Getting out of closed guard is tough.
Yeah, but won’t you get swept doing that!? Not necessarily:
For funsies, here’s Keenan dismissing the utility of a commonly taught guard opening approach. He concludes that Kesting’s move is the way to go. I think Kesting’s details are more helpful, but if you need a reason to give up the traditional knee in the butt approach, Keenan’s here for you: