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I noticed there are posts that still pop up every now and then how to break the guard. I figured that there are still lots of people who are having trouble regularly breaking guard when they spar, so I decided to share my techniques that have always worked for me in successfully breaking my opponent's guards. More experienced grapplers will probably know these tips already, so just ignore them if they don't work for you or you already are aware of them.
I only do no gi jiu jitsu so I don't know the success of this one in gi jiu jitsu. Here goes.
The first break that I always try is one I learned off Mario Sperry's Submission Grappling DVDs. You start off with the fundamentals of many good guard passes: Having a good base, postured up in your opponent's guards. Next, place your left hand down on the neck of your opponent, with the space between your thumb and finger covering the neck (almost like you're choking). You do not necessarily have to push down HARD, but it should be enough so that you put pressure on him while you're basing yourself. Now I know you're thinking, "you're crazy, you're gonna get armbarred," but listen on. Then take your right hand and push down on the side of your opponent's left leg that is directly adjacent to his knee . . . not the kneecap, but the side of the knee that is exposed upwards, so that you're basically pushing down and loosening/breaking the guard. Push down as hard as you can and you'll eventually loosen up something or break the guard.
Now, you should be weary that any good jiu jitsu specialist will see the green light to go for either an armbar or triangle choke. For the armbar, they'll probably try to armbar the arm that is pushing down on the neck. All you have to do, however, is just move with them when they try to do the armbar. So if they try to armbar your left arm, move your body with your opponent to the left so that the armbar fails. As for the triangle, they will try to throw their leg over your shoulder on the same side as the arm that is pushing down on the side of the knee (to loosen up the guard). Just be aware of this and be sure to POSTURE as soon as this happens . . . by then you've also successfully opened the guard, since when they either go for the triangle or armbar, they'll open up.
More tips . . . if they push your arm off that is on the neck, switch your grip on their neck with your other arm and push down on their leg with the other hand. You can continue to keep switching like this until you succeed, or try a different breaking technique.
This is a great guard break, and if it doesn't work, you can/should always mix it up with other guard breaks to keep your opponent defending.
Comments?
I only do no gi jiu jitsu so I don't know the success of this one in gi jiu jitsu. Here goes.
The first break that I always try is one I learned off Mario Sperry's Submission Grappling DVDs. You start off with the fundamentals of many good guard passes: Having a good base, postured up in your opponent's guards. Next, place your left hand down on the neck of your opponent, with the space between your thumb and finger covering the neck (almost like you're choking). You do not necessarily have to push down HARD, but it should be enough so that you put pressure on him while you're basing yourself. Now I know you're thinking, "you're crazy, you're gonna get armbarred," but listen on. Then take your right hand and push down on the side of your opponent's left leg that is directly adjacent to his knee . . . not the kneecap, but the side of the knee that is exposed upwards, so that you're basically pushing down and loosening/breaking the guard. Push down as hard as you can and you'll eventually loosen up something or break the guard.
Now, you should be weary that any good jiu jitsu specialist will see the green light to go for either an armbar or triangle choke. For the armbar, they'll probably try to armbar the arm that is pushing down on the neck. All you have to do, however, is just move with them when they try to do the armbar. So if they try to armbar your left arm, move your body with your opponent to the left so that the armbar fails. As for the triangle, they will try to throw their leg over your shoulder on the same side as the arm that is pushing down on the side of the knee (to loosen up the guard). Just be aware of this and be sure to POSTURE as soon as this happens . . . by then you've also successfully opened the guard, since when they either go for the triangle or armbar, they'll open up.
More tips . . . if they push your arm off that is on the neck, switch your grip on their neck with your other arm and push down on their leg with the other hand. You can continue to keep switching like this until you succeed, or try a different breaking technique.
This is a great guard break, and if it doesn't work, you can/should always mix it up with other guard breaks to keep your opponent defending.
Comments?