keeping control in guard

308rob

White Belt
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
what is the best way to keep someone in guard long enough to make an attack or at least attempt a sweep or reversal i know a few moves to attack and reversals however i can not keep some one in guard longer than two seconds. i find it easier to let them pass to side control were i can usually pull something off, however i realise this is a terrible habbit.

i just cant control them at all and dont know how to better it, any guard pass seems to work me me aswell :( i try to grab for wrist control but then i get my legs jammed with elbows or get shrugged off and passed any way
 
Wrist control and head control. If you are trying to break their posture with your legs, use your abs with your legs. People just try to use their legs but its much easier when you can "curl" them to you and use the power of your legs at the same time. Head and wrist control are very important as well.
 
thanks dude, i guess being stronger is a big thing aswell. im ferly strong for my size but alot of guys at my club are ex power lifters and just in general stronger than me
 
never be completely flat, it lets them pin your hips and from there you are in a world of shit. Head control, collor control, the moment the straighten those arms up to try to sit up shoot for a bump sweep if they over compensate on one side grab their back and position for a pendulum sweep. I love guard, but you have to be active or even a mediocre oppoenent can really give you a tough time.
 
I'm new to it all (almost 3 weeks in) but the biggest difference I have made in that time is the use of my legs in breaking my opponent down. I was getting passed left and right in week 1 (as I guess I should) but then I began curling them towards me while breaking their arms down by bowing their elbows inwards. From there I have been able to get an over/under and get an arm triangle or sweep from there. Again, I have next to no experience but that has worked well for me.
 
Break their posture, bug/attack their neck, try and isolate wrists (causes them to panic), fake submission attempts, etc.
 
get head control as others said, learn to flow between overhooks and underhooks on their arms once they're low enough.

YOU decide when they're allowed up, be ready to explode into whatever your game is for that roll.
 
itsnotballetmedia.com

Andreh's video of closed guard is awesome, you need it.
 
I'm pretty strong, so I can usually get both wrists controlled without issue. But, if you close your guard and immediately sit up, grab the back of their head, and pull down, you should be able to break their posture. Once their posture is broken it's pretty easy to attack.

TBH you shouldn't worry about subs so much if you're just starting; work on controlling the other guy's posture, keeping him in guard, and retrieving guard once it is passed or during a scramble.
 
thanks guys just got back from my class it was a rolling session its nicknamed mad thursday lol so im only 8 9 months in im against alot of experienced guys so i just get beat down most classess lol but in a good way learning in the process, going into class i made it a thing to work from my guard and try get better control. i got a few triangles and two 6 count arm bars. things kinda clickled a little bit, taking all the advice in head control and making sure i stayed sat up as much as possible i found myself defending better and attacking awsome.

this is why i love this sport lol you suck day in day out and every now and again i get half a step further and it makes it all so worth the hard work
 
Well, I'd say practice open guard.

When you have closed guard and defending, and they're trying to break your guard, one of two things will happen. One, he'll pass your guard. Or two, you'll keep defending until he passes your guard.

If you train open guard, once your guard is open you can start threatening with attacks and sweeps while at the same time being in control of the situation. You can switch between spider guard, butterfly guard, and half guard, or switch to open again. It's much harder to pass when you're able to move freely and use your legs to keep them away.
 
Yes, play open guard. Keep wrist control, and also don't let your opponent grab your ankles. If you only play closed guard you're going to gas out your legs and get passed. Open guard allows you to be more dynamic in your attacking too.

Spider guard is one of my favorites.
 
what is the best way to keep someone in guard long enough to make an attack or at least attempt a sweep or reversal

Train.

Your problem is that you're still very inexperienced and don't have the technique or sensitivity to make anything work for you. It takes time. In general you want to control their posture and break their grips.
 
Yes, play open guard. Keep wrist control, and also don't let your opponent grab your ankles. If you only play closed guard you're going to gas out your legs and get passed. Open guard allows you to be more dynamic in your attacking too.

Spider guard is one of my favorites.

I have never gassed out my ankles playing closed guard. If there is uncomfortable pressure on your ankles long enough for your ankles to get tired out, while playing closed guard, you are doing something wrong.
 
You know, it is actually possible to have a dynamic CLOSED guard. The answer to getting a better closed guard is rarely to start using open guard. That's essentially ignoring a realistic problem that needs to be addressed.

Please note, that opening your guard, and using an open guard is not the same thing.

Anyhow, TS. Your problem isn't your guard. Your problem is your inexperience. To fix that you just need more hours.
 
what is the best way to keep someone in guard long enough to make an attack or at least attempt a sweep or reversal i know a few moves to attack and reversals however i can not keep some one in guard longer than two seconds. i find it easier to let them pass to side control were i can usually pull something off, however i realise this is a terrible habbit.

i just cant control them at all and dont know how to better it, any guard pass seems to work me me aswell :( i try to grab for wrist control but then i get my legs jammed with elbows or get shrugged off and passed any way

You need to learn how to chain different techniques together.

My first suggestion will be hip bump sweep, kimura, flower sweep.

next one is scissor sweeps and cross choke choke.

next one is pendulum sweep and arm bar

good luck
 
Pull him down in the guard either with Gi or back of head and work your legs higher up, control from there until you can see an opening to attack with a submission. High guards always work for me, they're in a lot of danger if they try and pass with playing high rather than low. Vital thing is not allowing them to posture up, or you remaining flat backed.
 
Closed guard can be difficult to develop. It seems strange because it is one of the first positions you learn, but having a solid closed guard takes a lot of time. It is well worth the work put in, though. A crushing closed guard is a fantastic tool to have.

Most people neglect it. They play closed guard until they are comfortable opening their guards and then never come back. I was like that, and now i'm focusing on closed guard and only using open guards when I'm not getting anything out of my closed guard, or if I feel I have lost the battle for posture and will have my guard opened shortly.
 
would agree with people saying to focus on closed guard, just because you suck at something you should not quit, as you are inexperienced you suck at everything.

it seems that people just want to focus on sweeps and submissions, but you are not even there yet from your post.

you have to learn how to break people's posture.

It is easiest to break posture when they do something like lift their hips or lift a foot up. at these times you have to disrupt there base like pull you knees in, also try to get sleeve and collar and etc.

you really have to break them before sweeping and attacking (for the most part)

I would say get andre's dvd and braulio cagefilm.com stuff
 
You know, it is actually possible to have a dynamic CLOSED guard. The answer to getting a better closed guard is rarely to start using open guard. That's essentially ignoring a realistic problem that needs to be addressed.

Please note, that opening your guard, and using an open guard is not the same thing.

Anyhow, TS. Your problem isn't your guard. Your problem is your inexperience. To fix that you just need more hours.

I strongly agree with that as well. I like to think my closed guard is extremely active. The problem I think alot of people have is they use it as a way to stall instead of actually being active in it.
 
Back
Top