Butterfly Guard and Knee Safety

[OldTimey]

How is butterfly guard regarding knee injury rate? Let's throw SLX into the butterfly guard family for simplicity sake. Anyone ever injured their knee from a sweep or pass?

 

[Uchi Mata]

Nope. One of the most structurally sound guard complexes there is. Very safe.

 

[OldTimey]

Nope. One of the most structurally sound guard complexes there is. Very safe.

Good to hear

 

[EGDM]

I actually have a bit of trouble with butterfly because I have pre-existing lateral meniscus problems on both sides. I can't let my knees get fully flexed or bad things happen. I still play butterfly as my primary open guard, however, because associated twisting in DLR/RDLR is worse and spider is hell on my fingers. Generally, I'm fine if I can keep enough muscle tension to maintain minimum distance between my hips and my heels.

 

[Bjoern]

Actually it is a pretty safe position. When you play Butterfly you should never fully flex your knees because your will loose all your strength and structure. So heels to the butt will reduce your ability to attack from the butterfly position. Always keep a wider angle....