Guard
White/Blue
Mastering the Open Guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
๐ฅ Blue Belt
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Intermediate
The Open Guard is a fundamental and highly versatile guard position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where you use your legs and hips to control distance and off-balance your opponent without relying on a closed triangle lock. It's a dynamic position that allows for a wide array of sweeps, submissions, and transitions, making it a cornerstone for any well-rounded BJJ practitioner.
Technique Map
graph LR
Guard["Guard"]:::catNode
Guard --> Open_Guard
Open_Guard["Open Guard"]:::currentNode
Open_Guard -.-> Closed_Guard["Closed Guard"]:::relNode
Open_Guard -.-> Half_Guard["Half Guard"]:::relNode
Open_Guard -.-> Spider_Guard["Spider Guard"]:::relNode
Open_Guard -.-> De_La_Riva_Guard["De La Riva Guard"]:::relNode
Open_Guard -.-> Berimbolo["Berimbolo"]:::relNode
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classDef relNode fill:#141926,stroke:#1f2840,color:#a78bfa
classDef catNode fill:#1f2840,stroke:#7c6af7,color:#7c6af7,font-style:italic
How to Execute
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1. Establish Initial Position: From your back, elevate your hips and place your feet on your opponent's hips, biceps, or chest, ensuring your knees are bent and ready to push or pull.
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2. Secure Dominant Grips: Immediately fight for grips on your opponent's sleeves, collars, or pant legs. Controlling their posture and limbs is crucial for setting up attacks.
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3. Manage Distance with Your Legs: Use your feet to push and pull your opponent, maintaining an optimal distance that allows you to attack while preventing them from passing. Never let your feet go limp.
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4. Utilize Hip Movement (Shrimping): Actively use hip escapes (shrimping) to create angles, move away from pressure, and generate power for sweeps and submissions.
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5. Threaten and Transition: Continuously threaten with sweeps or submission attempts. This keeps your opponent defensive and opens up opportunities for follow-up attacks or transitions to other guards.
Key Details & Tips
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Active Hips and Feet: Your hips should always be elevated and mobile, and your feet should constantly be pushing, pulling, or hooking to maintain control and create openings.
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Grip Fighting is Paramount: Win the grip exchange early. Strong, strategic grips dictate the pace and prevent your opponent from establishing their pass.
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Never Go Flat: Avoid letting your back become completely flat on the mat, as this severely limits your mobility and makes you vulnerable to guard passes.
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Constant Threat: The Open Guard is offensive. Always be looking to off-balance, sweep, or submit to keep your opponent reacting to you.
Variations
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Spider Guard: Using foot placement on the opponent's biceps while controlling their sleeves.
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De La Riva Guard: Hooking one leg behind the opponent's thigh while controlling their ankle and sleeve.
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Lasso Guard: Threading one leg through the opponent's armpit and wrapping it around their arm, securing a deep sleeve grip.
When to Use
The Open Guard is best used from the bottom position when your opponent is standing or kneeling, attempting to pass your guard. It's ideal when you want to be highly offensive, control distance dynamically, and launch a wide array of sweeps, submissions, and transitions.
Counters & Defenses
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Grip Breaking: Opponents will actively break your grips to deny control and set up their passes.
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Standing Passages: Standing up and attempting passes like the Toreando, Leg Drag, or Over-Under pass to bypass your leg control.
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Knee Push/Smash: Pushing your knees to the mat or driving their weight forward to flatten you out and nullify your hip movement.
โ๏ธ Training Safety & Performance
Q: What's the main difference between Closed Guard and Open Guard?
Closed Guard locks the opponent in with your legs, offering tight control and limited mobility for both parties. Open Guard, however, uses active legs and hips for dynamic distance management, allowing for more offensive options like sweeps and submissions, but requires greater agility and constant movement.
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