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Mica Galvao: Moving Modern Brazilian Jiujitsu Forward
Mica Galvao’s two wins at WNO show what modern Jiujitsu is and why he is leading the charge
William
October 3rd, 2023
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Mica Galvao Claims The 170 Title At WNO
Mica Galvao is WNO’s 170 champion after two wins on Sunday. Galvao’s first match was an exhausting back and forth exchange and his second win came from a quick submission. At just 19 years old, Galvao has cemented himself as one of the most dynamic up and comers in the sport.
Galvao is hardly legal and he’s placed second at the ADCC World Championships, won the Abu Dhabi World Pro, Brazilian Nationals, and the IBJJF Worlds. Unfortunately the former was taken from him after a positive steroid test. The most remarkable thing about Galvao is not his accomplishments, but how he blurs the line between standing and ground grappling techniques.
Gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu and no gi submission grappling are both very young sports with high degrees of freedom and no singular standardized competition ruleset. This results in regular iteration and innovation on the competitive scene. The sport moves quickly and everyday a new person asks where it’s headed. I think it’s going exactly where Galvao showed he is right now.
Submission Only Is Creating Modern Jiujitsu
Professional sports’ gameplay evolves to fit the rules of their highest levels of competition. In the last decade, submission only jiujitsu events have become more popular. They’ve also consistently paid more money than most other competitions. Combine that with the prestige and payout of the ADCC World Championships and you have more and more grapplers focusing on no gi, submission threats, and techniques from wrestling. The blend of this is where modern jiujitsu is headed.
There’s been a tired and pervasive question raging for awhile. When is jiujitsu going to stop pulling guard and get better at takedowns? That question is shortsighted and misses the forrest for the trees.
Submission grappling doesn’t have the same rules as other grappling sports. Why should the techniques from other grappling sports be applied as they are in those sports? Submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu should adopt those techniques and then adept them for the rules of their competition.
Modern jiujitsu is the integration of standing and ground techniques. A blurred line between wrestling, judo, and submissions, and the use of those techniques to go from standing to the floor and vice versa. If you’re not severley penalized for being on your back, why avoid it?
Shoot a single leg and sit back into standard ashi. Sweep, submit, or stand-up with this leg control.
Sprawl on a takedown, get a front head lock, pull guard, sweep with it, and then hold the head to complete the pass.
Both of these sequences are crystal clear examples of a blurred line between individual grappling sports.
Let’s look at a few examples of how Galvao used modern jiujitsu to win the WNO 170 pound title.
Blurring The Lines Around Wrestling With Jay Rod
Galvao jumps guard and Rodriguez steps away. Galvao latches on a leg and attempts a heel hook. Rodriguez turns out and Galvao chases a rear body lock. Rodriguez gets flat to protect his back and Galvao ends by passing to mount and locking his hands. | Wrestling Up To A Body Lock After Jumping Into A Heel Hook Attempt  |
Later in the match Rodriguez went on offense to try and take back the initiative.
Rodriguez shoots and Galvao threatens a guillotine. Rodriguez pops his head out so Galvao tries to scoot away and get back to his feet. Rodriguez rushes in to hold Galvao down. Galvao digs an under hook and attacks the straight arm bar from the shoulder crunch. | Counter Guillotine Attempt Before Shoulder Crunch Straight Arm Bar  |
Rodriguez would go on to scramble out of the submission attempt.
When Rodriguez was able to get on top Galvao blended Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling to quickly reverse the position.
Rodriguez is on top of Galvao trying to pass his guard. Galvao uses reverse De La Riva to keep Rodriguez off of him so he can wrestle up on the single leg. Rodriguez tries to kick out of the single but Galvao follows him down to the mat. | Reverse De La Riva Wrestle Up  |
When Rodriguez tried to wrestle up on Galvao he was met with hard and fast counters.
Rodriguez tries to shoot on Galvao from his knees. Galvao’s hips are far back and Rodriguez can’t reach them. Galvao locks up a guillotine and uses it to sweep to mount. | Counter Guillotine To Mount  |
Again, Rodriguez would escape this submission attempt.
One Submission From Standing Against PJ Barch
Galvao was supposed to rematch Andrew Tackett for the 170 pound finals match. Unfortunately, Tackett was forced to withdraw due to a back injury. Galvao would take on ADCC veteran Pj Barch instead.
Galvao and Barch jockey for position on the feet. After some foot sweep attempts from Galvao Barch digs a deeper under hook. Barch’s under hook becomes Galvao’s weapon as the Brazilian flies into an arm bar to win. | Flying Arm Bar  |
Over hook arm bars are hard enough on their own. Galvao jumping into them from the feet to take out ADCC veterans is an astounding display of athleticism and technique.
Modern Take On Old Classics
Mica Galvao has already established himself as a generational talent. This teenager is dominating adult men and having fun while doing it with simple techniques.
While Galvao does attack submissions that are recently coming into vogue like heel hooks, a lot of his best work comes from more fundamental attacks. Galvao uses closed guard, coyote half, and over hooks to rip apart his opponents’ bodies. What’s most impressive is how he gets to those attacks. Galvao is not afraid to jump into his game from the feet, or revert to falling backwards to guard play and submissions when he loses ground in standard wrestling exchanges.
Galvao’s success is showing that the next successful wave of submission grapplers will be the ones that combine the fundamental pieces of disparate grappling arts to create scoring opportunities for all types of techniques.
A separate example of a modern jiujitsu game might be another 170 pound tournament competitor, Andrew Tackett. Tackett constantly climbs to body locks after shooting on the feet, or midway through passing his opponent's’ guard. By basing an entire game around a technique like the body lock, Tackett is able to truly blur the line between offense and defense, or standing and ground grappling.
You’ll see Tackett shoot singles, get to the body lock, and get thrown to his back, only to stay glued to the position and end up threatening his opponent from back mount.
Tacket and Barch trade snaps and ties. Tackett shoots and grabs the waist. Barch counters with an uchi mata to kouchi gari but Tackett keeps the waist grip to drag him down. Tackett rolls through, wrestles up on the body lock, and runs Barch out of bounds. | Shot To Body Lock Scramble  |
In wrestling and judo this would generally be seen as a much riskier. Without the same scoring penalties, this becomes a relatively viable strategy as long as you can control the scramble after the throw. At the very least it’s extremely entertaining to watch.
Many of the competitors having success with this blending of standing and ground techniques are extremely young and still developing. It’ll be fun to watch how they continue to innovate and form new grappling techniques.
Who are some of your favorite modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor?
