Awful Open Guard

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Nogi bear

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Hello everyone.

I have been training for 3 years now in BJJ. My open guard is a very weak area for me and due to this I have relied on turtling which is successful for me but I feel against higher belts my attacks are predictable and easy to nulify.

Would any open guard specialists out there be able to give a few general do's and dont's for the open guard. I understand that this is a very diverse position but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I apologise if this is one of those daily made threads.
 
Nogi bear said:
Hello everyone.

I have been training for 3 years now in BJJ. My open guard is a very weak area for me and due to this I have relied on turtling which is successful for me but I feel against higher belts my attacks are predictable and easy to nulify.

Would any open guard specialists out there be able to give a few general do's and dont's for the open guard. I understand that this is a very diverse position but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I apologise if this is one of those daily made threads.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert but I'll start by looking for more information. Guessing nogi? how do you get passed? Opponents controling your legs? Putting you on your back?
 
Let someone try to pass your guard, do not use your hands....do not let them pass and just try to sweep them. Always try to sit up no matter what you do, keep at least one hook at them at all times (if they grab a foot..wiggle it out and place it back onto their hip/behind their knee), never let more than one shoulder touch the floor and don't forget to butt scoot back if they keep moving foward too much (not too far back or else you're not really practicing open guard work)

Keep doing that for a few sessions and most of your open guard problems will fix themselves
 
What works for me, but for every guard, not just open, is this: I first focus on defend the guard itself and keep it, and THEN, when I'm confident enough in keeping my guard, I start adding sweeps and attacks.

I'm no expert anyway :wink:
 
start working spider, 3-4 and loop guard as secondary's that's what i have started adding to my game and it seams to be working out well. The sweeps subs and transitions are endless from those guards and there fun to drill
 
Nogi bear said:
Hello everyone.

I have been training for 3 years now in BJJ. My open guard is a very weak area for me and due to this I have relied on turtling which is successful for me but I feel against higher belts my attacks are predictable and easy to nulify.

Would any open guard specialists out there be able to give a few general do's and dont's for the open guard. I understand that this is a very diverse position but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I apologise if this is one of those daily made threads.
Click to expand...
if you have been training 3 years and your open guard sucks take a private. you may just need a few adjustments that your instructor will be able to pick up on pretty fast.
 
I have a similar problem and thought I had resolved the issue, at least mentally, my last couch session.

I came to the conclusion that my problem with the open guard is not necessarily that I don't attack, I do, but only when I am confident. On the flip side, against say more aggressive, or confident, or experienced players, I wait. I wait to see what they are going to do. Like a "Okay, he just tried to slide his knee through, at least keep half-guard" moment.

It's like that one standing guard break where if you are the guy getting your guard opened, you may as well open it ahead of time and keep it on your terms, rather than gritting your teeth, clasping your legs tighter, and holding on. Open it up and sweep, open it up and attack, keep it closed and attack. Quit waiting.
 
I also add that I'm glad to see someone else turtles. No one at my school turtles, and it may even be frowned upon. The thing is, I feel safe there. They go to pass, turtle, grab a leg, and pull half-guard, which is my favorite. I know we should all work every aspect of our games but we'll all fall back to our strong suits when push comes to shove.

I also speculated that turtling was easier for me than shrimping.

And if you think about it, turtle is an open guard. Just a defensive open guard.
 
It would help me if somebody would post some "rules" for open guard.

1e: don't stay flat on your back, get on a hip, etc.

My current projects are open guard and passing.
 
Just started grappling again after many years. Small classes, and everyone is a whitebelt. For the first month or so we didn't close our guards. Everything from open guard. Seems to have worked as we're all getting fairly decent off our backs.

Not sure how that helps you though. Perhaps someone in your class would like to do a little resistance drilling with you. Guy on bottom keeps his guard open, does nothing but work defenses while the guy on top tries to pass. If he gets the pass, reset and repeat.
 
I don't know much about jiu jitsu(been training only one year) but what works good for me is trying to go for the scissor sweep and setting up other moves from there. And if that doesn't work ill just bite them.
 
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This isn't really open guard specific but... Don't accept grips (from the opponent). Only let a grip go to upgrade to a better grip. Don't go flat to your back. Don't sit on both cheaks (you lose mobility and base). Work angles. Be proactive and constantly check your opponents base. The school of hard knocks should take care of the rest (leglocks and guard passes)
 
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I've been working on my attacks from open guard these last few weeks. I've had quite a lot of success with always sitting up, never stay on my back longer than I have to and being really aggressive with grips and breaking my opponents posture. Never have your hands doing nothing. Always be looking for grips or pushing/pulling his head, pulling on his sleeves/hands, whatever... don't be nice, be an annoying fuck and make him work for his balance, eventually you will catch him by surprise and you will be the one on top or getting the tap :)
 
Hello everyone.

I have been training for 3 years now in BJJ. My open guard is a very weak area for me and due to this I have relied on turtling which is successful for me but I feel against higher belts my attacks are predictable and easy to nulify.

Would any open guard specialists out there be able to give a few general do's and dont's for the open guard. I understand that this is a very diverse position but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I apologise if this is one of those daily made threads.
Click to expand...


A very common things guard passers will do once they open your closed guard is to put their knee up. They do this because the knee stops you from pulling closed guard again and a knee accompanied by a connected elbow will stifle most submission attempts.

So what can you do? One common solution to this is to use the De La Riva guard. I find it very natural to transition to the de la riva guard when your opponents is sitting with his knee up because the way he is sitting is perfect to put in your first hook for the de la riva guard. Once you get that hook in, you can use your other free leg to push his hip away and like magic.....you are attacking once again from your back via De la Riva.
 
grab his left sleeve with ur left hand, or right with right. aka the cross grip.
hunt his ankle on the same side with the free hand.
foot on his hips, move ur butt away.
tripod sweep, sickle sweep to start, then incorporate new stuff as ur more comfortable.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Really useful.

Calibur said:
Open Guard Bottom The Gentle Art
Click to expand...

Great link.

BJJHERO - The De La Riva really seems to be the next step up for me. It is an area which I am not very familiar with but every guy who I see is excelling well in my gym has developed this game really well. Like you say, it is a great way to attack/sweep an opponent once they look like they are attempting to pass with the knee stuck in the middle.
 
Steve3730 said:
I'm no expert but I'll start by looking for more information. Guessing nogi? how do you get passed? Opponents controling your legs? Putting you on your back?
Click to expand...

Yes it is usually once my opponent has a solid grip on my gi trousers or ankles (if no gi) that I start having problems. I have success with arm drags but I think I need to get better with my legs and hips because a beast can smash me even if I get the grip for an arm drag.
 
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