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Yes it's in a gi. You're also missing some of the most jaw dropping shit ever if you don't watch it. Rafa and Gui won their weights and the absolute division at the Rickson Gracie Cup in Japan the other weekend. Here's them tap dancing all over their opponents. If you are hesitant because it's not no-gi, just watch the first minute. You'll want to finish it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMy7lKUo8aU
They're just toying with people at this thing. Once someone starts breakdancing on my back, I quit. LOL (Geo, don't get any ideas, ahahaha)
They're animals. I will watch this.
imo Rafa is pound for pound the best jiu jitsu practitioner today.
Still waiting for a super match between him and Marcelo Garcia.
This will go down as one of the greatest massacres of all time, right up there with the Genki Sudo one :)
I hate when people say that all Mendes Bros got is berimbolo. Their passing game is unbelievable!
I love their annual Japanese Massacre Highlight video.
100% agreed. Gui is no slouch himselfQuote:
Originally Posted by Royce Kim
I don't care if it's gi or no gi. It could be a sex tape with a tranny I would watch it if the Mendes bros are involved.
Rafa Mendes p4p number 1. Gui, to me, has fallen behind him slightly - I don't think he is naturally quite the athlete - but his passing style is probably the more technically sound.
I can agree with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Apperz
The Mendes Bros did a seminar nearby and both of them lined the black belts up and completely destroyed each of them one by one no matter their size. And its not like these black belts were chumps either.
I think they do that at every seminar - spar every student... I 'think' I heard them talk about it on 'This Week in BJJ', wherever it was the person interviewing asked why they could do it, when they could one day lose, and they said they like to roll with everyone and that it's good fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent Smith
I guess that when you teach a seminar, there is always going to be a couple guys thinking 'are these guys really as good as they say / they look' - this is one way of answering that question :D
Didn't the Freak Bros spar the whole room at London or Birmingham seminar or did I imagine that?
The freaks bro roll with everyone one
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apperz
I don't know that I agree on that. I think Gui gets oveerlooked for a few reasons. He and Rafa both would have to do 66kg at ADCC, so Rafa always does it instead, and there's a natural prestige to that that gives Rafa more attention. Also Rafa has a slightly flashier style, with more berimbolos, flipping anaconda/gator chokes, flying kimura passes, and the super fast side to side passing.
They both have 4 world titles at black belt, and they both basically tap everyone until the finals or semi finals. Gui just has more of a pressure/smashing top game, and Rafa I think is just younger, has more of a visually pleasing style, and he had the better English earlier on, he's more outgoing, stuff like that.
I don't think he's quite the athlete. That's a good point also. Or if he is he doesn't have as athletic a grappling style.
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Serge Bunimovich
What do you guys think separates them from the pack? Reps? Drills? Confidence? S&C? Aggression? Defense? Genetics? Natural athleticism?
Personally, I think it's a little bit of everything. But the main things I believe are the athleticism they bring to the game, and the drilling.
Maybe something that gets overlooked. That they're brothers and they train together all the time. The Miyao Brothers, Machado brothers, Ruotolo Twins. I could go on and on. You see this all the time in wrestling.Quote:
Originally Posted by David Rosado
Nice! That is a damn good point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack LaBarge
Interesting question. My post is long so warning.Quote:
Originally Posted by David Rosado
They would say it's a lot of drilling I think. Drilling, hard training all the time with really tough and technical training partners. They drill every possible variation of everything thousands of times. They drill fast and hard, with a lot of intensity. I think natural talent/athleticism plays a part, like if you look at their hands they're hilariously huge. Especially Rafa's. If you saw those videos in training where he darce choked Keenan and anaconda choked Galvao it's like he could grab his bicep from a mile away. If he grabs your belt for a berimbolo you ain't getting the grip off.
They had and have access to arguably the highest level training partners in the world. Steel sharpens steel. Before they opened AOJ after moving to America, they were probably training 6-7 days a week, ultiple times a day, for almost 10 years. Lots of S&C. They grew up training that way so their kinesthic awareness is probably hard to comprehend.
They do talk a lot about confidence and mental training. Complete and total belief that they'll dominate. I watch Marcelo, Braulio, Rafa, and Gui roll on their websites. Marcelo and Braulio will play around a bit and go light sometimes (They're also older and not in the prime of their careers). Rafa and Gui are always going super hard. They have a complete refusal to ever concede a sweep, or a pass, or anything. For the 2013 ADCC, the Atos camp was Rafa, Andre Galvao, Keenan Cornelius, JT Torres, and then Gui and Dean Lister helped out. Keenan said that Rafa never got tapped out even one time (the camp was a few months) leading up to the event. That's fucking nuts.
Their creativity is huge. If BJJ is about position before submission, they took dominant control over position or submission. Stuff like the berimbolo or the kimura grip for flying passes, front headlock for rolling anacondas/darces/guillotines. Those grips give them so much control even though the moves might look crazy. They always have control, even if they're upside down or sideways, whatever. So they're both very smart and look to create new techniques and refine old ones.
I remember there was an old video after ADCC 2009 (the first time I saw Rafa Mendes live and I'd never heard of him). The video was called like "Why Rafael Mendes Wins" or something like that. It mostly had to do with certain techniques he used at ADCC like his spiral guard inversions and calf slicers to the back, his scrambles, his unique anaconda choke setups, his 50/50 setups, stuff like that.
Someone that trained with them replied and was basically like look, Rafa could play butterfly guard and go for nothing but wrist locks and probably be just as good because of how hard he trains. They were basically born and bred since kids to be champions.
Like Jack Labarge said, they had each other to always train with. That's probably why Gui's top game is so sharp and Rafa's bottom game is so sharp. Both are amazing at both, but with brothers this usually happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Rosado
Ryan Hall said this about Rafa when they asked his predictions for the Rafa/Clark match. Hall almost faced Rafa at Metamoris II before it fell through and Bill Cooper stepped in, and Hall lost to Rafa in the gi in 2010, but he is one of the only people to ever sweep Rafa, and he's pretty smart and analytical. This explains a lot
"I have to be honest and go with Rafa here. Clark is a bigger guy, but I don't think he uses a super physical style. Clark does have a very dangerous omoplata, but Rafa trains with great guys and has been on that super high level for a very long time. Rafa is certainly in the discussion for the best pound-for-pound guys out there in jiu-jitsu.
Rafa is in the new wave of jiu-jitsu competitors. Post-2007 ADCC, you saw a really giant jump in the technical level of jiu-jitsu as a whole. When you look at Rafa Mendes you see the evolution of the De La Riva guard, leg drag passing, phenomenal back tacking, nice kimuras, good various arm triangle chokes, which is something that we'd see a little more if this were a no gi match, and excellent control over all. He's also a great finisher when he gets himself in position. If you're looking at Rafa, the things he's very well known for are his De La Riva guard, his reverse De La Riva guard, spinning underneath to the back, the berimbolo position are things he helped popularize and take to a high level that's been even furthered by the Miyao brothers that have just come up to black belt from Cicero Costha. Like I said, leg drag passing, very precise grips. Rafa is also very strong, isometrically. We're in the same weight class and I always felt like I was pretty reasonably sized for that weight, and Rafa's just a little bit bigger. I think that's going to serve him well here, particularly because he didn't fight at the Pan Ams. I would imagine that's probably because he's getting a little bit closer to Clark's weight right now.
Clark, on the other hand, has a classic game. He was always tough, but really turned the corner at black belt after a couple of years. He has really excellent omoplata finishing, but Rafa is the favorite in this situation.
If this were no gi, I would give it Rafa by more. Clark is dangerous against anybody, but I have to go with Rafa, for sure."
Source is http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/3/29...-3-predictions