Can't use Half Guard

[Gambledub]

Alternatively you can underhook the leg and use x guard to come up with a treetop single finish to sweep the opponent.

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Out of foot on hips guard you can also switch to De La Riva (DLR), this is a good platform for upkicks, pushing out the opponents far leg is a good way to break their posture/balance and give you easier access to wrist control

If you get their near wrist you can feed it to your other hand as you stand up with a single leg or work towards the back (no gif sorry) If you grab their far wrist you can use it to sweep

You also have the option of the sit up guard single leg that was in my 1st post. If for some reason you cant get it, circle your shin in and go to single leg x

Also if you're in butterfly their are several entries to single leg x from butterfly guard eg.

That should hopefully give you some more bjj style options other than just standing up (not that thats a bad idea for mma). With that being said my open guard is mediocre at best, so take all this with a grain of salt

 

[Gambledub]

I visited a BJJ school on my last trip where they taught 4 da la riva sweeps for no gi. I don't get it though. The wrist controls you need for most of the ones they showed seen too difficult without the jacket to grab. Do you think they work no gi?

I've been getting the elevator sweep some from half butterfly.

The grips are definately harder to maintain, however they're not to hard to actually get imo. you need to keep push kicking their far thigh with your non hooking leg, that way they have to base their hands on the floor or they will be swept. when their hands go on the floor you can easily grab them. But yeah the grips are much easier for the opponent to keep twisting out of so you need to constantly work to off balance them with the push kick to give you the grips

Edit: 1/2 butterfly is also an awesome place to enter single leg x guard from too!

 

[FlexLuthor]

Gambledub. You're the man.

 

[Gambledub]

Gambledub. You're the man.

lol thanks!

 

[PirateTetra]

awesome posts Gambledub!

 

[Gambledub]

awesome posts Gambledub!

Thanks I have so many gifs on my computer they have to be useful for something haha!

 

[Shemhazai]

Great posts by Gambledub.

Here is another tripod type sweep, from reverse De La Riva, that I think would work well in MMA (@ 01:50):



The benefit of this position is that it flows naturally from the half guard, and lends itself very well both to the tripod and to sitting up on the single leg – the two strongest options vs. anyone standing up and backing out of your guard. You can also use your top hand to hug the knee to prevent him from running away, and the top leg can deliver upkicks in addition to controlling the distance and keeping him from landing power punches. Also, if the guy begins to pressure into you aggressively, you can spin under quickly for the back take (the 'kiss of the dragon'), off-balancing him forward as you go.

Additionally, if you take the time to learn the tornado guard, you will have another powerful extension off of this position for any time the opponent tries to cross-face you, giving you lots of submission options. (Watch Marcin Held vs. Philippe Nover in Bellator.) However, that's a very advanced game to play in MMA, and requires a solid grappling foundation. Although that might be true of any guard offense in MMA.

 

[DushanS94]

If they stand up in your half guard you can easily switch to the reverse de la riva position which offers a lot of sweeps and attacks so just learn how to play from both positions and it won't be a problem. I just like to think of the reverse de la riva as my "half guard when they stand up".

 

[Gambledub]

Here is another tripod type sweep, from reverse De La Riva, that I think would work well in MMA (@ 01:50):
.

Good point with RDLR as Shemhazi and Dushan mentioned. Also I have noticed all the people I know who tend to do more no-gi than me tend to gravitate more towards RDLR rather than standard DLR

 

[Shemhazai]

If they stand up in your half guard you can easily switch to the reverse de la riva position which offers a lot of sweeps and attacks so just learn how to play from both positions and it won't be a problem. I just like to think of the reverse de la riva as my "half guard when they stand up".

That's how I think of it as well. I'd say 80 % of my guard game is some variant of RDLR/open half, using the tripod if they stand upright, spin-under or single if they're kneeling, underhook half or tornado if they pass low. It's just different ranges.

Good point with RDLR as Shemhazi and Dushan mentioned. Also I have noticed all the people I know who tend to do more no-gi than me tend to gravitate more towards RDLR rather than standard DLR

It's definitely the more versatile position of the two in no gi. You lose most of the handles you have for moving yourself to the outside (belt/pants grip, lapel feed, sleeve) when you take the gi off. The
handles towards the inside are less gi dependent.

A while back I started using the DLR hook from RDLR, though; especially when people try to stop the RDLR tripod by standing really staggered or turning their hips inward. I shoot a deep DLR hook, but instead of trying to go to the crab ride, I keep holding the ankle with my near hand, pummel my inside foot behind the knee and scoot myself into a reverse X-guard. Leg drag sweeps galore.

 

[Gambledub]

That's how I think of it as well. I'd say 80 % of my guard game is some variant of RDLR/open half, using the tripod if they stand upright, spin-under or single if they're kneeling, underhook half or tornado if they pass low. It's just different ranges.



It's definitely the more versatile position of the two in no gi. You lose most of the handles you have for moving yourself to the outside (belt/pants grip, lapel feed, sleeve) when you take the gi off. The
handles towards the inside are less gi dependent.

A while back I started using the DLR hook from RDLR, though; especially when people try to stop the RDLR tripod by standing really staggered or turning their hips inward. I shoot a deep DLR hook, but instead of trying to go to the crab ride, I keep holding the ankle with my near hand, pummel my inside foot behind the knee and scoot myself into a reverse X-guard. Leg drag sweeps galore.

I guess you can get more of a squeeze on the opponents leg with RDLR too. RDLR is that Guard I have been meaning to try and understand and practice but just never got round to lol

 

[My little Tony]

can't you just ask someone to practice some guard with you? Before or after the class?

 

[400lbKneeOnFace]

If you have the lockdown they shouldn't be able to just move away. Once you have it get double unders then they even more won't be able to do so they will have to address the situation.

 

[Uchi Mata]

It's a topic I'm kind of iffy on. I always blew it off because mma sparring, anytime I'd use an open guard is normally throw an up kick and stand up. I do so much grappling now though I feel like I'm getting into odd stuff. I'm suppose to do some big tournament next month so I'm trying hard to get my shit together for it.

Open guard doesn't actually have to be a guard if you're not in contact with the guy. If he's standing some distance away get to your butt and learn to shoot from there. Especially if you're doing all no-gi your open guard can be very wrestling based where you're only playing true open guard if the top guy engages, in which case butterfly and/or X should be open to you. Likewise, you can use open guard mostly to get back to a neutral position rather than to try and sweep from there. Cain Velasquez does this, when he does get taken down he gets to butterfly and just uses the hooks to help stand up. It seems to work pretty well, in MMA at least.

 

[Vitamin C]

An appropriate response to the Lockdown is posturing and backing out. Lockdown had never really been the top tier of half guard anyway. You can try any other number of half guards and you may experience a different reaction from your training partners. Try knee shield or underhook. Both transition very well to shooting a single leg immediately if they try to stand or back away, which eliminates the uneasy area of playing open guard or buttscooting.

The other thing is, you say you are ending up in half guard when escaping the mount. I assume then you are using the knee elbow escape. You also say that you get cross faced a lot. This makes me believe you are staying flat on your back, where you don't really want to be in half guard. Once you escape mount and get half guard, get to your side and face into them. This will help you stop the crossface, and also allows you the opening to regain full guard. Simply repeat the knee elbow escape on the other leg.

If you want specificity in your grappling, don't go off playing with 10th planet bs. For a school that gets a lot of flak for being too prescribed and specific, there are actually better, more basic prescriptions for the same problems out there.

 

[SummerStriker]

Thanks for the tips gents.

VitC, what do you believe are the quintessential half guard techniques?

I could google them if you know the names.

I didn't like the knee shield. I'm very long limbed and find it hard to get the knee in. Then sitting up into the person and looking for the elevator sweep seems like too much muscle to me.

 

[Shemhazai]

I didn't like the knee shield. I'm very long limbed and find it hard to get the knee in. Then sitting up into the person and looking for the elevator sweep seems like too much muscle to me.

Sounds like you're just doing it wrong. If you're trying to get your knee shield inside after the guy passes your knee line and gets chest to chest, obviously you'll have to fight a bit to make space and get on your side. You should be controlling the distance from the beginning to keep him from getting there.

 

[Leify]

I didn't like the knee shield. I'm very long limbed and find it hard to get the knee in. Then sitting up into the person and looking for the elevator sweep seems like too much muscle to me.

Long legs don't make a huge difference.

Frame with your arms, shrimp away a bit, and slide your knee in across the top of their thigh. If you like high knee shield, open up your leg and slide it into place after getting it on the inside.

As long as you can use your arms to frame and block the crossface/smash, you've got a shot to recover the knee shield.

 

[Vitamin C]

Thanks for the tips gents.

VitC, what do you believe are the quintessential half guard techniques?

I could google them if you know the names.

I didn't like the knee shield. I'm very long limbed and find it hard to get the knee in. Then sitting up into the person and looking for the elevator sweep seems like too much muscle to me.

Indrek Reiland's Fundamental Half Guard is a treasure trove of conceptual basics that will help you understand the position more so than individual techniques. Watch it.


David Adiv shows more basic concepts. Great video.

 

[SummerStriker]

Indrek Reiland's Fundamental Half Guard is a treasure trove of conceptual basics that will help you understand the position more so than individual techniques. Watch it.


David Adiv shows more basic concepts. Great video.

Thanks so much. I saw that top video like a year ago before I realized the value and never found it again!