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| Guard | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Standard closed guard, demonstrated byUS Army Rangers. | |
| Classification | Position |
| Style | Jujutsu,Judo,Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Child hold(s) | closed guard, open guard,half guard |
Theguard is aground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs.[1] In puregrapplingcombat sports, the guard is considered an advantageousposition, because the bottom combatant can attack with variousjoint locks andchokeholds, while the top combatant's priority is thetransition into a more dominant position, a process known aspassing the guard. In the sport ofmixed martial arts, as well ashand-to-hand combat in general, it is possible to effectivelystrike from the top in the guard, even though the bottom combatant exerts some control. There are various types of guard, with their own advantages and disadvantages.
The guard is a key part ofBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu where it can be used as an offensive position. It is also used, but not formally named, inJudo[2] though it is sometimes referred to asdō-osae inJapanese, meaning "trunk hold".[3][note 1] It is called the "front body scissor" incatch wrestling.
Transitioning directly from standing to the guard position is known aspulling guard. Tsunetane Oda, a judo groundwork specialist who died in 1955,[4] demonstrated the technique on video.[5]
Sometimes referred to asfull guard, theclosed guard is the typical guard position. In this guard the legs are hooked behind the back of the opponent, preventing them from standing up or moving away. The opponent needs to open the legs up to be able to improvepositioning. The bottom combatant mighttransit between the open and closed guard, as the open guard allows for better movement, but also has a bigger risk of the opponent passing the guard.
Half guard is a position where the guard player wraps both of their legs around one of their opponent's legs. The half guard can favour the passer or the guard player, depending on the many details of the position such as body positioning and grips. The position affords many options for the guard player to initiate techniques such as sweeps and submission holds.
Variants of half guard include the deep half guard, the Z-guard and the reverse De La Riva guard.
Theopen guard is typically used to perform variousjoint locks andchokeholds. The legs can be used to move the opponent, and to create leverage. The open guard allows the opponent to stand up or try to pass the guard, so this position is often used only temporarily to set upsweeps or other techniques. Open guard is also a general term that encompasses a large number of guard positions where the legs are used to push, wrap or hook the opponent without locking the ankles together around them.
Thebutterfly guard involves both of the legs being hooked with theankles in between the opponents legs, against the inside of the opponentsthighs. The opponent is controlled using both legs and arms. The leverage in the butterfly guard allows powerful sweeps. The guard also allows one to elevate or set the opponent off balance and because of this it is particularly useful in avoiding damage and allowstransitions to other dominant positions. The analogous technique in wrestling andcatch wrestling is called double elevator.
TheX-guard is an open guard where one of the combatants is standing up and the other is on their back. The bottom combatant uses the legs to entangle one of the opponent's legs, which creates opportunities for powerfulsweeps. The X-guard is often used in combination with butterfly andhalf guard. In agrappling match, this is an advantageous position for the bottom combatant, but in generalhand-to-hand combat, the top combatant can attack withstomps orsoccer kicks. Likewise, skilled use of the x-guard can prevent the opponent from attempting a kick, or throw them off balance should they raise a leg. The x-guard was developed by Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva [in the 1990's,?] and popularized byMarcelo Garcia.[6]
Thespider guard comprises a number of positions all of which involve controlling the opponents arms while using the soles of the feet to control the opponent at the biceps, hips, thighs or a combination of them. It is most effective when the sleeves of the opponent can be grabbed. The spider guard can be used forsweeps and to set upjoint locks orchokeholds.
TheDe La Riva guard (also calledjello guard) is an open guard popularized by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Ricardo De La Riva, who was successful with it in competition.[citation needed] The guard consists of one of the legs wrapped behind the opponent's leg from the outside, the ankle held with one hand, and the other hand grips one of their sleeves. The De La Riva guard offers a number of sweeps, transitions and submissions, and is more recently used in combination with spider guard.
The rubber guard is a position that keeps an opponent down in your guard. The position was used by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitionerNino Schembri and popularized and made into a system byEddie Bravo. Many techniques have been developed from this position including sweeps, submissions, and striking defense. By using a leg to hold an opponent down, one arm is free to work onsubmissions, sweeps or to strike the opponent's trapped head.
The 50-50 (Fifty-fifty) guard is a position popularized by Roberto “Gordo” Correa and extensively used by the Mendes Brothers,Rafael andGuilherme Mendes, Bruno Frazzato,Ryan Hall and Ramon Lemos from theAtos Jiu-Jitsu Team. In other grappling systems such ascatch wrestling andSambo, it is a form of the "outside leg triangle" type of leg control. In this position, the fighter on the bottom crosses a triangle on the opponent's leg, which allows for the leg to be dominated while leaving the arms free to work on sweeps and submissions. This position has been heavily criticized for use in competitions with restricted use of leglocks due to the potential of stalling a match when the fighter on top cannot pass the guard and the fighter on the bottom cannot successfully perform a sweep.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
In order to overcome the primary defense of one's opponent, their guard, and attain a more dominant position, such asside mount,full mount, orknee on stomach a practitioner mustpass the guard. There are several ways of doing so; many involvepain compliance whereby the practitioner persuades the opponent to release their guard through an abrasive action. Examples of this type of action would be digging the practitioner'sforearms into the innerthigh of the opponent, standing and attempting acan openerneck crank, or in the case of a mixed martial arts setting, to simplystrike the opponent until the guard is released. Passing the guard however has perils of its own, as it has a tendency to leave the practitioner particularly vulnerable to counterattack in the form ofsweeps andsubmissions.
Simple guard pass also known as thearm/leg pull is a guard pass demonstrated inThe Essence Of Judo byKyuzo Mifune, and it is an unnamed technique described inThe Canon Of Judo.[14] In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this pass is commonly referred to as the Toreando/Bull Fighter Pass.[15] The main characteristic of the pass is the practitioner side-stepping around the opponent's legs whilst simultaneously pulling aside the opponent's leg or pinning the opponents legs to the ground.
Stacking Guard Pass is also demonstrated in The Essence Of Judo by Mifune, and it is also an unnamed technique described inThe Canon Of Judo.[14] The main characteristic of the technique is the practitioner lifting the opponent and stacking them, into a possibleneck crank orblood choke submission, when the practitioner is in the opponent's open guard.
Near Knee Guard Pass is also demonstrated in The Essence Of Judo by Mifune as well as Canon of Judo by Mifune.[16] In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, this guard pass is commonly referred to as the Knee Over Pass.[17] The main characteristic of this pass is the practitioner driving their knee over the opponent's same side thigh while in the opponent's open guard.
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