Hey guys I like to play alot of open guard, but find that alot of the higher belts pass mine very easily, which is normal and fine by me. But I'm just looking for some tips on how to tighten up my game and see if there's any key elements I'm missing. I try to never let people get hold of my ankles. When they're passing I try to put their head to the same side as their legs and shrimp away. I try to keep one foot or both feet on their hips to control the distance. I only ask because I like to work the Omoplata from this position and while it works well with the guys who are kind of at my level, I don't seem to get chance against the better guys! Thanks
what kind of open guard are you playing? the most important thing (for me) is to push against their head when they try to pass.
The answer will most likely be your hips, open guard is all about good hip movement. But more information is needed for a more detailed answer eg how are they passing?
You have to continually break you opponent down by working the feet on the hips, knees and biceps. This will keep your opponent guessing and will give you time to submit or sweep your opponent.
I like to control my opp's heel with a shin inside the knee so the I can always use that leg to off balance him. Aside from that I like to use my other foot to either control his hip, thigh, bicep etc... If you try to control the same part of his body with BOTH feet you will always get passes by better guys!!! If both feet are on his hips he can easily pass, if both are on his biceps he can easily pass, if both are inside his knees he can easily pass! I ALWAYS stagger my control with my feet....especially if you dont have control of his sleeves or wrists!
"Open guard" is all about constant transitioning from position to sub/sweep attempt to postion, etc. My guess is that if your guard is passed easily by higher belts it's because you haven't yet mastered the transitions. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. Just like mastering the closed guard position, there is no secret move or advice that will propel your game to the level of a Gracie. Just keep working on your movement while in the open guard and you'll find that within several months many upper belts will have more difficulty passing (they'll probably still pass, but hey that's why they have the belts they do).
Feet on the hips and push the head away to help leverage some extra hip movement if you feel a pass coming
i saw bj penn teaching somehting like that in a vid. pushing the head toward the side they are passing on.
This is pretty much my game even when they clear my feet on hips as it gives people fits from bottom...works well no matter the size of your opponent either. The higher belts (good purples and up in my opinion) seem to have the answers as usual as they will transition directly to mount set ups instead of wasting time trying to break you down for side control. They also use good hip movement to break down your hand that is checking the hip and work into Judo style side mount.
No one really mentioned arm/hand and grip control. You're opponent NEEDS his hands and his arms to pass. If he can't control his own arms/hands then he will have a very hard time passing. In my opinion it is very important to have control of at least 1 arm minimum at all times. I see many people focus just on hip control with their feet but they forget about controlling their opponents arms too. While hip control and the ability to circle your legs out to break your opponent's grips are very important so is winning the grip fight.
Definitely. I use feet to control my opponent's hips and knees, but I also use my shin then they get real aggressive. Shift to a hip, put the shin on their waist and hook with the toes for control. Then, if they get too aggressive and give up a little base to try to pass, I'll scare them with a scissor sweep or something like it or at least put them off balance to where they have to base back up. The arm control thing is good, too. I don't usually try to control one at all times, but when they get too good of a grip on something and are moving into better position to pass, I will sit up and break their hold, of course.
