Mendes Brothers-Respect Is Everything
Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of leg locks. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more – find more of his leg lock articles and resources at www.BJJLegLocks.com.
In every walk of life; sports, school, business, social settings, etc., everyone strives for the respect of their peers. It’s an ultimate stamp of approval, and it shows you have done something worthwhile. This is never more evident than in the sporting realm – if you’re interested in reading more about how the Mendes brothers evolved to such a high level, and how "scientific" they customize their training sessions look no further than this article which you can also visit at Science of Skill.
No matter the sport, there is always a fresh of batch of talent that is on the rise, however, they let their egos get ahead of their skills and the veterans and their peers reject them, leaving them on an island. This plays such a negative role in the psyche of the athlete, that it can easily stunt their growth as a professional.
However, there are two people who have nothing to worry about when it comes to the respect of their peers; Rafael & Guilherme Mendes.
Let Your Skills Speak For Themselves
With Rafael & Guil Mendes, you don’t normally hear them running their mouths about how spectacular they are. With little-to-no-fan fare, they step onto the mat and handle their business. With accolades aplenty, these two have garnered such clout in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu universe, that they know no bounds when it comes to spreading their knowledge.
With their academy headquartered in San Diego, California, the Mendes brothers do fantastic work in their area. However, they have been asked to lend their expertise all over the world, and just last year they made the trip up to Canada to help out at an academy.
Praising the students and staff, Rafael was astounded by how well the students listened to soaked up the techniques. This was their second trip there, and the Mendes brothers could see the improvement in the students. Little bit of a sidebar here- I know guys like Rafael Lovato were big in to teaching their pressure passing systems and when it comes to pressure passing Guilherme Mendes is one of the best. Learn more about Guilherme’s pressure passing here.
The Respect of Your Elders
In my book, one of the most important things you can obtain is the respect of your peers; but not just that, the older peers. The fact the Mendes brothers—both of whom are in their early 20’s—were asked to run a class was huge, but it was even more impressive when you saw the age of some of the students in the class.
Most of them were older than the brothers, yet they still hung on every single word that they spoke. For a human being, it’s easy to let your ego get in the way and block out someone who has experienced great success if they are your age or young.
The respect the Mendes brothers command speaks to how truly gifted they are. When they talk; people listen. When they grappler, people watch.
It plays on the old adage of “age is but a number,” and the Mendes brothers prove this. Given their history on the mat, and their name in high demand by young-and-old, goes to show just how important they are to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Dan Faggella