Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legends Rafael and Guilherme Mendes are scheduled to conduct an intensive five-day training seminar, the Mendes Bros 2019 World Super Camp, at Evolve MMA from September 16 through September 20, 2019. Hosted in partnership with the Evolve Vacation program, the camp will bring two of the most technically influential figures in modern grappling history to Singapore, offering competitors and practitioners of all skill levels an immersive masterclass in the technical systems that reshaped competitive grappling over the past two decades.
Across every combat sport and martial art, technical evolution inevitably alters the competitive landscape. That progress is almost always driven by visionary practitioners who challenge conventional wisdom, push physical and tactical boundaries, and invent new paradigms of movement. Within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, few figures have exerted as profound or lasting an impact as the Mendes brothers. Through an obsessive commitment to technical perfection and an analytical approach to the sport, Rafael and Guilherme have altered how modern competitors conceptualize guard retention, movement transitions, and back-taking mechanics.
The Mendes Style
The emergence of Rafael and Guilherme Mendes marked a generational turning point in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. From their earliest days coming up through the ranks in Brazil, it was immediately clear to coaches and peers alike that the two brothers possessed an extraordinary aptitude for grappling. However, their competitive rise was shaped as much by necessity and problem-solving as it was by raw talent.
Training at their home academy in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Rafael and Gui were almost always the lightest athletes on the mats. In an era when traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu doctrine still placed heavy emphasis on physical pressure, heavy top-control pinning, and grinding positional advancement, the Mendes brothers found themselves routinely matched against much heavier, stronger, and more mature training partners. Rather than viewing their slight stature and lower weight classes as an insurmountable disadvantage, the brothers recognized the limitations of standard methods and systematically engineered a novel approach.
Realizing that attempting to pin or out-muscle physically superior opponents from top positions was an inefficient expenditure of energy, the brothers discarded conventional paradigms. Instead, they redirected their focus toward finding pathways directly to the back. Taking the back negated an opponent’s size, neutralized defensive strength, and provided the highest percentage avenue to a submission.
To achieve this against opponents who were frequently significantly larger, the brothers devoted thousands of hours to developing intricate systems of inverted guards, rotational movement, and unprecedented angles of attack. Rather than working slowly through traditional positional phases, they created dynamic sequences designed to destabilize balance, bypass heavy defenses, and establish total control. Their stylistic ingenuity and exceptional grappling IQ eventually yielded several foundational elements of the modern competitive game, including refined omoplata setups, fluid berimbolo transitions, and hyper-precise back-takes. Their relentless dedication on the training mats transformed them from undersized academy standouts into two of the most dominant and respected competitors in the sport’s history.
Rafael Mendes
Born on June 20, 1989, in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil, Rafael Mendes is widely regarded as one of the greatest featherweight competitors ever to step onto a jiu-jitsu mat. Earning his 3rd-degree black belt under Professor Ramon Lemos, Rafael began competing in 2001, embarking on a competitive journey defined by technical precision and an extraordinary winning percentage at the highest levels of international competition.
Over an illustrious career at the black belt level, Rafael established historic dominance within the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit. Competing primarily in the -70kg division, he captured a remarkable six IBJJF World Championship gold medals. His world championship campaign began with a bronze-medal finish in California in 2009, followed immediately by three consecutive world titles in 2010, 2011, and 2012. After securing a silver medal in 2013, Rafael returned to the top of the podium with three straight world gold medals in 2014, 2015, and 2016, cementing his status as an all-time great.
His dominance extended far beyond the World Championships. Rafael captured back-to-back gold medals at the prestigious Pan American Championship in California in 2012 and 2013. On domestic soil, he claimed gold at the Brazilian National Championship in Rio de Janeiro in 2010. Demonstrating his versatility across different formats and rule sets, he excelled on the international circuit in the United Arab Emirates, taking gold medals at the World Cup in Abu Dhabi in both 2009 and 2010, followed by a silver-medal showing in 2011. That same year, he showcased his no-gi prowess at the No-Gi World Cup in Abu Dhabi, winning gold in the -65kg category and earning an absolute division silver medal against open-weight competition. Rafael also captured top honors at the 2013 San Francisco International Open.
After reaching the pinnacle of competitive achievement, Rafael stepped away from active competition to redirect his focus entirely toward teaching, mentoring, and developing the next generation of grapplers through the globally acclaimed Art of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ) Academy.
Guilherme Mendes
Guilherme Mendes, born in 1988 in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil, forged a competitive legacy characterized by clinical tactical execution, suffocating top control, and impenetrable defense. Like his younger brother, Guilherme earned his 3rd-degree black belt under Ramon Lemos and emerged as the dominant force of his generation in the light-featherweight (-64kg) division.
Guilherme compiled an exceptional competitive record on the world stage, capturing four IBJJF World Championship gold medals in California. His world title run began in 2009, followed by world championships in 2011, 2012, and 2014. In continental competition, Guilherme took silver at the 2012 Pan American Championship before capturing the Pan American gold medal in 2013. In 2010, he added a Brazilian National Championship gold medal in Rio de Janeiro to his collection, and in 2013, he earned a silver medal while competing up in weight at the San Francisco International Open in the -70kg division.
In 2015, at just 26 years of age and while still operating at the absolute peak of his competitive powers, Guilherme announced his retirement from active tournament competition. Choosing to channel his energy into coaching, he joined Rafael in focusing full-time on building the Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa, California, turning the facility into an elite hub for technical innovation and youth development.
The Mendes Coaching Legacy and the 2019 Super Camp
Together, Rafael and Guilherme Mendes have accumulated ten black belt world titles, but their transition from elite competitors to master instructors has proven equally impactful. Operating out of the Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy, the brothers have cultivated a training environment renowned for technical rigor, structural discipline, and strategic innovation.
Rather than relying on vague athletic principles, the Mendes brothers approach jiu-jitsu as an exact science. Their coaching philosophy deconstructs complex scrambles into repeatable, highly efficient systems. The success of their methodology is evident in the accomplishments of their students, who consistently capture titles across major international tournaments, proving that the Mendes systems can be systematically taught and reproduced at the sport’s highest levels.
For practitioners looking to expand their tactical vocabulary and refine their mechanics, learning directly from the brothers offers insights that cannot be replicated through independent study. Having spent their careers solving technical puzzles against the best grapplers in the world, the brothers function as master problem solvers, offering attendees direct access to the details that separate good technique from championship-level execution.
The Mendes Bros 2019 World Super Camp at Evolve MMA provides an intensive environment where participants can deconstruct their individual games under the direct supervision of Rafael and Gui. Hosted in Singapore, the event aligns with the Evolve Vacation training initiative, which allows martial arts enthusiasts from around the globe to combine international travel with elite instruction alongside decorated world champions.
Given the brothers’ selective seminar schedule and the high global demand for their coaching, the September camp represents a rare opportunity for serious competitors and dedicated practitioners to experience the training methodologies of two of the sport’s most revolutionary minds.
