How to pass Closed guard from strong opponent

NiRinLove

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Sorry if this is a newbie question but i am new. Today i had a lot of situations where stronger opponents would have a closed guard on me which i could not even open. i literally couldnt even open it so passing was out of the question. I just waited it out till he tried to go for a sweep or submission then tried to escape only to put back in his closed guard. any tips?

Thank you
 
With perfect technique.. you'll pass every time. It's setting up the pass that's difficult.

Obviously it depends on what you've learned... If you were taught the (BAD) push elbows into his thighs thing... then yeah that wont work past whitebelt nor against a strong / patient player.

Tips:

Work on posture in the guard. That means chest / hip control, good back posture (look up if you like).

Perfect your guard pass. Against strong guys you'll probably have to do a standing pass.

Good luck
 
Sorry if this is a newbie question but i am new. Today i had a lot of situations where stronger opponents would have a closed guard on me which i could not even open. i literally couldnt even open it so passing was out of the question. I just waited it out till he tried to go for a sweep or submission then tried to escape only to put back in his closed guard. any tips?

Thank you

When he attempted to make his move, there were probably at least 4 or 5 ways to escape his guard. I'm guessing you were more focused on defending or panicked when it happened (which is common if you're a newbie)... The ability to see this will come with experience....

Also, did you learn basic guard passes yet?
 
can someone give some good advice on this. because i too would like to know some good ways to pass a strong gaurd
 
With perfect technique.. you'll pass every time. It's setting up the pass that's difficult.

Obviously it depends on what you've learned... If you were taught the (BAD) push elbows into his thighs thing... then yeah that wont work past whitebelt nor against a strong / patient player.

Tips:

Work on posture in the guard. That means chest / hip control, good back posture (look up if you like).

Perfect your guard pass. Against strong guys you'll probably have to do a standing pass.

Good luck

LOL. well all i know off from past is the pushing elbows on their thighs and ya it did nothing.

thanks for the tips.
 
by strong you mean some dude stronger than you squeezing / locking his feet as hard as he can?

if that's the case - then you just have to perfect your technique. Just keep working to get out - making him defensive. Eventually he has to adjust or be passed. I gave some tips in the reply above... not that those are the only ones...

have your guard pass down - know when to pass - know how to set it up (practice good posture) etc. etc.

If by strong.. you mean a good guard. Well passing that comes with experience.
 
When he attempted to make his move, there were probably at least 4 or 5 ways to escape his guard. I'm guessing you were more focused on defending or panicked when it happened (which is common if you're a newbie)... The ability to see this will come with experience....

Also, did you learn basic guard passes yet?

i just joined in with whatever the class was doing and we did not learn any new guard passes. So i had nothing to work on besides the stuff he showed us. when i went in the class i just joined in because i have past judo experience. I guess i should have asked the instructor for his help when i was having trouble.
 
LOL. well all i know off from past is the pushing elbows on their thighs and ya it did nothing.

thanks for the tips.

haha yeah man. A lot of people do that at first. Not sure if that's taught somewhere or a wrestling thing?

Anyways - ask your instructor for basic guard pass stuff. Or check out youtube just to get an idea. Guard passing can be very very difficult and is hard to get down. It does teach you bjj basics that you will always draw from.

Standing guard passes are probably best to learn (but hardest).
 
by strong you mean some dude stronger than you squeezing / locking his feet as hard as he can?

if that's the case - then you just have to perfect your technique. Just keep working to get out - making him defensive. Eventually he has to adjust or be passed. I gave some tips in the reply above... not that those are the only ones...

have your guard pass down - know when to pass - know how to set it up (practice good posture) etc. etc.

If by strong.. you mean a good guard. Well passing that comes with experience.

i mean someone who is physically strong who is squeezing his feet as hard as he can and preventing me to open it up.
 
what about in matwork only from the knees?

By standing pass, that means standing up while in his guard. Doesnt have to do with the standing game at all.

There are several variations to this, but its a super basic. If you havent learned it yet you will.

You can watch most any fight and see it being attempted / done. the guy IN the guard will try to stand while the bottom guy playing guard tries to break him down or switch to an open guard game.
 
Combat base/knee in ass guard break is pretty solid.

Standing passes are good.
 
There are many ways to break open the guard.

I like the double lapel control:

1. Open the lapel and push up under his armpits, keeping your thumbs up and your elbows squeezing on opponents ribs

2. Stand up, so you are leaning forward and with the pushing under the armpits your opponents guard will slide up your back a bit.

3. Squat down, so that your knee goes in the gap created right at his groin.

4. Fix your posture, grip his belt/pants at his hips and push your body back so his legs break open if they aren't already.

Note: Hopefully i haven't explained it bad and get you double armbarred, maybe your instructor will see you attempt it and correct you :p

Once you have his guard open, then switch to what ever guard pass you want to use.
 
Try using your chest to escape. I train with someone who is much stronger and heavier than me and I find driving your chest down between the legs certainly makes them think about opening up. Obviously hurts but is effective. Anyone able to explain this better than me?
 
Try using your chest to escape. I train with someone who is much stronger and heavier than me and I find driving your chest down between the legs certainly makes them think about opening up. Obviously hurts but is effective. Anyone able to explain this better than me?

I hope so, because I have no frickin' idea what you are talking about? Drive your chest down between his legs? WTF?
 
constant pressure is a must

i see a lot of people who just try to push away on the guys hips/stomach, but they dont push down at the same time. if u don't push down, ur gonna let him readjust his hips to slide up ur knees and you have to start all over again. if ur first guard pass attempt doesn't work, keep that pressure w/ ur hands and readjust your knees and keep going for it. that was my problem. if it didn't work on my first try, i would let go of the pressure and start from square one.
 
Stand up - hand ont he knee.. other hand on abdomen - open.. pass

I dont suggest dealing with armlocks, omoplattas, or triangles.. so i always stand to pass.
Not that you cant open on your knees, but it is just less likely..

I stand by keeping two hands in their armpits, and my head on their chest. Once im ready i push forward a little to get my toes on the ground like i want to jump up to both feet.
I move my hands to the chest to right below the ribs to keep him down.. Then i hop to both feet and posture at the same time.. bringing them up with me.

Switch my hand to the knee, swithc my other hand to the abdomen.. Making him fight gravity as well as me.
 
I agree with CodeMonkey. The only break that consistently works for me against guys with real strong legs is what he described. I'll try my own description of it in case you are having trouble visualizing what he is talking about.

1. Gi under the armpits or control one of his sleeves so you can stand without immediately being swept.

2. Once you are standing, be very careful not to get swept by grabbing both his lapels and kind of sitting a little and pulling him towards you a little. He'll probably try to grab your ankles and possibly put his knees in your chest to try and sweep you.

Now, you have 2 choices:

3a: If he goes for the sweep, it involves him opening his guard. If your quick you can walk in a bit, sit on him and prevent him from closing back up. Then there are a few ways to pass from there.

3b: Often they can try to sweep and reclose their guard after failure without you stopping them. So, once they give up on the sweep (timing is everything), put your knee right in the middle of their butt, grip their belt or pants at the waist and sit down into combat base. Keep your back straight, putting pressure on there crossed feet and keep pressure on their hips by pushing down and little away to really create space for your knee. But watch you balance! You'll probably get swept a bunch before you get it, but practice will take care of that.

4: Once in combat base his guard should be open. If not, it will be real weak and you can even pass without it opening there. I suggest learning the Margarida Pass to go in combination with this opening. It's a sure fire way to keep your opponent uncomfortable throughout the entire process ;)
 
In all honesty, there are so many do's and dont's to guard passing that I wouldn't dare explain them to you over the internet. It's really for the best to ask your instructor.

The hand in the armpits type pass is pretty nice when facing stronger guys -ask your instructor about that one.

There's also one where you trap an arm behind the back - which probably won't work against stronger guys. Marcelo garcia shows this one in one of his DVD's (can find it on youtube)

And the basic one.. is chest / hip control as you get up & turn.

Those are all standing passes with TONS of variations. Ask your instructor.
 
Create space. Easiest way to do so is turning your hips until they are parallel to your opponent's. Also, put a knee under his butt. Do both at once while posturing up (be sure to base your hands on his stomach/chest) and it should be easy to break his guard.
 
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