Robson 'Robinho' Barbosa

The Guard Passing Specialist

Robson “Robinho” Barbosa is a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and multiple-time IBJJF Pan American medalist with over 20 years of competition and coaching experience. He is not a leg lock specialist. He is not a submission hunter. He is a guard passer. And his Breaking Guard program on FightScience is a complete system for getting through the most sophisticated guards in the sport.

Guard passing is the most important skill in competitive BJJ that most people never learn systematically. Everyone drills submissions. Everyone works on sweeps. But passing the guard — consistently, against trained opponents who are actively trying to stop you — requires a system. Robinho has one.

His approach is direct. As he demonstrates in his guard passing fundamentals: “The second one, we lose the same open. Both hands on his, on his pants. Open the guard. Boom. When I open, I have to throw my both arms the same time.” There is no wasted movement. Grip, open, control. The mechanics are simple because Robinho has spent two decades stripping away everything that does not work against people who know what they are doing.

The Joker Position

Every high-level grappler has a fallback position. The place they go when their game plan falls apart and they need something reliable. For Robinho, that position is what he calls the Joker.

“Guys, this position, I like to call like this is my Joker position, you know, like this that when I everything go wrong I will try this position.” The name is playful. The technique is not. The Joker position gives Robinho a reliable platform to launch attacks — including a vicious tricep slice — when his primary passing sequences get disrupted.

This is what separates a 20-video course from a handful of random techniques. Robinho does not just show you how to pass the guard when everything goes right. He shows you what to do when your opponent shuts down your first option, your second option, and your third option. The Joker is the reset button. And from the Joker, Robinho has submissions that most opponents never see coming.

A Complete 20-Video System

The Breaking Guard program contains 20 videos covering the full spectrum of guard passing for competition BJJ. The course progression moves from fundamental concepts — controlling the legs, establishing grips, breaking posture — through advanced passing sequences and finishes including the north-south choke.

Robinho’s teaching style is enthusiastic and hands-on. He demonstrates every technique at full speed and then breaks it down step by step. His English carries a Brazilian accent that adds authenticity to instruction rooted in the competition culture of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Every technique in this course comes from tournament experience, not theory.

The program covers standing passes, kneeling passes, submissions from passing positions, and recovery techniques when passes fail. This is not a highlights reel of Robinho’s best moves. It is a complete system designed to be drilled, repeated, and applied in live sparring from day one.

Why Guard Passing Changes Everything

If you cannot pass the guard, you cannot win in Jiu-Jitsu. It does not matter how many submissions you know from mount or side control if you can never get there. Guard passing is the bridge between standing and finishing, and most grapplers treat it as an afterthought.

Robinho’s Breaking Guard course treats it as the main event. Every video is focused on one goal: getting past your opponent’s legs, establishing a dominant position, and finishing the fight. The techniques are designed for gi competition at the IBJJF level, but the principles — distance management, grip strategy, weight distribution, timing — translate to any grappling context.

What You Get

Robson “Robinho” Barbosa’s Breaking Guard program is available as part of the FightScience Advanced BJJ Competition System — a $397 bundle containing 5 courses, 181 videos, and over 19 hours of instruction from five world-class BJJ practitioners. If you have ever been stuck in someone’s guard with no plan, Robinho’s 20-video system is the answer.