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.
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 »
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 »
Half guard is a great sweeping position. It’s my preferred sweeping position. Not only will the sweeps put you on top, but they typically come with a guard pass included. It’s often easier for me to get to top side control by sweeping someone from half guard than it is to start in their guard and pass.
I’ve seen many variations of this basic sweep. Leg configurations and underhook positioning change, but the general pattern is the same: underhook -> come up -> drive into the top guy -> grab the far knee -> land in side control. I see the argument for peeling the lower leg of the top guy with your outside leg, but in rolling I rarely execute it that way. I might avoid some wrestling challenges in Dogfight by pulling their leg out more, but if this first attack fails, the plan B roll-under sweep usually works.
The next move is the logical response to counter pressure defending against the previous sweep. In the video below, Leite makes a point to keep the leg hooked during the roll but he doesn’t really justify it. I don’t normally do that. I’m sure he has a valid reason for pointing out the maintenance of that hook, but I don’t immediately understand the benefit.
I don’t have videos to share for them, but Danaher’s half guard fundamentals videos actually work in the opposite order. Danaher presents a variation of the roll-under sweep as the first option and an attack resembling the first sweep as the counter response when the roll-under is avoided by the top player. That’s interesting to me. I’m pretty attached to the order presented here.
Basic Half Guard Sweeps Read More »