Articles
Guides on guards, guard passing, training, competition and getting your footage reviewed.
Guards
Every major guard, how it works and how it gets passed.
- 01Closed guard4 minYour legs wrap around your partner's waist with your feet locked behind their back.
- 02Half guard4 minFrom bottom, your legs trap one of your partner's legs while you work for the underhook or a frame.
- 03Deep half guard3 minA half guard played underneath your partner, with your arms hugging the same leg your legs hold.
- 04Quarter guard3 minYour legs trap one of your partner's legs below the knee, usually when a half guard is nearly passed.
- 05Z guard4 minA half guard in which your top knee frames against your partner's hip or chest to keep them at a distance.
- 06Coyote guard4 minA half guard with a deep underhook, where your legs twist the trapped leg to take your partner off balance.
- 07Butterfly guard3 minYou sit up facing your partner with your insteps hooked inside their thighs.
- 08Spider guard4 minA gi open guard built on sleeve grips, with a foot pressing into your partner's biceps.
- 09Lasso guard4 minA gi guard where one leg wraps your partner's arm while you hold the sleeve of that same arm.
- 10De La Riva guard4 minOne leg wraps your partner's lead leg from the outside and hooks their inner thigh, as you grip that ankle.
- 11X guard4 minUnder a standing partner, you hug one of their legs and control the other with your legs crossed in an X.
- 1250/50 guard4 minEach of you wraps a leg around the other's same-side leg, so both have the same attacks.
- 13Rubber guard4 minFrom closed guard, one leg folds high across your partner's back and you hold your ankle or shin.
- 14Octopus guard4 minYou sit up beside your partner and reach an arm across their back, often from half guard.
- 15Pulling guard4 minGoing from standing straight to a guard, usually after taking grips, instead of going for a takedown.