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Inspired by the Robert Drysdale Rolled Up thread, here is a thread specifically about a deceptively effective guard, the humble butterfly guard.
I've been playing butterfly guard exclusively from the bottom for a while now, and here's a couple things I picked up:
So basically, the three most important things for being a good butterfly guard player are:
Thoughts?
I've been playing butterfly guard exclusively from the bottom for a while now, and here's a couple things I picked up:
- As Robert Drysdale said, people won't give you the underhook easily. Your butterfly guard will need setups from other tie-ups, especially in no-gi.
- On the other hand, if you do get the underhook you should be well on your way to scoring a sweep. My favorite way to get there is getting the underhook in half guard or some other transitional position, and directly chaining into the sweep.
- Unlike the closed guard or rubber guard, butterfly guard is not a slow, methodical guard. You also need to change rhythm a lot, and be able to switch between playing it slow and relaxed and quickly chaining two or three sweep attempts.
- Butterfly guard is relatively easy to pass since you're not holding on to anything. To counter this, you need to A) be very aggressive with your sweep attempts and B) manage distance well to disengage as soon as you're in danger of getting passed.
- You need to get comfortable sweeping from any possible grip, from the traditional over-under to the typically disadvantageous double-overhook. Head grips are also important, whether it's the neck tie or the headlock (i.e. arm-in guillotine).
- There are two easy way for your opponent to nullify your butterfly guard completely: backing up and standing up. If they back up, you can typically come up into a double leg and bulldoze them over. If they stand up, you need an answer too, such as the 1-leg x-guard, DLR, etc.
So basically, the three most important things for being a good butterfly guard player are:
- Being comfortable with any grip you can get.
- Having an answer when your opponent backs up or stands up.
- Always being aware of the distance.
Thoughts?