Need some basic top guard and top half advice.

[DrawK]

Im 6'1 and only around 140 so I gravitated towards working my guard because Im also very flexible. Im having a hard time breaking/passing guard and also top half. In top half I always get my leg stuck and cant get it free. Im not strong enough to power through so I was wondering if there was any basic advice or vids of some moves I could start drilling and implicate into rolling?

 

[lechien]

Standing Guard Pass - 303 Training Center - YouTube

303TRAININGCENTER's Channel - YouTube
for videos. there is so many out there, but those 303 videos seems to be a good starts, watch the rest of the vids as well

 

[stile0]

Damn.. you should be killing with those dimensions

You should try standing up in guard to open. Since you're tall it will already be harder for most guys in your weight class to keep their legs closed around you. How do you get your leg stuck in half guard? trying to pass?

 

[sweetpeanut]

I have the same problem. Can't pass guard for shit.

 

[DrawK]

I should mention I do no gi. In top half Im usually put in lockdown. Gonna check out that link and look into some standing guard passes.

 

[lechien]

marcelo garcia has a guard pass against lockdown. just google it

 

[ChainFlow]

Standing passes and knee-in-middle passes for full guard. Half guard will be a little tricker but the sprawl pass will work well for you. Learn to keep pressure on.

Also, 6'1" / 140!?

You might want to consider trying to add some muscle.

 

[buhriyon]

Its all about leverage, if you have to power through anything your doing it wrong. For opening full guard it's all about posture and opening your hips to create leverage to open the legs. Number one is to keep proper posture if you rush or don't focus on posture you will get swept. Half guard is all about pressure and proper balance you have to use shoulder and sternum pressure to turn his head than start sliding the leg up, when you get far enough hook his thigh with the other foot and pull the leg out. Just don't forget proper posture and don't rush.

 

[selfcritical]

lockdown makes the sprawl pass ridiculously easy. You just need to be able to switch hips quickly after

 

[Calibur]

Something I think new practitioners should keep in mind is the guard does not have to be "opened" to pass it. It just has to be compromised.

Meaning you have to put enough pressure on the legs that you can slip through the guard, instead of around it. The "knee through the middle" pass is the prime example of this. It works because you've created a frame that leaves space in between your opponents leg.

You don't have to stand either. There's nothing wrong with standing to pass but plenty of good guys get away with never having to do it.

 

[Peyton]

I'm glad you posted this. I'm the exact same height and weight, and I have the same problems.

 

[Nidus]

I'm glad you posted this. I'm the exact same height and weight, and I have the same problems.

Are you the same person?

Ok, even if you are here's something that may help.

Stephan Kesting's site has a lesson from his system available for free at the moment which talks about passing guard and playing top - might be worth a look.

It was really helpful for me.

Lesson 10: Caging the Hips

Edit - ok, just saw your problem is more to do with opening the guard... anyway, there is a small part about that in there too but maybe not all of it is relevant...