand slam at purple belt. Completing the IBJJF grand slam means winning the gold medal in both the absolute and normal weight divisions in all 4 major IBJJF events (Europeans, Brazilian Nationals, Pan Ams, Worlds).
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I would say that’s a pretty serious assertion of dominance, wouldn’t you say? Keenan is a middle weight competitor, but is now moving up in weight in order to compete at middle heavyweight. For a not so small guy, he is very flexible and lanky, and he can be seen using inverted techniques such as the berimbolo and de la riva guard variations in competition. Here’s a match between Keenan Cornelius and Diego Mendonça Perseguin. Check out some of Keenan’s inverted stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3T6swhH828Y In a match like this where we see the double guard pull, the chances of one player using some type of inverted technique are greatly increased. Keenan is trying to entangle his legs in such a fashion where he can invert and get a sweep, better yet the back mount. At the 1:43 mark, we see a really nice inverted kick through sweep where Keenan does just that. The Mendes brothers like to do a sweep that is very similar, and inverted sweeps like these are becoming more and more prevalent nowadays. Here’s another match between Keenan Cornelius and Rustam Chsiev. This match is a no-gi match, and Keenan is facing one of the best Russian grapplers/wrestlers on the competition scene. These two factors make this match a recipe for slick guard games and inverted techniques. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WsdACh832Ik As you can see, Rustam has a tremendous wrestling base, and he is definitely one of the hardest guys to sweep because of it. However, Keenan keeps working his inverted techniques throughout the match, and is able to use them quite effectively. Keenan’s inverted guard techniques also make it very difficult for Rustam to pass his guard. Not only does Rustam have to try to pass an inverted guard, but he also has to keep freeing himself from dangerous entanglements that could put him into bad positions. At about the 4:20 mark, Keenan has a great transition to the back of Rustam. He starts off with a reverse de le riva variation, then inverts all the way to where he is behind Rustam and under his hips.
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He then works his way up Rustam’s back and sinks both of his hooks. A great example of a superb inverted de la rive guard techniques. As Keenan continues to improve, i’m sure that we will see more of his inverted guard game, as it will probably evolve into great things once he reaches the black
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Section 5
Top Inverted Guard Players: Ryan Hall
It’s no secret, Ryan Hall is a master of inversion from the guard.
When it comes down to having a dangerous inverted guard, Ryan Hall is definitely in that category.
He has the ability to move effortlessly through different positions while inverted and he always keeps an acute sense of where his limbs are at all times.
If you have seen some of his matches or maybe even a highlight reel, then you know that he has a
very strong inverted triangle, along with many other submissions from inverted guard variations. Here is a match between Ryan Hall and Nolan Dutcher from back in 2009.
This match is one of my favorite matches because it epitomizes how effective the inverted guard can be. Here’s Ryan Hall displaying some of his impressive inverted guard skills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fwj-x7-2bMQ In this match, you can clearly see that Ryan is totally comfortable being in precarious and ambiguous positions while inverted. He is able to keep his limbs in check and defend from Nolan’s passing attempts quite well. Ryan is super fast, and his counter attacks to Nolan’s attacks are tricky and deceptive. One advantage of playing open guard is that it gives you the ability to be deceptive while attacking from bottom. Most of the time, we train and drill our techniques from non inverted positions. When we run into someone on the mats who does have dangerous inverted guard techniques, most of us will be at a disadvantage due to lack of time spent in these specific positions, whether is playing inverted guard or passing inverted guard. Sometimes when you are trying to pass an opponent who is in some form of inverted guard, you can forget where your arms and legs are in relation to this upside down body attacking you. Before you
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know it, you’re stuck in a triangle you had no idea was even available, and your seconds away from tapping out.
That is the beauty of the inverted guard. Here’s another match featuring Ryan’s inverted guard. In this match from back in 2008, he faces Cobrinha (who also has a sick inverted game) and they duke it out in this no gi battle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JlO__FnYsuc Even though Ryan loses this match to Cobrinha, he is still able to use his inverted guard to get himself into the 50/50 guard position and sets up numerous inside heel hooks. As most of us know, Ryan loves to use the inside heel hook from the 50/50 guard to submit his opponents. He’s just as famous for that as he is for his inverted guard. I’m not sure what is more impressive, Ryan’s ability to actually get Cobrinha into the 50/50 heel hook position, or Cobrinha’s ability to defend it so well and not get the ligaments in his knee torn. Either way, Ryan Hall has some serious skills from the inverted guard.
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Section 6
Top Inverted Guard Players: Rafael Mendes
When we think of great inverted guard players, not many stand above Rafael Mendes.
Continuing our series on the top inverted guard players in the world, this week we are looking at one of jiu jitsu’s finest, Rafael Mendes. Rafael Mendes is at the top of the jiu jitsu food chain, with only maybe a few heavier competitors out there that could give him a run for his money. One thing we know about Rafael Mendes, is that he absolutely loves to use inverted back takes. Instead of using your typical back take from the transverse plane of motion, he takes other guys backs by moving along the sagittal plane. For example, instead of using the arm drag technique all the time, which involves moving around your opponent in a transverse motion, and can be quite difficult to use frequently at the highest levels of competition, he moves along the sagittal plane of motion to take peoples backs using inverted techniques such as the berimbolo. The berimbolo is an inverted technique that has increased a lot in popularity in the last few years, thanks to guys like Rafael, his brother Guilherme, Samuel Braga and a few others. If you’ve never seen it, it involves going inverted while in the de la riva guard, forcing your opponent on to his or her back, then finally inverting with your de la riva hook still entangled to get one of the coolest looking back takes. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WHikSZK5jc4
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Like I said earlier, the berimbolo technique is becoming more and more popular by the day, as well as inverted back takes in general. Not only is Rafael good at performing the berimbolo technique, but he is good at performing it while being pressured by his opponents. Inverting while being squashed by your opponent’s hips or chest can be super difficult, but Rafael makes it look easy and shows us that it’s not impossible for him to do. Check out these two matches where he faces Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, another one of the top light/feather weight competitors in the world, whom might I add, has some of the best pressure passing and top games in his division. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mfCoCL0Ss4E http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cuZZkM5SxOQ In these two matches, you can see that Tanquinho’s passing is super strong and his top game is indeed incredible. A very tough opponent to sweep indeed. Although Rafael Mendes was not able to secure the back mount from these inverted back takes and berimbolo attempts, he is still able to take the top position and get points for the sweep. When the back take fails or he cannot get the full sweep, Rafael also likes to transition to leg lock positions and attack with toe holds and other leg locks.
So basically, he inverts to take your back. If he can’t have your back, then he goes for the sweep instead. If he can’t have both the back take and/or the sweep, he’s attacking your feet and legs. All I can say is WOW. Rafael Mendes is a fairly young competitor, and I’m sure that he will continue to improve and amaze us with his jiu jitsu skills. His inverted guard attacks like the berimbolo are definitely the future, and I’m anxious to see more of what comes from him and his brother as competitors and teachers. Time to go work on my berimbolo defense…
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