When it comes to training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it’s undeniable that the ‘guard’ is a massively detailed position. Often beginners will focus on basic guards, such as closed guard, half guard and butterfly guard. At times, this can be overwhelming as there’s so much information to try and understand.
For example, firstly you have various types of guard. Then you have dilemmas such as sweeps, passing, retention, and submissions from within those positions. Often, newcomers will make the mistake of not setting up their guard correctly and focusing on submissions instead of looking at the fundamentals such as retention and understanding what makes a good guard, as opposed to being completely submission obsessed.
In brief, once you fully understand how and why a guard works, then you will improve in that position. This information isn’t just true from the guard players perspective, it also applies when you’re trying to pass the guard from the top position. Read on for a comprehensive guide to the open guard. Hopefully this will answer any tricky questions.
Table of Contents
What is an open guard?
The open guard is when your legs are not wrapped around the body of the opponent. Similarly, if one leg is connected to the opponent and your feet or legs cross, this is called half guard. Because of this, there are many different types of open guard to play.
More precisely, you can divide the open guard into two general positions. The first is an open guard based on keeping distance. For example, the de la riva guard focuses on keeping distance from the opponent. The second type of open guard is closing distance. Examples of this are the butterfly guard, where you can literally touch your opponents head with your own.
Each guard has its own specific pros and cons and different rules apply to each one. For instance, in the de la riva, it’s imperative that you keep constant contact with the opponent’s foot, otherwise, they may pass you. In butterfly however, you can’t grab their foot. Instead, you should focus on breaking their posture and getting your feet under their legs.
To reassess, a closed guard needs both legs wrapped around the torso of the opponent. A half guard has one leg wrapped around them that also connects with your other leg or foot. An open guard has none of these qualities.
How do you play open guard?
Open guard often begins by one opponent sitting down. Sometimes, there will literally be no physical contact between the guard player and passer. From here, the aim for the guard player is to make a physical connection with their opponent.
This can mean grabbing their ankle with your hand, or even holding their wrists. From here, you can then chose various routes into your preferred guards. For instance, if you like to get under them, you can scoot your legs underneath to enter X-guard and similar positions.
Playing open guard also depends on whether you’re training in the gi or not. In the gi, positions such as spider and lasso guard are possible, as well as various lapel positions. These all rely on gripping the material of the opponent’s gi. However, in no gi, this isn’t possible for obvious reasons. Instead, you may opt for something like single leg X guard or butterfly. In brief, the gi will dictate what guards you can play. More precisely, it will also shape the way you do certain sweeps, submissions and retention.
How do you pass the open guard?
How to pass the open guard in gi
There are literally hundreds of ways to pass the guard. Remember, whatever methods you can pass in no gi, you can also use in the gi. However, common ways to pass the open guard in the gi include torreando passes by gripping the opponent’s pants and moving them.
Similarly, you can also use pressure passes, such as the stack pass by grabbing the opponent’s material. As a general rule, you will want to establish dominant grips and then go from there. It’s important to win the grip battle early on, as otherwise it will dictate who is more likely to win the overall passing or sweeping battle.
How to pass the open guard in go gi
In no gi, things are a little different. Obviously, gripping the material literally becomes impossible. Instead, you should focus on passing by making ankle and wrist grips, as well as overhooks and underhooks and learning how to use them.
For example, the torreando pass is still viable in no gi, however it’s stripped down. Instead, you’ll have to rely on grabbing the ankles or cupping the knee with an open palm. Fundamentally, many of the passes are similar, albeit different in some areas.
Elsewhere, pressure passing is still alive and well in a no gi setting. Once again, you will need to replace material grips with clinches and arm hooks in your favor.
How do you keep an open guard? (retention)
Guard retention is really what separates a good guard from a bad one. Often, newcomers will struggle with retention and it can literally take years to learn. So, how do you maintain a good open guard? To answer this fully would take a long process, however, there’s a few key things to think of.
Firstly, you should always make sure you face your opponent. This may sound obvious, but makes sense when your head is getting crossfaced or put in a headlock. Make sure your head is free at all times as otherwise it can be used to control you.
Moving further down the body, try not to get your hips passed and establish dominant grips early on. A key part of retention is not settling for weak positions and not being passive. For example, if your foot is moved, then try to move it back. If not, replace it with a grip and so on. In brief, always try to be in control and keep distance on your own terms. Whenever you feel in danger, bring your limbs close and try to reset.
Why is pulling guard frowned upon?
This is something of a meme in the BJJ community, but also quite true. As BJJ originated from Judo, it has origins in stand up. These days, wrestling is also incorporated into BJJ, so it has strong ties with other grappling arts. Supposedly, from a self defense stand point, it would be naive to pull guard, as you could get your head kicked in.
With this in mind, it’s good to learn a few key takedowns that will complement your standup game. However, in sport BJJ, guard pulling is completely fine and makes sense from a tactical point of view. In fact, it could even be argued that pulling an open guard in no gi is the best way to improve your open guard, as it will quickly test out how good your guard is. Without the use of lapels, you will be truly tested.
Overall though, it depends on your personal preference. If the opponent feels unsafe and dangerous, then pulling guard can be a safe option. However, if you want to learn how to fight and defend yourself, takedowns can be a good habit to learn.
Do I need an open guard in MMA?
The answer to this is a resounding yes. Even if you’re primarily a striker or a super heavy weight, you will still need some understanding of how to play the open guard. Basically, it can get you out of a lot of trouble. Even learning how to do a technical stand up and get back to your feet is a very important tool.
As well as this, a few basic sweeps such as the tripod sweep or sickle can also reverse your position. With this said, the open guard is very important for MMA. The last thing you want is the opponent to pass you and start hitting you. Simply put, a good open guard is another layer of defense.
What is the easiest open guard to learn? I.e. What’s the best open guard for beginners?
This answer is of course subjective and depends on your own point of view. However, in most gyms, the de la riva is taught to begin with. This is because the de la riva is a very diverse guard that links in to many other positions.
For example, if you’re in de la riva, you can quite easily go to X-guard, closed guard and many other positions. It can be seen as a good starting point to transition into other guards. Not only this but it also has a high number of sweeps and submissions of its own.
If the opponent opts to kneel, then you may wish to use a butterfly guard instead. This is again a very diverse guard that opens up other positions. Of course, there’s no real correct answer to this question. However, as a generalization, butterfly and de la riva are great for beginners. They can also be used in both gi and no gi.
Open guard vs Closed guard – what is best?
Again, this boils down to your opinion. The Closed guard is a fantastically offensive position and is also good for MMA. However, one mistake that newbies make is focusing on this instead of their open guard. The result is that once their legs are opened, they struggle to hold a guard and maintain their position, eventually getting passed.
Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to get good at both. Arguably, an open guard is more important though as you will probably spend more time playing that position. This means it’s best to get good at something that you’ll commonly find yourself in. As mentioned though, don’t completely neglect the Closed guard either, as it can be very powerful if you understand it correctly.
Summary
The open guard is a labyrinth of moves and positions that can take years to understand. From gi to no gi, there are also various paths to take. However, what is most important is that you find a couple of guards that you feel comfortable with. From there, you can start to build up a game and begin to understand BJJ in more detail.
After a while, you may start to see all positions as one that blend in together. However, by understanding the key differences between open and Closed guard, and knowing when to attack and defend, your BJJ game should improve massively.
