ADCC silver medalist Nick Rodriguez has taken the grappling world by storm. The division III wrestler only took up BJJ training 2 years ago, and in a record time reached the impressive silver medal at this year’s ADCC.
He earned his purple in BJJ on the podium of ADCC from his instructor, after having beaten BJJ black belt world champion Mahamed Aly and 2015 ADCC champion Orlando Sanchez.
Rodriguez has incredible agility and explosiveness for such a big man. At 230lbs he was see using the spectacular cartwheel pass multiple times at ADCC, confusing his opponents and literally jumping over their guards:
How To Do The Cartwheel Guard Pass w/ Nick Rodriguez ADCC Silver Medalist
Mobility coach Edelen decided to feature Rodriguez and his incredible mobility in his study:
The first person I’ll examine is Nick Rodriguez. After having trained BJJ for less than two years, he set the grappling world ablaze by earning silver at the 2019 ADCC. Although most of us can’t become the athletic specimen with an insane motor and hunting mentality as “Nicky Rod”, there are a few physical characteristics and lessons we can focus on that will help our own movement on the mats. I’ll share certain exercises we can perform and how we can bring awareness to areas of the body/specific movement patterns to gain our version of what this athlete and competitor brings to the table. As we look at Rodriguez’s technique, we’ll be studying his use of the big toe!
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