I need an open guard for someone with bad knees

[Spoken]

So I took some time to work X guard and learn some other generally offensive open guard stuff and it's been crushing my knees. After some discussion with other purple belts and some brown belts at my gym, I've come to the conclusion that I need to pick something that let's me a) just get to full guard and b) let's me have a few sweeps...and I need it to not tweak my knees. It's starting to really frustrated me

What would y'all suggest? I have the least flashy jiujitsu in the world, and anything they might play nicely with a game rooted in pressure and fundamentals would be good.

Thanks in advance

 

[yetanother]

Getting from open guard to closed is not trivial.
Maybe try a sitting hand in collar guard (like you would go for a collar drag from).

 

[Stoic1]

I prefer the old school butterfly variants with a collar grip. I am 47 with busted up knees.

I am either closed guard or hiding my feet. The best way to re-damage knees is to allow your opponent foot control on that lever so they can crank it around.

Let these new guys with good knees fuck around til they get a few serious injuries. You are WAYYYY less likely to end up in a 50/50 once you have had an ACL surgery. Or two.

 

[TeamKenpo]

I’ve got really bad knees myself (luxating patella in both knees). My open guard of choice is collar&sleeve (gi of course) with a foot on the hip. Like you said, I have a couple of good sweeps from there, and I can transition to closed guard, which I prefer, pretty easily.

For Nogi, I prefer butterfly. If the opponent is standing, I’ll usually try to get shin-on-shin.

Hope you find what works best for your game.

 

[EGDM]

I have lateral meniscus problems and can't fully flex my knees. Butterfly hooks were off the table unless they were relatively extended. Lassos and even DLR/RDLR are sketchy for me. I developed a Leite half guard game that serves me well.

Rather than "playing open guard" I look for knee frames or foot on hip to control their movement, get grips, and then come up on singles and doubles. Getting a grip on each leg, sitting up, and hauling their base out from under them somehow feels like it's a lowbrow technique but it counts as much as anything else. If they drive into you to prevent you from coming up, look for any sweep involving a back or barrel roll.

 

[HansDavidian]

I have a bad right knee & I use half guard most of the time. If I have to use open guard, I like the spider or the spider lasso combo. If I am forced to use the RDLR to prevent the knee slice, I will try to spin under as quickly as possible.

 

[sherdogwantedtonamemekiki]

Seated Guard?

 

[rmongler]

Sit up guard.

Like, literally just grab a leg and come up with an ankle pick.

Against forward pressure go shin-to-shin and pull them over past you, using the momentum to come up with an ankle pick.

 

[rmongler]

Vs knee slide attempt.

 

[tekkenfan]

So I took some time to work X guard and learn some other generally offensive open guard stuff and it's been crushing my knees. After some discussion with other purple belts and some brown belts at my gym, I've come to the conclusion that I need to pick something that let's me a) just get to full guard and b) let's me have a few sweeps...and I need it to not tweak my knees. It's starting to really frustrated me

What would y'all suggest? I have the least flashy jiujitsu in the world, and anything they might play nicely with a game rooted in pressure and fundamentals would be good.

Thanks in advance

half and butterfly if you do butterfly right u dont have to extend the hook as long as you get good and underneath them

half shouldnt mess with knees either if they are standing passing well.. basic collar and sleeve will be best on the knees vs de la rivas ect