The brabo is a choking technique utilized in grappling related sports/martial arts whose creation is attributed to ‘Leozinho’ Vieira
in the early 2000′s decade. The choke relies on trapping the opponent’s
arm with the attacker’s chest while applying pressure with both the
trapped arm and a grip on the opponent’s far collar/own lapel, this way
effectively stopping the blood circulation from reaching the brain
causing loss of consciousness. The gi brabo choke was developed for the Jiu Jitsu
guard passer (fighter on top position) being applied either from side
control or half guard, but has evolved since it’s creation and is
currently seen being performed also from the guard, particularly the
closed guard. This choke is not to be confused with the no-gi brabo choke, also called darce, which is a variation of the arm triangle.
The History of the Gi Brabo Choke
Grappling is an ancient form of combat, with different styles and
masters throughout the few millennium that have come and gone since the
time it first became an established fighting style. It is impossible to
tell if other martial arts were already making use of this brabo grip to
achieve a choke before it was seen being used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions in the very early 2000′s, although in our research we could not find it being referenced anywhere.
The brabo choke became popular in Jiu Jitsu by way of Leonardo Vieira, founder of the Checkmat academy (who competed with the Alliance team
at the time). Vieira first saw one of his students, a white belt, get
into a similar position by instinct. According to an interview given to
Carl Fisher on November 2004 to the Channel Islands Jiu Jitsu team
website (now extinct) Leozinho said:
I always look to develop stuff and observe the white belts training, I saw a white belt once using something like that, and I thought ‘man, this could happen’. Then I started working on this position – Leo Vieira
The position became a tremendous success, and Leo Vieira started
putting it to practice in tournaments at the start of 2000. His dynamic
style with a strong emphasis on knee slide guard passing and knee on
belly from side control fitted tremendously well with the brabo choke
which he used to submit all his opponents at the 2004 Pan American
Championship (except for Fredson Alves in the final) and everyone at the
World Cup of 2004, except Jair Lourenco who he choked from the back (although the back was taken as a consequence of a brabo choke attempt).
The success of Leo Vieira caught the eye of many other competitors
who soon adapted this new choke to their game. The brabo is also used as
a way to set up for the cross choke, guard passes and back takes, this
versatility has made it one of the most sought out positions for guard
passers around the globe in BJJ competitions.
The Brabo Choke Name
- Leonardo Vieira
- Rafael Mendes
- Guilherme Mendes
- Andre Galvao
- Otavio Sousa
- Lucas Lepri
- Mario Reis
- Rodolfo Vieira
Brabo Choke Videos
