It’s one of the most basic sweeps that everyone learns. Even if you don’t prefer to use it, you at least need to know that every white belt is going to try to use it against you.
We’ve also been playing with triangles lately. Why not combine the two?
We’ve previously worked this one from mount, but it’s also valuable to know from closed guard. I appreciate that it’s a pretty low-risk maneuver. Failed attempts at triangles or armbars can result in easier guard passes for the top guy. There’s less exposure in attempting this collar choke. Also, the threat of the collar choke can set up the other submissions when the top guy defends his neck. My finishing skills need work. Apparently, I’m not alone in that. Many of the videos on this submission acknowledge that many people move away from it after not finding success. However, even with the lack of choke finishes, I’ve caught many arms by first attacking with the collar grips.
Closed Guard Cross Choke Read More »
This is a classic drill that ties three common submissions from guard. Defenses for one of the moves generally open up opportunities for another. Being able to switch back and forth between them will significantly increase your success with submissions.
Armbar-Omoplata-Triangle Read More »
From guard, the arm bar, omoplata, and triangle choke all play nicely off of each other. Frequently, the defense of one will open opportunities for the others. We’ve done a little bit with arm bars and omoplatas, so it’s time to add triangles into the mix.
My approach will be based on Ryan Hall’s Triangle DVD series. His approach is different than traditional triangle instruction, but he makes a solid case for the mechanical advantages of his version. The video below covers the finishing sequence:
Danaher shows how to cut an angle to remove your opponent’s shoulder from the triangle. The trapped shoulder what is blocking the legs from locking correctly. His movement emphasizes trapping the arm not the shoulder.
In the next video, option 1, switch to omoplata is honestly my standard solution. I don’t finish triangles often, but I hit omoplatas a lot. “Look at the triangle as a position” is consistent with what Danaher and Hall say about it, but might not be specific enough to be useful. “Say ‘to heck with form’ and use your meaty thighs to power through” isn’t necessarily what I hoped for either. I include the video since it illustrates a common dilemma. It’s not just you.
Lachlan Giles has an approach pretty similar to Ryan Hall’s but he suggests a different locking position with the leg. I appreciate the explanation about not pushing the opponent’s head away while turning to find the angle.
We spent a couple months working on half guard. This is a summary of what we covered. There are posts for most of the individual pieces if you want more details. Posts are tagged by position and sweep/pass/submission. https://halfguardlife.com/tag/half-guard/ will get you to all of the half guard posts.
We haven’t really worked on this in class yet, but Eric had some questions about it one day, so I did some research. I had bookmarked these videos before I had this site to hold them for me. I’m sure we’ll get into this eventually. The defensive techniques have already helped me.
Baseball Bat Choke Read More »
I still feel uncomfortable standing up in closed guard. The bottom guy has too much potential to mess with my limbs and base. The Sao Paulo pass is attractive to me who doesn’t feel great about my balance with the standing openings.
A few risks should be immediately apparent: triangles, omoplatas, sweeps. Beyond the submissions, it’s worth considering the details of leverage that the bottom guy would use to resist the pass.
Moves always seem great during demos. Everything is so much more complicated during an actual roll. Does this even work!?
Here are some matches with Leonardo Noguiera using this pass:
He tries it repeatedly in this match with Xande Ribeiro. Nogueira repeatedly opens Xande’s guard, but Xande recovers.
He used the pass on Buchecha:
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:
Escape Closed Guard Read More »
As you might guess by the aesthetics of this site, I’m not much of a designer. However, I do like silly t-shirts. Here’s one to celebrate getting up in the morning for some rolls:
First Draft of a shirt Read More »
Some time ago I found that my half guard game was ruined when people passed by facing my legs. On top, I started using that approach myself. I have a lot of success passing half guard that way. These techniques described by Firas Zahabi are a good way to fight back.
Octopus Half Guard Attacks Read More »
Here are some longer conversations about jiu jitsu, how to build a game from the ground up, and the value of half guard. It’s not just my own unqualified preference! Listen to John Danaher explain why he coaches his athletes to put themselves in half guard from both the top and the bottom. I find it to be the closest position to everything. Half guard is rarely more than one simple maneuver away. Because of that, I spent a lot of time there even before I wanted to. Then, I came to appreciate the way it slowed the game down and gave me an opportunity to keep up with younger, quicker opponents.
https://bernardofariaacademy.com/blog/ideal-game-old-grappler/
Sometimes it’s just not working and you need to try something else. The most straightforward options are to elbow escape into full guard, or put hooks in to switch to a butterfly guard. Changing guard changes the value of upper body positions. The under hook and cross face utilized by a top half guard player become weaknesses when the top player ends up in butterfly or full guard.
I linked the same video below on the Escapes! page. The second elbow escape is performed from a half guard position and can be used whenever you want to add another .5 guards to your bottom position.
If you’re living that lockdown life in bottom half, the next video emphasizes the leg movements to abandon the lockdown half guard game to switch to butterfly.
The lifting movement shown in the next video appears to be pretty common in half guard instructional videos although it’s not a move I often use. The rest of the principles regarding framing are familiar and good though. I do really like that landing position. Before I fell in love with half guard, I was all about that over hook full guard. Parental discretion is advised for Kurt Osiander language.
I like the double elbow escape that Danaher demonstrations in his Half Guard Fundamentals instructional. I can’t find another example of that. After elbow escaping from half guard towards full guard, he elbow escapes a second time on the same side, this time to bring his knee above the top person’s shoulder. This results in a position with the top person pinched between the bottom player’s knees in a way that sets up easy triangles, omoplatas, kimuras, and arm bars.
Abandoning Half Guard Read More »
I’ve had a lot more success with the half butterfly sweep than with any of the variations that Lachlan Giles describes below. I’m also pretty complacent about my opponent grabbing the kimura grip as I pass their half guard on top. Lachlan Giles is a high level competitor though, so my differences in this position suggest I need to study it deeper. I regularly hit the arm bar that he says he used to fear but should never happen.
Bottom Half Kimuras Read More »
These are the attacks that align most naturally with lockdown play in half guard. I will often use the lockdown in the beginning to adjust my position and then perform the Basic Half Guard Sweeps, but those require unhooking the lockdown. The Electric Chair involves keeping the lockdown all the way through. You can go right into it from a whip down, or you can threaten Old School first so that they’ll give you space to put your electric under hooks in.
Old School and Electric Chair Read More »
Annoy all your friends! Lockdowns are not comfortable. They can also be used to stall and ruin a roll. However, I love the lockdown for the ability to whip down to recover the under-hook and also for electric chairs. Electric chairs are fun! See JRE 478 for the Bravo vs Gracie II breakdown.
There are several things I don’t like about the video below, but I wanted something that covered the whip up idea. An under-hook isn’t worth much if you’re flat on your back and far from the top player’s hips. The whip up is a movement to turn onto your right side and put yourself under your opponents hips where you have better leverage to attack sweeps. This was captured better in Mastering the Rubber Guard but I don’t have footage from that to link to.