We're back! On this episode we're talking about Rafa Mendes, his protege Cole Abate, and Rafa's contributions to the NoGi world. Below are some links from some of the techniques and rolling moments discussed in the episode. Thanks for bearing with me. I've had a summer filled with a lot of loss and illness; life goes on, and I'll continue to strive to make the best of life! I appreciate everyone's support so much! Shouts to Less Impressed More Involved's BJJ's Rafa Mendes video this week:

Rafa Mendes vids:

• Anaconda Choke Lesson
• Guillotine Choke Lesson
• Rafa anaconda vs Andre Galvao
• Rafa armlock from arm saddle vs Andre Galvao
• Rafa darce vs Keenan Cornelius false reap
• Rafa anaconda vs Cole Abate false reap
• NoGi Leg Drag lesson
• Rafa guard retention study
• Rafa NoGi Flow
• Rafa NoGi Highlight

Some things I didn't cover in the episode were tempo shifts--moments of speeding up and slowing down. Rafa told us that was a critical element of his JiuJitsu. A massive thing that I didn't discuss is Rafa was one of the first people to really seek out the bottom arm seatbelt (weak side) back control position, and strongly advocated body triangles over hooks. Rafa and his brother Gui also notoriously avoided playing half guard, and they thought it was a poor position for smaller grapplers on bottom position. They were also huge proponents of 'active toes' and not playing top positions on the tops of the feet.