Rafael Mendes rolling with Bill Cooper

[Liquidrob]

But, on the other side, I can't remember the last time Marcelo lost to someone his own weight, plus he has some amazing wins against bigger guys like Xande

[Mike Nall]

As long as Rafa doesn't think about going to mma than he's going to up there in the p4p list.

He has said he has no interest in MMA.

I think he'll be in the top p4p rankings of all time after this year. If he wins Pans, Worlds, and ADCC this year (he will) then that's 3 consecutive Golds at Pans (black belt), 4 consecutive Golds at Worlds (black belt), and 3 consecutive ADCC wins.

That's crazy, especially with how young he is, and he's teaching full time now. Cobrinha is 10 years older and was always teaching full time and still always has battles with Rafa. Cobrinha's the only guy standing in the way. Cobrinha is almost 35 now. Mario Reis and Tanquinho are great, but I don't see any of these people stopping Rafa as he's hitting his prime.

We are all lucky to witness a grappler like this shine and evolve almost every aspect of the game right in front of us.

Awesome vid thanks for sharing! Regarding being a top p4p guy, I wish Rafa and Gui would compete more in absolutes, as we rarely get to see them in action against bigger guys. I know it is at a lower level, but if the Miyao Bros success thus far with berimbolos and such are any indication of the abilities that the little guys possess to win absolutes, I think it would be awesome to see the Mendes bros entering absolutes to put on a show

I do too. The only reason they don't in IBJJF events is because they do Absolutes first there, and they don't want to risk getting hurt and not being able to do their weight classes.

Rafa intended to do Absolute at ADCC 2011, but after Cobrinha's heel hooks, he was in too much pain and decided to rest and ice up. I think Cobrinha said he heard and felt 2 or 3 really loud pops and that his respect for Rafa went up more than ever.

one_does_not_simply_heel_hook_rafa_mendes_by_shanebot-d5fp1op.jpg

[Slick Rick]

He has said he has no interest in MMA.

I think he'll be in the top p4p rankings of all time after this year. If he wins Pans, Worlds, and ADCC this year (he will) then that's 3 consecutive Golds at Pans (black belt), 4 consecutive Golds at Worlds (black belt), and 3 consecutive ADCC wins.

That's crazy, especially with how young he is, and he's teaching full time now. Cobrinha is 10 years older and was always teaching full time and still always has battles with Rafa. Cobrinha's the only guy standing in the way. Cobrinha is almost 35 now. Mario Reis and Tanquinho are great, but I don't see any of these people stopping Rafa as he's hitting his prime.

We are all lucky to witness a grappler like this shine and evolve almost every aspect of the game right in front of us.



I do too. The only reason they don't in IBJJF events is because they do Absolutes first there, and they don't want to risk getting hurt and not being able to do their weight classes.

Rafa intended to do Absolute at ADCC 2011, but after Cobrinha's heel hooks, he was in too much pain and decided to rest and ice up.

one_does_not_simply_heel_hook_rafa_mendes_by_shanebot-d5fp1op.jpg

very true Mike!

[Mike Nall]

Marcelo and Rafa are probably P4P best. I'd pay good money to see a superfight between them.

On a crazy note, I've been to about 4 mendes bros seminars, and in most of those, they lined everyone up by belt level, and tapped down the line. And when that line was done, they circled back and tapped down the line again, until no one was standing.

Granted there were only about 10 brown and black belts in a group of 40 grapplers, they didn't really look any different regardless of size or strength. They were that damn good. To see gym owners get tagged in 30-40 secs, I was like these guys are for real.

It would be a treat to see Rafa x Marcelo, maybe even a passing of the guard, no pun intended.

Yeah I've done a couple seminars too. They have balls to do that because I couldn't believe some of the idiots that went so hard trying to really beat them. I used it just as a chance to feel how they roll and learn. They did it both days gi and no-gi. They just stayed in the middle and rolled 5-6 minutes with everyone 2 times each. It was pretty awesome. Their games feel so different too.

[Liquidrob]

I have seen some guys say teaching full time will hurt Rafael, but BJJ is a little different than other sports, sometimes teaching will enhance there game, you becomes even more technical is possible for Rafa, I believe he has said he feels teaching has helped his game grow already

He isn't losing speed at this age, plus they seem to have a sweet deal with there gym where all the financial stuff isnt going to be a headache like some guys where they need that gym to live and take care of there family, I may be wrong though

[Mike Nall]

I have seen some guys say teaching full time will hurt Rafael, but BJJ is a little different than other sports, sometimes teaching will enhance there game, you becomes even more technical is possible for Rafa, I believe he has said he feels teaching has helped his game grow already

He isn't losing speed at this age, plus they seem to have a sweet deal with there gym where all the financial stuff isnt going to be a headache like some guys where they need that gym to live and take care of there family, I may be wrong though

Yea I definitely heard him say he felt like he was becoming more technical by teaching full time. I have a friend at AOJ that says he will just pick stuff and do it at will. The Mendes bros are pretty big on not playing half guard because they can't control the distance but my friend said one night Rafa decided to play deep half all night and was just wrecking everyone with it.

I know RVCA sponsors their gym. I don't know the details but I have heard they mostly just have to show up and teach.

[Slick Rick]

Yeah I've done a couple seminars too. They have balls to do that because I couldn't believe some of the idiots that went so hard trying to really beat them. I used it just as a chance to feel how they roll and learn. They did it both days gi and no-gi. They just stayed in the middle and rolled 5-6 minutes with everyone 2 times each. It was pretty awesome. Their games feel so different too.

Part of the reason why they are so good is because they travel and train so much.. They get to see so many different looks and see what works amongst the different grapplers and jj players around the world. It's like they're a traveling tournament duo.. A tournament just for them.

What makes 10th Planet pretty awesome is that we too travel everywhere and train with so many folks, that when we come back to HQ, we can see how it fits in the game and add it to the system.. In the end, the entire jits community benefits. It's a collective.

[sean applegate]

Part of the reason why they are so good is because they travel and train so much.. They get to see so many different looks and see what works amongst the different grapplers and jj players around the world. It's like they're a traveling tournament duo.. A tournament just for them.

What makes 10th Planet pretty awesome is that we too travel everywhere and train with so many folks, that when we come back to HQ, we can see how it fits in the game and add it to the system.. In the end, the entire jits community benefits. It's a collective.

that is why i am a part of 10th planet

[Alpha Primate]

Thanks for the link, RM is brilliant on the mat. And their academy is beautiful, all white is the shit!

Can we have a Mendes/superfight thread?

[Alpha Primate]

Mendes Vs Gilmar WRPO 2011