Tag Archives: Half Guard
A Glossary of Guards Part 3: The Half Guard
By Stephan Kesting and Elliott Bayev
Principal Photography by Keith Haist
Originally Published in Ultimate Grappling Magazine
This is the third and final article in a series introducing a wide variety of guard positions. (more…)
17 Tips for an Active Bottom Half Guard
These are some important aspects to focus on and remember when it comes to being on the bottom in half guard
- Don’t just hold on. (more…)
The half guard can be a powerful attacking position so long as you stay on your side and maintain your mobility.
However if your opponent gets his grips, flattens you out and drives all his weight onto you it really sucks. (more…)
Double Threat Attacks from the Bottom Position
In grappling, sometimes a submission can be more than just a submission.
Let me explain…
There is no shortage of different submission attacks from the bottom position. (more…)
Pulling Guard in MMA
Q: Hello Stephan,
I’m a big fan of your website – I’ve been following it since 2009. I compete in BJJ and No-Gi submission wrestling.
I’ve also been training MMA with hopes of having my first amateur fight within the year. (more…)
Frank Mir's Kimura on Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140
UFC 140 last Saturday night was one of the best MMA shows in recent memory.
There were lots of exciting matchups, but THE fight of the night was the much-anticipated rematch between heavyweights Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir. (more…)
Best Interview Ever? Ryan Hall Speaks his Mind
The Ryan Hall interview is ready, and it might be my best interrogation ever!
With more than 200 tournaments, countless superfights, and solid performances in the Mundials and ADCC Ryan is one of North America’s most successful and prolific grapplers. (more…)
When the Closed Guard Fails...
A reader writes:
Q: Hi Stephan,
I recently received and read your email with the video link about the closed guard in the Beginning BJJ newsletter.
However my instructor is quite thick and muscular, (more…)
Fancy Yet Effective: The 'Shaolin' Half Guard Sweep
Normally I advise against flashy techniques. Generally speaking it’s rock solid basics and non-fancy fundamentals that win sparring sessions, tournament matches and MMA fights.
But I have to make an exception for this technique… (more…)
Today I’m not going to talk about a technique per se. Instead I’m going to share a cool training method with you. (Training methods are the ways in which you practice, hone and internalize the techniques you’re learning. (more…)
How The Kneebar Saved The Day!!
Want a an easy way to learn about the kneebar submission? Well the first comicbook style instructional I did was super-popular, so here’s my latest creation…
Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets
Erik Paulson is an MMA Master Coach. He’s trained tons of fighters competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts. And he held the Shooto light-heavyweight title in Japan for 5 years.
He’s also my friend and a mentor. (more…)
The Deep Half Guard (video)
Nowadays you often see the Deep Half Guard at the highest levels of BJJ and submission grappling competition. But there are a lot of important details to the Deep Half Guard that you need to know before it becomes a powerful sweeping weapon.
A Great Half Guard Resource!
If you haven’t seen this video yet then you’re in for a treat!
Here Indrek Reiland and Jorgen Matsi take you through the Half Guard Position, covering the basics of both the top and the bottom position. (more…)
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir: How to Destroy the Half Guard
Brock Lesnar probably wouldn’t be on my list of people to invite to a book club or an evening of wine tasting. But love him or hate him, you have to admit that he’s a hell of a fighter and force to be reckoned with. (more…)
Check out this video, which shows the very first time I stumbled across the ‘logsplitter’ position. it was a complete fluke, but it still won me the match and a silver medal.
Then read on to find out what happened AFTER that competition… (more…)
Straight From Brazil - a Deep Half Guard Sweep
Recently I had the pleasure of training with Oscar Daniotti, a black belt under Ricardo de la Riva. And Oscar showed me some really cool stuff! (more…)
Free Book About the Guard for Grapplearts Readers
Heres’s a really cool resource for you, something that I’ve received a TON of positive feedback on. It’s a free, downloadable book that breaks down the many different variations of the Guard position with detailed descriptions and lots of pretty pictures! And you can grab it super easily, for free… (more…)
Brabo Choke Defense
A fan of the half guard recently asked me how they could avoid getting caught in the Brabo choke:
“I like going for the foot grab sweep from half guard. My problem is that I always get caught in a guillotine choke or Brabo choke when I go for the leg of my opponent. (more…)
Miracle Cures for Grappling Problems
I first truly realized how powerful drills can be about 15 years ago.
At that time I was I was teaching a self defense class. One of my students was of average size and strength with severely below-average punching power. (more…)
The Unpassable Guard
A few years ago Denis Kang and I published an article in Grappling Magazine about passing the guard in MMA. In that article we said there are three stages of getting past your opponent’s legs: (more…)
Countering the Half Guard Pass
Since I released my DVD on the Dynamic Half Guard I get a lot of questions on how to prevent certain guard passes. I cover a lot of guard pass and leglock prevention in that video, but it’s *only* 2 hours long (more…)
One more Von Flue Choke
As you know, in the last few newsletters we’ve been discussing body position for guillotine chokes and using the ‘Von Flue’ choke to recounter the guillotine. If you missed them you can click to see the first post here and the second post here. (more…)
When people first learn the Von Flue choke they often find that their opponent can bridge them over and then they end up on the bottom.
If this is happening to you and you’re getting rolled into a bad position when trying this choke then first check that your legs are perpendicular (more…)
A Glossary of Guard Positions, or Lumping vs. Splitting
When it comes variations of the guard position grapplers tend to fall into one of two categories: ‘lumpers’ and ‘splitters’. (more…)
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