One issue with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that when training, it doesn’t involve striking. In a typical BJJ gym, grappling is the priority. Because of this some practitioners can get overly comfortable with positions which are good for sport BJJ but not practical in offering self defence. A good way to train vs striking is to add soft striking into your training, effectively adding an MMA element to your ground game. Here you will quickly learn what works and what doesn’t. With this said, it’s important to learn how to defend against punches and kicks whilst practising BJJ.
Table of Contents
Closed guard with an overhook
The overhook is an important move to avoid getting punched in the face. Typically from closed guard, it immobilizes the opponent’s arm and buys you time. If done whilst grabbing the opponents other hand, you can even shoot a Triangle choke from the position. Because of this, the overhook from closed guard is an effective way of turning a bad position into a good one. Similarly, this same Triangle setup can be done from bottom Z guard. If nothing else, the overhook buys time and stops the opponent from raining punches on you.
It should also be noted that posture control is equally as important. With your other hand, you can either opt for wrist control or breaking the opponent’s posture by grabbing their neck. If you don’t get wrist control from the bottom guard then they may punch with the free arm. However, if you don’t control their posture then they may headbutt. As a result, this is a dilemma you have to face if using the closed guard in a fight. Whilst you shouldn’t choose to pull guard in a fight, you may be forced into the position from a takedown or a punch. With this said, it’s important to weigh up your options when choosing wrist control or controlling posture.
Rubber guard with broken posture
Whilst some old school practitioners from upon Rubber guard and the 10th Planet system, it’s undeniable that Rubber guard is effective in MMA. Used by many, it’s most famously done by Tony Ferguson. Here, Ferguson would often win fights by getting into Rubber guard and then attacking Triangles from there.
Starting from closed guard, the route to Rubber guard involves breaking your opponent’s posture whilst climbing your legs up their body towards a high guard. From here you grab a shin and put it over their neck. This breaks their posture whilst giving you a free arm to start using. With the free arm, you can even elbow the opponent in the head. Because their posture is so broken, their punches will be far weaker as a result.
If you opt against using elbows, you can instead isolate an arm by entering the ‘zombie’ which forces their arm onto the mat. With this achieved Triangles are then openly available whilst keeping you protected from strikes. Similar to the closed guard position, the idea here is to break the posture of the opponent to avoid explosive strikes from the top.
Defending strikes using the Gi
Whilst we’ve covered closed guard BJJ, we haven’t looked at the open guard. One old fashioned way of defending strikes is by engaging in Spider guard. It should be said that this requires the opponent to be wearing clothes with sleeves. They may not be wearing a Gi, but if it’s winter, the chances are someone is wearing clothing with sleeves.
The idea here is to grip onto the sleeves and engage in Spider guard. From here you can start creating distance by the push-pull mechanics that spider guard brings. Because you are controlling both arms, the opponent cannot punch you. The only issue with this is kicks. However, because of your positioning it means the opponent cannot kick beyond your hips – so your head is safe. If they do lunge forward with their legs, then you can use their lack of balance to create a sweep by attacking the unstable part of their body.
Open guard attacks from the bottom
If you do find yourself in a seated position against a standing opponent, there are a few options to use. The first would be to use a technical standup to get to your feet and away from the ground. This is ideal if you feel threatened in the situation and would prefer to stand up. By having one arm stretched out to create distance and defend strikes, the technical stand-up involves sliding your one leg back and then getting up. This is a move usually taught in your first classes and is considered a fundamental position in learning the basics of BJJ.
Another option is being aggressive from the bottom. For example, the legendary Renzo Gracie defeated his opponent Oleg Taktarov with a brutal upkick. The upkick is done whilst seated. Here, you hip upwards as if doing a Triangle with one leg aiming for the opponent’s head. Upkicks are very dangerous in this sense and can easily knock the opponent unconscious. Since its inception, some fighters would even goad their opponent into standing so they could attack with upkicks. In Renzo’s case, he was losing the fight but used it to get an instant win.
Combat BJJ as practice
In 2018, Eddie Bravo turned his EBI competition into a combat Jiu Jitsu format which allowed open palm slaps. Because of this, it changed the dynamic of how people utilised these new rules. As expected, guard pulling was punished and in one case, the ref ended a match due to Vagner Rocha mounting his opponent and slapping him without reply. As these slaps were hard and to the head, the ref had no other choice but to call the fight as a win for Rocha.
However, in some instances, it also showed the effectiveness of BJJ. For example, some people were caught in heel hook submissions and tried to punch their opponent to defend the position. Due to the mechanics of the heel hook position, it meant they could only punch their opponent’s thigh or buttocks which is very ineffective. This resulted in the submission being applied which finished the match.
The results of combat BJJ were interesting but somewhat expected. Generally players on top did better but those with dominant BJJ positions could still utilise them to defeat their opponents striking. With this in mind, if you are worried about striking in BJJ, you should learn takedowns. Whether opting for Judo or wrestling, learning takedowns is great for self defence as it can instantly put you in a top position which puts gravity on your side.
Summary
In summary, BJJ can be successfully used to counter punches and kicks. As seen there are several methods that either directly counter striking, or at very least can nullify the opponent’s aggression. Whilst it’s not always wise to use guard in a fight, it may be your only option and with this in mind, it’s good to have attacks and counters ready if you end up there.
Not only this but generally developing an aggressive game from all positions is crucial. Too often, BJJ purists get carried away in bottom positions and are slow to act. By using the above methods as well as creating an attacking guard game, you can worry less about punches and kicks in the future.
