Marcelo Cohen is a Brazilian grappler from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who now lives in Jupiter, FL. Cohen began training BJJ aged 16 after his black belt uncle (at the time) suggested he started training. Aged 29, he received his black belt from Marcelo Saporito. These days, he trains out of The Armory gym in Florida and says for learning, “I ask questions to Herbert Burns about positions on a regular basis.” Interestingly, he also lists Vagner Rocha as having the biggest influence on his style and uses Kimuras in all areas of his Jiu Jitsu.
We asked Cohen about his general BJJ game and style. He said that his main guard was a mixture of the closed and rubber guard and used a combination of Kimura, tripod and old man sweeps from those positions. When passing, he also favors a mixture of the toreando, baseball sliding and the Kimura trap. You may have guessed by now, his main submission is also the Kimura.
Usually competing around the 125lbs mark, Cohen has enjoyed a successful career as a competitor. He lists twice winning the IBJJF Adult black belt No Gi division as his biggest accomplishment to date.
Q&A
You’re a regular on the superfight scene. It seems 90% of these promotions are no gi. Do you think it’s the gi that bores viewers or the ruleset? I.e. if it had the same rules as no gi but wearing the gi would it be more commercially viable?
“I just think NoGi is something the casual person who never trained before can identify themselves with it. The rules would not change the audience in my opinion.”
You’re still actively competing into your late 30s and are arguably getting better with age. Why do you think this is and what are your secrets for avoiding injuries whilst training hard?
“Train hard and train smart. Take breaks when you are injured and live a healthy lifestyle. Push yourself but don’t hurt yourself.”
You’re noticeably a smaller grappler. Do you think strength is still under-rated in BJJ? It seems to be a massive advantage but not always spoken about. Do you think your size also shaped your game?
“I think strength is important if combined with technique . The strength factor will matter if the skills levels are very close on both competitors.”
Talking of size/strength – you’re known for Kimura’s. Do you think it’s used differently by smaller grapplers and do some people think about it too primitively these days?
“Kimura locks are a great submission, you can also use them to control positions in order to obtain a dominant position. Such using the lock to pass guard, take the back etc…People may think that way because even though it’s a simple move, it takes many long years to master it.”
You’ve done a bit of combat Jiu Jitsu. From experience, does the set up drastically change the positional hierarchy or is it still possible to impose your game from the bottom?
“The combat Jiu jitsu really pushes your BJJ to the limit. You need to keep distance or you need to totally close the distance. The closed guard works well if you can control distance and at the same time you use it to your advantage.”
Lastly, do you have any plans for the future? (Goals etc)
“I would like to be a strong force at the masters division since I’m going to be 38 soon in the future. I plan on keep doing BJJ, compete and help my students with their BJJ journey’s”
You can find more about Marcelo’s Kimura System instructional here.
