In this video I show an alternate technique for when your opponent is not giving you the underhook in Half Guard. This is not a common technique and I would rate it as medium percentage. I've had a lot of success with it throughout the years but it does take good space management, the ability to flatten your partner out with your body and great balance on the other side as your knees will be momentarily together. The fear is that you get bridged over in the transition of bringing your knee over to the floor on the other side. If you know this is a a danger and you adjust your base accordingly you can have a lot of success with this move. I would highly recommend repping this move out before trying it during live movement so that you can better understand the spacing.
I play this all the time. It is a shitty position to be in, but generally you can improve on it. I usually try to grab the free pants at the knee to keep them from sprawling as I come up. Rarely is it ever anywhere near that smooth lol
This looks like something I could use-- I need to get better at making sure I get my arm out in the process. Do you have anything if they go after the Kimura? I usually try to fight it off with my knee, but am getting crushed the entire time and it wears on me. Thanks again- will drill this tomorrow.
We're about the same build, Gerbil. Do you usually play deep half with your knees close to your chest? I'm trying to tune up the little details in my deep half; any insight on leg position would be welcome.
If I can get the guys to reverse sit that way, I hit the Shaolin sweep with a really high percentage. I've started playing deep half again, so I may abandon the Shaolin for a while to use this. Thanks Jeremy!
It really depends, there are a lot of factors in place. I think the reason that you see the reverse sit most of the time with the arm trapped is because the Reverse Sit is a hard counter against an underhook. Meaning people will try to underhook pass but if that doesnt work and they lost the battle for the underhook this is a great option. With that being said, there are plenty of people that look to Reverse Sit as a default (both with and without the arm). If you Reverse sit without the arm flattening out your opponent can be much easier and manipulating the legs is super easy. Your opponent literally has no way to draw you up away from the legs/hips. The downside to not having the arm is it opens up a battle for the back (for both the top and the bottom) and you have to be very careful with your base as having your back take or trying to scramble out of having someone sitting to your back is a nightmare, especially if you're a bigger guy like me. Also keep in mind that Reverse Sitting can be a way to avoid the knee shield as well, and depending on what they are doing with their hands you may trap it, or you may not. Lastly, them trapping the top arm does not stop you from doing this move. The bottom hand is the one that threads between the legs. You'll have to be careful of the transition into Deep Half with your arm trapped though as your opponent will lift up on that elbow to try and flatten you out (which is not personally the way that I want to play deep half). I hope that helps, Jeremy
Rarely is anything ever as smooth as it is against an unresisting opponent who's there to make you look good for demonstration purposes. There is some trust and suspension of disbelief in watching a video and then trying it out. Thankfully you already understand the transition because you use it I don't get Kimuraed. I know that it's a thing, but I play all the way on my side with my elbow on the floor and my body laying on top of it. I'm sure that there is a reason that some of the deep half guard players don't do this but it's never been pointed out as a flaw in the way that I play, so I'm kind of waiting for someone to say "hey, don't do that because of XXXXX". I have a totally different concept of deep half guard that some of the other players. It works out for me though, so I'm going to keep developing my flavor of the game but keep an open mind for constructive criticism. My knees are one of the most dynamic parts of the position. I'm typically squeezing them together tightly and continually stretching them and bringing them back into my chest to suit my needs or challenge their base.
