Get In My Guard!
fresh from f00k
I took 2 things from visiting Brazil last summer. One was they go very hard when they roll; there was no pace, but 120%! The other was they did a lot of drills to stay out of guard. Not just full guard, but half guard as well.
If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Why go into someone’s guard when your main objective is to pass, mount and submit. Some people can struggle 5-10 minutes to open their opponents closed guard. Once they finally get it opened, they relax and within a minute are pulled back into their opponent’s guard again. Now they have to spend another 5-10 minutes trying to get back out.
Personally, I have changed my mindset of the closed guard to thinking of it as a submission. If someone closes their guard on me when I’m in their open guard, I lose. So I’ll try everything I can to fight out of it like a submission. I noticed whenever I’m in open guard and I’m able to close guard on someone, most times I can see their energy and/or confidence level go down the gutter. Most people know it’s pretty much impossible to submit your opponent when you are in their guard, especially if they are good (Yes. Bring on the 1st American Cup r*pe choke jokes).
Staying out of guard is good, especially if you are going against someone that only has a good closed/half guard. You are practically shutting down their whole game. Everyone should know the ‘knee in the middle’ technique to stay out of guard when it is open. If you’re not familiar with it, ask someone. Half guard is a little harder to explain, but the concept is the same. Don’t let your opponent’s ankles lock!
Classic
*Note: You should always have good guard opening technique. If you haven’t learned how to open the guard yet, I’d advise you to do the opposite of this and go into your opponents guard to practice.
