In the intricate world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), the guard position reigns supreme as a fundamental aspect of both offensive and defensive strategies. Essentially, the guard refers to a position where a practitioner finds themselves on their back with their legs between themselves and their opponent. While seemingly passive, the guard is a powerhouse of opportunity, enabling practitioners to control and manipulate their opponent’s movements while also providing a platform for launching attacks.
Types of BJJ Guards
1. Open Guard:
The Open Guard is a fundamental position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where the practitioner maintains distance from their opponent while controlling their movements using their legs and arms. This guard is characterized by the practitioner being on their back with their legs and arms actively engaged to keep the opponent at bay.
Key Characteristics:
Distance Management:
Open Guard practitioners use their legs and arms to control the distance between themselves and their opponent.
Active Leg Work:
Legs are used to create barriers, control the opponent’s posture, and set up attacks.
Grip Fighting:
Arms are utilized for grip fighting, controlling the opponent’s sleeves or wrists to disrupt their balance and movement.
Techniques and Strategies:
Sweeps:
Open Guard offers numerous sweeping options, including scissor sweeps, pendulum sweeps, and tripod sweeps.
Submissions:
Practitioners can set up various submissions such as triangles, armbars, and omoplatas from the Open Guard.
Retention:
It’s crucial to maintain active movement and guard retention to prevent the opponent from passing to a dominant position.
2. Closed Guard:
Closed Guard is a defensive position in which the practitioner wraps their legs around the opponent’s torso, effectively closing the distance and limiting their mobility. This guard offers excellent control over the opponent’s posture and allows for a wide range of offensive attacks.
Key Characteristics:
Leg Control:
The practitioner wraps their legs around the opponent’s torso, locking them in place.
Posture Control:
By controlling the opponent’s posture with grips and leg pressure, the Closed Guard practitioner limits their ability to strike or advance position.
Offensive Options:
Despite being on their back, practitioners can launch various attacks, including submissions and sweeps.
Techniques and Strategies:
Submissions:
Closed Guard is known for its potent submission attacks, such as arm bars, triangles, and collar chokes.
Sweeps:
Sweeping options include hip bumps, flower sweeps, and pendulum sweeps.
Defense:
Closed Guard offers a defensive platform to weather an opponent’s attacks while looking for opportunities to counter.
3. Half Guard:
Half Guard is a ground grappling position where one practitioner has their legs wrapped around one of the opponent’s legs while being on their back or side. It offers both offensive and defensive options, making it a versatile guard.
Key Characteristics:
Leg Control:
The practitioner traps one of the opponent’s legs between their legs, preventing them from fully passing to side control.
Underhook:
Half Guard practitioners often seek to secure an underhook on the opponent’s trapped leg side to maintain control and set up attacks.
Offensive Transitions:
Half Guard allows for smooth transitions to sweeps, submissions, and back takes.
Techniques and Strategies:
Sweeps:
Popular sweeps from Half Guard include the knee tap sweep, electric chair sweep, and old-school sweep.
Submissions:
Practitioners can attack with submissions like the kimura, straight armlock, and guillotine choke.
Recovery:
Effective Half Guard players are adept at regaining full guard or transitioning to advantageous positions when under pressure.
4. Butterfly Guard:
Butterfly Guard is an offensive jiu jitsu guard position where the practitioner uses their legs and hooks to control the opponent’s posture and set up sweeping attacks. It is characterized by the practitioner sitting up with their opponent in front of them, often with both feet inside the opponent’s thighs.
Key Characteristics:
Hooks:
The practitioner uses their feet to hook inside the opponent’s thighs, maintaining control and creating leverage for sweeps.
Sitting Position:
Unlike other guards where the practitioner is typically on their back, Butterfly Guard practitioners often sit up, allowing for better mobility and offensive options.
Grip Fighting:
Grips on the opponent’s sleeves or collar are essential for controlling their posture and setting up attacks.
Techniques and Strategies:
Sweeps:
Butterfly Guard offers a wide array of sweeping options, including the butterfly sweep, hook sweep, and waiter sweep.
Transitions:
Practitioners can seamlessly transition between sweeps, submissions, and back takes from the Butterfly Guard.
Distance Management:
Maintaining the correct distance is crucial to prevent the opponent from passing the guard or establishing dominant positions.
5. Spider Guard:
Spider Guard is a dynamic guard position where the practitioner uses sleeve and collar grips to control the opponent’s posture while using their legs to create distance and set up attacks. It is characterized by the practitioner’s legs being extended outward, creating a spider-like grip configuration.
Key Characteristics:
Grips:
The practitioner grips the opponent’s sleeves or collars, creating tension and control over their arms.
Leg Control:
Legs are used to create distance and control the opponent’s movement, often by pushing against their biceps or shoulders.
Angle Management:
Practitioners often angle off to the side to off-balance the opponent and create openings for attacks.
Techniques and Strategies:
Sweeps:
Spider Guard offers a variety of sweeping options, including the scissor sweep, lasso sweep, and omoplata sweep.
Submissions:
Practitioners can attack with submissions such as triangle chokes, arm bars, and collar chokes.
Guard Retention:
Maintaining grips and distance is crucial to prevent the opponent from passing the guard or breaking the grips.
6. De La Riva Guard:
De La Riva Guard is a guard position named after its creator, Ricardo De La Riva, which involves hooking one leg around the opponent’s leg while controlling their sleeve or collar. This guard offers excellent control and numerous sweeping and submission opportunities.
Key Characteristics:
Leg Hook:
The practitioner hooks one leg behind the opponent’s leg, creating leverage and control.
Grip Control:
Grips on the opponent’s sleeve or collar are used to control their posture and movement.
Off-Angle Attacks:
Practitioners often attack from angles, making it difficult for the opponent to defend against sweeps and submissions.
Techniques and Strategies:
Sweeps:
De La Riva Guard is known for its effective sweeps, including the berimbolo, hook sweep, and tripod sweep.
Back Takes:
Practitioners can transition to the opponent’s back from De La Riva Guard, offering a high-percentage attacking option.
Distance Management:
Maintaining the correct distance and angle is crucial to prevent the opponent from passing the guard or countering with their attacks.
7. X-Guard:
X-Guard is a ground grappling position where the practitioner entangles their legs around the opponent’s legs to off-balance them and set up sweeping attacks. It offers excellent control and versatility, making it a popular guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Key Characteristics:
Leg Entanglement:
The practitioner wraps their legs around the opponent’s legs, creating an X-like configuration.
Underhook:
Securing an underhook on the opponent’s leg side is crucial for maintaining control and setting up attacks.
Off-Balancing:
X-Guard is effective for off-balancing the opponent and creating opportunities for sweeps and transitions.
Techniques and Strategies:
Leg Entanglement:
Entangling the opponent’s legs with your own creates a strong control point and prevents them from easily posturing up.
Grips:
Gripping the opponent’s legs or upper body helps control their movement and set up attacks.
Sweeps:
X-guard offers powerful sweeping options like technical stand-up sweep, overhead sweep, or back take.
Transitions:
Practitioners often transition between X-guard and other guards like single leg X-guard or butterfly guard to create confusion and openings.
Leg Attacks:
X-guard provides opportunities for attacking leg locks like straight ankle locks or knee bars
8. Single Leg X-Guard
Key Characteristics:
- Similar to X-guard, but with one leg entangled.
- Provides leverage for off-balancing opponents and attacking leg locks.
- Offers opportunities for sweeps and transitions.
Techniques and Strategies:
Leg Entanglement:
Entangling one of the opponent’s legs with your own provides control and leverage for sweeps and attacks.
Grips:
Gripping the opponent’s leg or upper body helps control their posture and movement.
Sweeps:
Single leg X-guard offers sweeps like the waiter sweep, technical stand-up sweep, or ankle pick sweep.
Leg Locks:
Practitioners can attack leg locks like straight ankle locks, heel hooks, or toe holds from single leg X-guard.
Transitioning:
Single leg X-guard can be used as a transition point to other guards or to set up takedowns and submissions.
9. Lapel Guard:
Key Characteristics:
- Involves utilizing the lapels of the opponent’s gi for control and leverage.
- Offers unique control and submission opportunities.
- Requires creativity and adaptability in its application.
Techniques and Strategies:
Lapel Control:
Gripping and controlling the opponent’s lapels allows for control of their posture and movement.
Creative Attacks:
Lapel guard practitioners often develop unique attacks and submissions using the lapels, such as lapel chokes, sweeps, or guard retention techniques.
Distance Management:
Practitioners use the lapels to create distance and control angles, making it difficult for the opponent to pass or attack.
Gi Specific Attacks:
Lapel guard techniques are tailored to gi grappling, utilizing the gi material for grips, controls, and submissions.
Adaptability:
Lapel guard requires adaptability and creativity, as practitioners must adjust their techniques based on the opponent’s reactions and movements.
Mastering these various types of BJJ guards requires dedication, practice, and a deep understanding of their principles and techniques. Each guard offers unique advantages and challenges, and practitioners must develop a well-rounded game to effectively utilize them in both training and competition.
Fundamentals of Guard Retention
Guard retention is a fundamental aspect of BJJ that cannot be overstated. The ability to maintain and recover guard position against an opponent’s pass attempts is crucial for preventing being dominated and controlled on the ground.
Effective guard retention involves a combination of techniques and principles, including:
Hip movement:
Proper hip movement allows practitioners to adjust their angle and distance, making it more difficult for opponents to establish a dominant position.
Frame and structure:
Utilizing frames, such as the arms and legs, to create space and establish barriers that impede the opponent’s progress.
Timing and anticipation:
Anticipating the opponent’s movements and reacting swiftly to counter their pass attempts.
By mastering the fundamentals of guard retention, practitioners can establish a solid foundation upon which to build their defensive capabilities.
Offensive Guard Strategies
Offensive guard play is characterized by the practitioner’s ability to actively threaten their opponent with sweeps, submissions, and positional advancements. Key strategies for offensive guard play include:
Breaking posture:
Disrupting the opponent’s posture to create openings for attacks and sweeps.
Submission setups:
Capitalizing on openings to secure submissions such as armbars, triangles, and omoplatas.
Grip fighting:
Controlling the opponent’s grips to limit their mobility and create opportunities for attacks.
By employing these offensive strategies, practitioners can effectively dictate the pace and direction of the match from the guard position.
Defensive Guard Strategies
Defensive guard play focuses on preventing the opponent from passing the guard and establishing dominant positions. Key defensive strategies include:
Preventing guard passes:
Using frames, grips, and hip movement to create barriers and maintain distance from the opponent.
Countering passes:
Anticipating and countering common guard passes such as the knee cut pass and torreando pass with appropriate defensive techniques.
Creating space:
Utilizing hip movement and frames to create space and escape from unfavorable positions.
By mastering defensive guard strategies, practitioners can effectively neutralize their opponent’s attacks and maintain control from the guard position.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Guard Play
Even experienced practitioners are prone to making mistakes in guard play. Common errors to avoid include:
Overcommitting to attacks:
Being overly aggressive with submissions and sweeps without considering the opponent’s reactions.
Neglecting defensive fundamentals:
Focusing too much on offense at the expense of guard retention and defensive strategies.
Poor posture and positioning:
Allowing the opponent to establish dominant grips and posture, making it easier for them to pass the guard.
By recognizing and addressing these common mistakes, practitioners can improve their overall guard performance and effectiveness on the mats.
Conclusion
Mastering the BJJ guard is a journey that requires dedication, patience, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By understanding the fundamentals of guard play, exploring different guard types and strategies, and incorporating targeted drills and exercises into training routines, practitioners can develop a formidable guard game that serves as a cornerstone of their BJJ repertoire.
As with any aspect of BJJ, consistent practice and study of techniques are essential for refining guard skills and achieving mastery in this dynamic and multifaceted aspect of the art.
Frequently Asked Question's
Q1. How many guards are in BJJ?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu features numerous guard variations, each with its own set of techniques and strategies. While the exact number may vary depending on interpretation, common guard types include open guard, closed guard, half guard, butterfly guard, spider guard, De La Riva guard, X-guard, single leg X-guard, and lapel guard, among others.
Q2. What do you do in full guard BJJ?
In full guard BJJ, the practitioner on the bottom wraps their legs around their opponent’s torso, effectively closing the distance and controlling their posture. From this position, practitioners can work on various offensive and defensive techniques such as sweeps, submissions, and transitions. Common strategies include breaking the opponent’s posture, setting up submissions like armlocks and chokes, or executing sweeps to reverse the position.
Q3. What is passing guard in BJJ?
Passing guard in BJJ refers to the act of moving past the legs of the opponent to achieve a dominant position, such as side control, mount, or back control. Passing guard typically involves a combination of posture control, pressure, and technique to overcome the defensive barriers set up by the guard player. Effective guard passing requires patience, timing, and the ability to anticipate and counter the opponent’s reactions.
Q4. Can you pull guard in BJJ?
Yes, pulling guard is a common strategy in BJJ where a practitioner voluntarily enters the guard position from a standing position. This can be done to initiate attacks from a preferred guard position, to counter an opponent’s takedown attempt, or to control the pace and tempo of the match. Pulling guard requires good timing, grip fighting skills, and awareness of the opponent’s movements to effectively establish control from the bottom position.
Q5. Is Guard an inferior position in the grand scheme?
No, guard is not considered an inferior position in the grand scheme of BJJ. While being on the bottom may seem disadvantageous to some, the guard offers numerous offensive and defensive opportunities for skilled practitioners.
Guard players have the ability to control the pace of the match, set up sweeps and submissions, and effectively neutralize the opponent’s attacks. With proper technique and strategy, guard players can dominate matches and achieve victory from this position.
Q6. What is the Favorite/Most Effective Guard in Jiu-Jitsu (Gi Only)?
The favorite or most effective guard in gi Jiu-Jitsu often varies depending on the practitioner’s style, body type, and preferences. However, some guards are commonly favored for their versatility and effectiveness in both gi and no-gi grappling.
The closed guard, butterfly guard, and spider guard are among the popular choices, each offering unique advantages and a wide range of techniques for controlling, sweeping, and submitting opponents. Ultimately, the most effective guard for an individual practitioner is the one that best suits their game and allows them to capitalize on their strengths while addressing their weaknesses
