Deep Half Guard

[marbowers]

Lately I've been playing a deep half guard style game and I have run into a few problems...

1.)I've got the underhook on the untrapped leg, but it's not up to my shoulder. I keep getting caught in this position. My opponent is REALLY keeping his weight back, as in he's basically sitting down on his heels. I'm also having trouble getting my hips underneath him in this position. I've tried the shrimping under, reverse crunch, and leg swing but his base is just too stable. Any ideas?

2.)Sometimes my opponent will keep the trapped leg bent underneath him as opposed to straight out like I've seen in videos. I then get into a cat and mouse game of using my legs to try and straighten his leg out. Is there an easier way to do this?

3.) Any way of preventing my opponent from stepping the trapped leg up and using a cross knee slide style pass?

 

[The Colonel]

3.) If he tries to cross knee guard pass you from half guard, transition into instep guard. Keep his leg trapped with your inside leg, and with your outside leg use your instep to hook under his shin and elevate his leg. This will take a ton of pressure off you with his knee pass, make him lighter, and from there you can work your instep guard sweeps. You'll still have the underhook on that side, and if you keep elevating his leg chances are he'll step up his non-trapped lag to try to stabilize himself. Hook it with other arm on that side and wrap up both his legs, from there roll him (as you continue to elevate his shin with your instep) and roll him to the side and come up on top.

 

[marbowers]

3.) If he tries to cross knee guard pass you from half guard, transition into instep guard. Keep his leg trapped with your inside leg, and with your outside leg use your instep to hook under his shin and elevate his leg. This will take a ton of pressure off you with his knee pass, make him lighter, and from there you can work your instep guard sweeps. You'll still have the underhook on that side, and if you keep elevating his leg chances are he'll step up his non-trapped lag to try to stabilize himself. Hook it with other arm on that side and wrap up both his legs, from there roll him (as you continue to elevate his shin with your instep) and roll him to the side and come up on top.

Thanks. I can't wait to try that in training.

 

[anaconda]

1) If he is sitting so far back, he will probably be easy to sweep back that way. Basically keep pushing him trying to get under him like you are, but then switch back the other way and get up over his leg to get on top. Its very very simply, believe me.

 

[marbowers]

1) If he is sitting so far back, he will probably be easy to sweep back that way. Basically keep pushing him trying to get under him like you are, but then switch back the other way and get up over his leg to get on top. Its very very simply, believe me.

Do you mean in a sort of single-leg position?

 

[The Colonel]

1.) You could always knee bar him. If he is keeping all his weight back, chances are his upper body isn't going to be so tight to yours and there will be significant space between your torsos. Your arm that was underhooking his arm has to go all the way across his body (completely abandon the underhook) and put it under the OPPOSITE arm. At the same time take your outside leg and slide your knee across his mid-line (sort of like, I think its called z-guard?) anyways...

Use your underhooking arm to steer his upperbody away from you (not so much to the side, but away and towards your head, you're trying to make him light in the hips/legs) while at the same time that knee you had slid across his midline helps to steer him in the same direction. It needs to be coordinated. This will make the leg that you were underhooking with your arm much lighter, from there once you rock him away from you, take that knee across his midline and suck it up tight to his leg, pinch your thighs together, and go into your kneebar.

 

[DirectDrive]

a lot of people are not dynamic enough when they play the deep half game.
spin under him and if he sits way back, spin right back and come back up for a single leg.

 

[anaconda]

Do you mean in a sort of single-leg position?

You can look at it like that. What I usually do from there is get the guy moving forward so that he has to post, and then switch back the other way to make him fall on his back.

 

[marbowers]

If he's sitting back and I'm underneath is there anyway to go for an old school style sweep?

 

[Zankou]

1) If he is sitting so far back, he will probably be easy to sweep back that way. Basically keep pushing him trying to get under him like you are, but then switch back the other way and get up over his leg to get on top. Its very very simply, believe me.

This is what I say.

You need him to push into you trying to crossface you. Once he tries to crossface you, that is the energy you direct over yourself as you grab the leg. You can just about always get a guy to crossface you in halfguard. If he won't do it, then you are free to get on your side, take the underhook, and pwn him. He can't just sit there.

Also, if he is sitting that far back I'll usually just pop in the butterfly hook and work half butterfly sweeps. Bottom line is you can't force deep half guard, it's something you take when your opponent wants to drive into you.

 

[marbowers]

Ok so with a little help from this thread and the "greatest half-guard thread ever" a certain strategy would be like:

1.)Opponent is coming forward - get to deep half-guard

2.)Opponent is keeping weight back - single leg out, take back, or get to closed guard

3.)Opponent threads hand through for scissor pass - go to quarter guard (is this possible in no-gi, could I just grab the wrist?)

4.)Cross knee pass - go to instep guard (Btw is that something similar to an x-guard sweep where Marcelo has his shin underneath his opponents knee and uses that to push the opponent over?)

Btw the style of half-guard I use before going for the deep half-guard is the z-guard, don't know if that changes anything.

 

[The Colonel]

4.)Cross knee pass - go to instep guard (Btw is that something similar to an x-guard sweep where Marcelo has his shin underneath his opponents knee and uses that to push the opponent over?)

Guard Glossary: The BJJ Half Guard
Scroll down a ways and you'll see a pic of what the instep guard looks like.

You don't have to use instep guard ONLY as a way to counter your opponent's cross knee guard pass, but it IS one of the primary ways of countering that specific pass. All credit to Stephen Kesting and his halfguard dvd on this one.

 

[StevieSparkZ]

I've been experimenting with different half guards and they can all lead to a deep half guard. I play the "traffic cop" stiff arm deal that zankou/aesopian has posted about, the guys weight is elevated and as he comes back down I go under into a deep half guard.

Or I do eddie bravos lockdown and hands in ribs, pop him up, he will wanna go back down and before his weight settles I will go for a deep half guard type position. I usually hit old school sweep or get the position he bases and sits into me. I go to plan B and if he posts his arm I can either take his back or go under for a deep half guard.

It's like anything else in BJJ in the sense that if it's setup and/or chained correctly it's percentage of working skyrockets. Have fun!

 

[tudor_bjj]

Prevention is better, I believe. In this case it translates into make him play your game. As some said here, make him drive into you or pull him "over" your body. If you don't do this, then there's no deep half guard:
1) Use the knee on hip, Saulo's style, grab belt with underhooking hand. Push with knee to make him come forward, pull by the belt, dive underneath him.
2) Traffic cop him as mentioned.
3) Traffic cop using also the same knee as above on his chest (to lift and pull over you).
4) Same as 4, but know you grab the sleeve, instead of pushing his armpit and use the knee to push on his armpit.
5) As with all the above, really "dive" underneath him, if he blocks, come to knees (Saulo also has this sequence in his latest intructional).