rafa mendes and half guard

[flikerstance]

funny it seems he doesnt play half guard at all on his site under half guard all its listed as passing and reverse half guard passing i wonder why he doesnt like it? theres like 2 videos of his purple belt teaching a basic knee pick from half guard dog fight also he doesnt teach much on closed guard breaking as well

 

[yetanother]

Rafa doesn't teach half guard much because he believes it sucks and doesn't want his students to play it.

He shows some stuff from it but rarely:
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...ptions-sweeping-opponent-when-trying-to-hold/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...uard-reverse-de-la-riva-vs-kneeling-opponent/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/library/going-underneath-transitions-from-knees-on-the-mat/

 

[flikerstance]

Rafa doesn't teach half guard much because he believes it sucks and doesn't want his students to play it.

He shows some stuff from it but rarely:
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...ptions-sweeping-opponent-when-trying-to-hold/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...uard-reverse-de-la-riva-vs-kneeling-opponent/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/library/going-underneath-transitions-from-knees-on-the-mat/

hmm i wonder why he thinks that when half guards the most played guard its universal for everyones body type i believe its more important than closed guard

 

[EGDM]

Rafa played half guard vs Cobrinha and got passed. He hasn't used it since. True story.

 

[yetanother]

hmm i wonder why he thinks that when half guards the most played guard its universal for everyones body type i believe its more important than closed guard

Most guard are universal for your body type (if you have your limbs etc.). You might have to adjust your attack in regards to your opponents (doing a berimbolo against someone really tiny might not be a best choice).

Rafa doesn't like half guard (and it's variants although a old school no shield half sucks much more than a shin shield one) because you don't have proper distance control from it. Lots of high level guys don't like half, especially in the gi (Roger Gracie believes it sucks too). Even some half guard players like Jake Makenzie admit it's not a super strong position mechanically and you have to rely on surprise and tricks a lot.

The top guy is much closer to a pass when in half guard then against a distance oriented game like the Art of Jiu Jitsu guys tend to play.

 

[Solidus Snake]

He explained once (I don't remember where) that he just prefers guards in which you can control the distance and therefore not be put weight on.

Yeah that Cobrinha experience might have something to do with his philosophy switch =). I'm pretty sure they still teach some half or closed guard at his school tho, but probably they just put the more exotic stuff on their site (after all, I guess that if you buy the online program is more for the berimbolo, the inverted guard, the leg drags and so on than the other stuff that you could already find a ton of good instructional for free)

 

[Bubblun]

Rafa doesn't teach half guard much because he believes it sucks and doesn't want his students to play it.

He shows some stuff from it but rarely:
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...ptions-sweeping-opponent-when-trying-to-hold/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/libra...uard-reverse-de-la-riva-vs-kneeling-opponent/
https://www.artofjiujitsu.com/library/going-underneath-transitions-from-knees-on-the-mat/

Could you expand why he believe that? I don't have a subscription to his online site, sorry.


I understand why he considers the deep half guard a non ideal position, but the half guard with a knee shield is made to control the distance and be safe.

 

[mataleaos]

Could you expand why he believe that? I don't have a subscription to his online site, sorry.


I understand why he considers the deep half guard a non ideal position, but the half guard with a knee shield is made to control the distance and be safe.

He doesn't believe the knee shield to fully meet the "distance management" requirement because even though it keeps space between you and them, you can't pull them in and push them away at will. With Delariva or reverse Delariva you can extend them away or pull them in as you see fit. I like half guard including deep half guard but the Mendes brothers are very set on their half guard opinion. Ever since Rafa played half guard on Cobrinha in 2008 and got passed he just doesn't like half guard. And just as a personal observation over the years, many high level competitors seem to stick away from stuff that has failed for them or that they've gotten beat with. I've always thought it was funny that the only techniques that Rafa and Marcelo don't really like are ones that they have lost to or ones that failed for them in competition. You don't have to adopt Rafa's views on half guard. Plenty of people love it and are awesome at it. But it's good to know why he stays away from it. Oh yeah Rafa will play the waiter style of deep half guard sometimes, because it does allow him to manage some distance and extend them away or pull them closer if needed.

 

[trustdoesntrust]

Most guard are universal for your body type (if you have your limbs etc.). You might have to adjust your attack in regards to your opponents (doing a berimbolo against someone really tiny might not be a best choice).

Rafa doesn't like half guard (and it's variants although a old school no shield half sucks much more than a shin shield one) because you don't have proper distance control from it. Lots of high level guys don't like half, especially in the gi (Roger Gracie believes it sucks too). Even some half guard players like Jake Makenzie admit it's not a super strong position mechanically and you have to rely on surprise and tricks a lot.

The top guy is much closer to a pass when in half guard then against a distance oriented game like the Art of Jiu Jitsu guys tend to play.

Minor issue, but I think old school vanilla half guard gets a bad rap. The problem in my eyes is simply that lower belts are not taught proper half guard mechanics or how to properly counter and reguard from there, so they gravitate toward more user-friendly options like knee shield, lockdown, etc.

 

[EGDM]

Minor issue, but I think old school vanilla half guard gets a bad rap.

I can certainly be made to work. I play mostly half guard and have decent success. However, as folks have said, the margins against getting smashed are very small and you have to expect to suffer for a while.

 

[yetanother]

I play mostly half guard and have decent success.

Any black belt worlds medals?

You can get away with playing an old school half sitting there without any shield or under hook but it's gets a lot harder the better the passers get.
Even Bernardo Faria got pwned when he faced Roger.
I rely a lot in the gym on people most people not being able to free the leg from the half if you have a good squeeze but it's not something that scales up.

 

[yetanother]

. Oh yeah Rafa will play the waiter style of deep half guard sometimes, because it does allow him to manage some distance and extend them away or pull them closer if needed.

Rafa plays a knee in style of waiter sweep which he distinguishes from a deep half.

 

[flikerstance]

weird thought everyone was pro half guard here like everyone used half guard but marcelo now seems guys dislike it

 

[ijustwannasurf]

There would be more evidence of Rafa's half guard if he competed in the absolute. At his weight, the gi meta-game doesn't call for it too often; not much low, heavy passing. He held off Rodolfo with RDLR in a World Pro no-gi absolute several years ago, and he seems to arm drag up and wrestle for the back in ADCC.

 

[flikerstance]

with how rafa likes to pull push so much id think he would love him some deep half hell caio terra uses the fuck out of half guard i do love reverse de la riva but tbh theres only like 3 moves u can do from it half guard has alot more options i wana start working crucifix positions like baret yoshida and marcelo use i dont see rafa use it i wonder why

 

[selfcritical]

hmm i wonder why he thinks that when half guards the most played guard its universal for everyones body type i believe its more important than closed guard

He believes other guards provide better distance management, which is the core of his guard retention strategy

 

[mataleaos]

Rafa plays a knee in style of waiter sweep which he distinguishes from a deep half.

Yeah that's the one I'm talking about.

And I mean he can distinguish all he wants or call it anything but it's still a common style of deep half guard

 

[mataleaos]

He held off Rodolfo with RDLR in a World Pro no-gi absolute several years ago, and he seems to arm drag up and wrestle for the back in ADCC.

this is cool. He talks about that very thing. Sick arm drag on Leo. Looks like he uses his shin to help pull the arm in since Leo is gripping it?

 

[ijustwannasurf]

this is cool. He talks about that very thing. Sick arm drag on Leo. Looks like he uses his shin to help pull the arm

Good find!
I think his leg motion is indicative of the idea that he is trying to get UP, not just pulling uke down to expose the back.
Incidentally, the original Atos group from Rio Claro (read Rafa and Calasans) is the inspiration for my guillotine passing. That's a beautiful anaconda set up in the clip.

 

[mataleaos]

Good find!
I think his leg motion is indicative of the idea that he is trying to get UP, not just pulling uke down to expose the back.
Incidentally, the original Atos group from Rio Claro (read Rafa and Calasans) is the inspiration for my guillotine passing. That's a beautiful anaconda set up in the clip.

Likewise man!

I'm surprised we don't see it more in sub only since the conventional guard passing isn't as common