Open and closed guard are self explanatory. One you have your ankles crossed, one you don't. Spider guard - feet in their biceps, grips on your wrist. TK guard - open guard with feet overhooking your opponent's calves or ankles. X-guard - underhooking a leg so their ankle is next to your shoulder, with one foot placed behind their knee and the other by their waist. De La Riva guard - an open guard variation where you control a sleeve and hook around the back of the knee on the opposite side of their body. Octopus guard - In full guard, sit up to one side so your armpit is next to their hip, grip around their waist and keep your head close to their hip. Upside down guard - as I understand it, imagine your are on the bottom of a north/south position facing upwards with your face in their belly but with your feet in their biceps or armpits and controlling their wrists, almost like a spider guard variation. Rubber guard - with one leg around the small of their back, bring your other leg up their back so you can secure a Gable grip around your ankle, which should be behind their neck. Roleta guard - as I understand it, basically you are facing your opponents feet with their biceps behind the creases of your knees with your butt against their chest. What else do you need to know? BTW, people feel free to correct me. Stephan Kesting has a pinball guard that he uses but I can't even begin to try explain it.
- your the man. in the spider guard, i grip his wrists or he grips mine? what's tk stand for? do any of these guards have different names? what is a gable grip? thank you!
You grab his wrists and use the flats of your feet against his biceps. You can set up sweeps, triangles and omoplatas. TK guard has been answered. Gable grip = thumbs next to your index fingers, hands clasped together. Safest grip there is so you don't break you fingers if they try pull out of it. Named after the legendary wrestler Dan Gable.
Very nice, Superbeast. That was quite technical and almost scholarly. I assume you were you a good student in school...?
I tried. Didn't do too bad. I'm hoping Stephan turns up before too long and explains Pinball guard. As I recall it's sort of a De La Riva variation where the opponent is standing. In the mean time let's enjoy his insight into X Guard.... http://www.grapplearts.com/X-Guard.htm
Butterfly guard - Get an underhook around their back (if they are wearing a gi grab their belt by the small of their back) and place your feet inside the person's thighs while controlling their free arm's wrist with your free hand. Mostly used for sweeps, so called because both their knees and your knees stick out in a shape akin to butterfly wings if viewed from above.
