Category: Closed Guard

Closed Guard

To the uninitiated it often looks like the person on the bottom in a fight is losing. Anyone who’s been caught in a strong closed guard by a trained opponent can tell you looks can be deceiving.

Closed Guard is actually very similar to mount, in fact you could almost call it upside down mount. And just like mount there’s a huge number of chokes and submissions available from the closed guard position.

The best 5 chokes from closed guard

  1. Triangle choke
  2. Cross Lapel Choke
  3. Ezekiel Choke
  4. Loop Choke
  5. Guillotine

The best 3 submissions from closed guard

  1. Kimura
  2. Armbar
  3. Omoplata
  • Surprising Triangle Choke from Closed Guard

    Surprising Triangle Choke from Closed Guard

    Fake The Hip Bump & Switch.

    Giancarlo Bodoni walks you through how to do a surprise Triangle Choke from Closed Guard using the hip bump as a set up.

    Start by getting hands to the ground, then take a cross lapel grip. Take note of the detail about not grabbing to much material. It will save your fingers and allow you to maintain the grip way longer. Open the collar when taking the grip, dont pull it until you have a deep grip at the back near the tag.

    Once you have broken their posture and taken a collar grip your opponent will try to posture up. Follow them and go for a hip bump , but maintain your collar grip. As soon as he posts his arm to prevent the hip bump open your guard and put your leg over the shoulder of his posted arm. Pull him down with the collar while crossing your ankles and then grab his head with your free hand. Pull the head before releasing the lapel (collar). Now raise your hips and pull his trapped arm to the far side. Then pull him down again trapping his arm against your body. 

    Grab the shin and pull your choking leg parallel with the floor. At the same time put your other foot on his hip. Once you are firmly holding the shin use it to pull his head down. This allows you to release his head with your other hand. Post it on your knee, making a frame with your arm against his knee and your foot against his hip. Use the frame to shuffle your shoulders back, pulling your opponent’s weight past his hips. You’ll put him in a weak position, making it almost impossible to posture up. From here simply remove your foot from the hip and curl your knee over your ankle then squeeze to finish the Triangle.

  • Attacks From Closed Guard

    Attacks From Closed Guard

    Learn to Attack From Closed Guard

    Quick fire video showing 38 attacking combos from closed guard in 4 minutes. Learn to switch from one attack to another, or transition from a sweep attempt into a submission. Lots of great combos for when your opponent blocks your submission, you can immediately switch to another. I loved the guillotine to triangle combo. Also the armbar to omoplata, this is available a lot against low ranked opponents. The Triangle to Omoplata is great if someone has snuck a speedy hand inside your triangle giving them space to resist for a long time, just switch to the omoplata.

  • How To Stop Your Guard Getting Passed

    How To Stop Your Guard Getting Passed

    Transitioning from Closed Guard to Open Guard

    Sometimes your closed guard will get opened up. Learn how and when to transition to open guard and frustrate Jiu Jitsu players of all levels. The biggest single tip for stopping your guard from being passed is to maintain 4 points of contact with your opponent. Ideally both arms and both legs. The more space and freedom you allow them the easier it is for them to pass.

    Use heavy legs and retreat with a shoulder crawl to prevent the double under pass.

    If your legs a pushed to one side cross your outside leg across the opponent’s body. Try to always have one leg either side, even if that means crossing over with your legs.

    Learn to combine head deflection with movement. Deflecting the head one way and hip escaping the other is more effective than just hip escaping or just deflecting the head.

    Use stiff arms as a frame while you retreat with your hips. Don’t try to hold them off for ever – keep moving.

  • Understanding the Closed Guard for No Gi Jiu Jitsu

    Understanding the Closed Guard for No Gi Jiu Jitsu

    No Gi Closed Guard Tutorial

    Gordon Ryan is one of the most dominate No Gi grapplers competing today. Trained by master coach John Danaher, his closed guard is rock solid.

    Here he shows how you can build a strong closed guard in No Gi Jiu Jitsu without any lapels or sleeves to grip. Gordon explains his technique of making micro adjustments in position to go from a neutral position to one where you have a slight advantage.

    Keep your opponents posture broken. Do not allow them to stand up. Either pull their elbow across the centre line and start to attach or if the keep their elbows wide swim under and push their arms wide while pulling with your knees. Then look to change the angle, creating an angular advantage.

  • How To Build The Perfect BJJ Closed Guard Game by John Danaher

    How To Build The Perfect BJJ Closed Guard Game by John Danaher

    BJJ Closed Guard Tutorial

    John Danaher explains the finer points of closed guard to 5x world champion Bernardo Faria. This video has great information for players of all levels.

    Changing your mindset from seeing closed guard as a safe place to rest, seeing it instead as a platform from which to attack your opponent. John contends that the person on the bottom is actually on top. Yup that’s right up is down and down is up. Just remember that next time you have someone in your closed guard. if your hips are on top of there’s then you’re the one with the true top position.

    From here, you first must attack your opponent’s balance and posture. Only then can you go for a submission attempt.

  • Roger Gracie Teaches The Best Closed Guard in The World

    Roger Gracie Teaches The Best Closed Guard in The World

    Build An Unbreakable Closed Guard

    The learn to be comfortable from bottom position by developing a powerful closed guard with these tips from Roger Gracie. Break anyone’s posture.

    • Understanding the Closed Guard From the Attackers Perspective
    • How Space Affects Defenders Attacks From Closed Guard
    • How Defenders Open Closed Guard /
    • When to Pull Down as Defender to break top players posture.
    • How to defend attackers grip placement 
    • Arm LockÂ