Gordo. The King of Half Guard.
If you’ve ever seen any of the old photos of the Gracie family in their fighting attire you’ll know that they usually follow the same format.
There’ll be two rows of the Gracies in white kimonos, the back row will be standing, arms folded, and the front row will be kneeling, doing the same.
If you look carefully, in maybe only a handful of these old snaps there’s an oddity, and the oddity is that the photo has been invaded, and a non Gracie family member has found their way onto the image and is sharing the mat space with the most prestigious fighting family of all time.
We have to remember that this is not like asking for your picture to be taken with a superstar that you’ve to bumped into by
chance at the shops. This isn’t a selfie taken with a chance encounter with David Beckham or Mike Tyson outside of Tescos.
For a man to be deemed worthy of inclusion in such an occasion, a photograph taken with the intention of documenting jiujitsu history, he must be looked upon as a peer and an equal to the Gracie family themselves.
The caption could read, ‘By invitation only’
Only sublime jiujitsu ability would act as a qualifier for acceptance for such an occasion which captured legendary jiujitsu figures in time.
On some of these old grainy photographs, it’s Mauricio Motta Gomes standing shoulder to shoulder with the fighting family. On others it’s Nelson Monteiro or Helio ‘Soneca’ Morreira that can be seen kneeling in the front row.
But, 9 times out of 10, with his arms folded, never smiling, it’s the same man you’ll see captured amongst the Gracie’s.
A man who changed the strategy and the way jiujitsu was perceived forever. One of the greatest Jiujitsu fighters that ever lived, the half guard legend, ’Gordo’. (Robert Correa de Lima)
For those in the BJJ community who have been living in a cave for the past 30 years, Roberto Correa or “Gordo”, is a 6th degree
blackbelt and one of the most significant figures in Jiujitsu history.
Gordo won every Jiujitsu title there was at least once. World, Brazilian, Pan Am, and during an era when the light heavyweight
category was stacked with talent, Gordo beat them all.
He fought in legendary matches against Gracie slayers Ze Mario Sperry, Wallid Ismail, Amaury Bitteti and Saulo Ribero. With his epic 10 minute dual with Sergio “Bolão” Sousa being considered one of the greatest fights of all time.
During the semi final of the 2003 Pan Ams, Gordo suffered for 5 full minutes inside the closed triangle of Rener Gracie before escaping to defeat his younger opponent. A feat which many believe is still the greatest show of endurance ever witnessed in the modern jiujitsu competition arena.
Gordos road into jiujitsu was inevitable. A childhood friend of the Gracies, he went to Nursery school with Ralph and growing up, spent his time on the streets and beaches of Barra with Ralph, Ryan, Renzo and Daniel Gracie.
In 1985 he was invited to train by Rigan Machado, who at the time was teaching the white belts at Carlos Gracie jr’s school, and never looked back. Receiving his black belt in 1993 from Carlos Gracie Jr at the age of 22.
Gordos crowning achievement however, is revolutionising BJJ with the introduction of the modern half guard
After blowing out his ACL as a purple belt, Gordo was forced to adapt his game and looked to other options when fighting from his back, taking him into the unchartered territory of the offensive half guard.
For over 100 years the half guard was the last bastion of hope before your guard was passed.
The notion that it could be used as an offensive tool and an aggressive fighting strategy was laughed at. But Gordo changed all that.
The concepts and mechanics he innovated were incredible. It was revolutionary, he opened up totally new avenues of offensive play from the bottom, in a position that had been previously lain dormant since the modern form of jiujitsu and judo had
materialised from the battlefield, over 100 years earlier.
The modern half guard we use today began to materialise, and Jiujitsu would never be the same again.
Eddy Bravo made the lockdown famous through his 10th planet system, but it was Gordo who had developed it, and was using it, over a decade earlier when it was previously know as, “Gordos foot”, or “The Scorpion”.
Marcelo Garcias “X Guard” creation of the early 2000’s is a development of one of Gordo’s mechanics of ‘off balancing’ from his half guard which was on display in the mid 90’s
Huge staples of BJJ and the modern grappling game are from Gordos developments.
As World champion Bernardo Faria stated,
“Many years ago there was no half-guard in BJJ. The half-guard was just a way to pass the guard. Then Roberto “Gordo” Correa started playing and developing the half-guard game. He made the half-guard an offensive position.”
Since his competitive prime Gordo has gone on to coach, producing a stable of exceptional jiu jitsu athletes to continue his legacy.
BJJ world champions: Celcinho Venicius, Marcio ‘Pe de Pano’ Cruz and Antonio Braga Neto.
UFC fighters: Babalu Sobral and Rafael dos Anjos.
Gordo also coached his former rival, former World absolute BJJ champion, Ze Mario Sperry during his super fight at ADCC as well as World Champion Kyra Gracie and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
He was selected as the Head instructor to the UAE JiuJitsu Federation in Abu Dhabi, with a coaching team of 600 blackbelts under him.
Head of “Gordo Jiujitsu Association” with representative academies all over the world, he is one of the greatest jiu jitsu exponents of all time, and a fighting Legend.
Post courtesy of Ben Poppleton head of Gordo Jiu Jitsu Europe
Don’t miss your opportunity to train with Gordo!
July 16-17th
Lake District BJJ Academy
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