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. … [Read more...]
Half Guard
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. … [Read more...]
The Very First Time I Used the Logsplitter Sweep…
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... Click here to watch the same logsplitter sweep video on YouTube. Cool, huh? This is a guard variation I now use all the time because it offers both … [Read 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! … [Read 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... … [Read 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. What can I do to stop getting choked all the time?" The first step of defending any technique is to understand the technique. … [Read 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. … [Read 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: … [Read 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 … [Read 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. Well, thanks to Shaldag on the Sherdog.net forums I recently I found yet ANOTHER example of a the Von Flue choke being used in competition. This one is … [Read more...]
Everybody Was Von Flue Fighting…
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 (i.e. at 90 degrees) to your opponent. If his head is pointing to 12 o'clock, then your legs should either be to 3 … [Read 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'. … [Read more...]
A Half Guard Secret
When fighting from my half guard I often recall something that Chris Brennan told me: "one of the secrets of the half guard is to bring your knees to your chest". This advice, simple as it is, can add a whole other dimension to your half guard attacks. … [Read more...]
More Half Guard Resources
If you're really serious about improving a particular position in your grappling arsenal then you'll seek out any and all resources that deal with the topic. The half guard is a position with a LOT of depth and MANY offensive options. Here are some of my favorite articles, videos and resources on Grapplearts.com that will help you develop a mobile, attacking half guard: … [Read more...]
Jiu-jitsu and Physical Attributes
Physical attributes are things like balance, neck strength, limb length, explosiveness, leg flexibility, and percent body fat. Your physical attributes are the foundation of what you can do with your body, and are influenced by genetics, training, age and injuries. Some instructors teach as if everyone, regardless of age, build and flexibility, can use the same techniques. Well I'm here to tell … [Read more...]
Short Legged Guard Work
A while ago I gave some suggestions about dealing with the open guard of long-legged and flexible opponents. In the interests of fairness and balance let's address some options for the opposite situation, namely what to do if you have shorter, inflexible legs. … [Read more...]
Two More Previews of the Half Guard DVD
I've uploaded two more excerpts from my soon-to-be-released Dynamic Half Guard DVD to Youtube and Google Video. You can check them out at Preview 1: How to counter your opponent's attempt to block a backclimb attack. You can watch it below, … [Read more...]
Half Guard DVD Update
I know, I know, there have been a ton of delays in getting the Half Guard DVD ready... … [Read more...]
Half Guard Leg Positions
Someone once defined insanity as "continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results". This applies to grappling as well as the rest of life, and it is very true when you are in the half guard position. … [Read more...]
Half Guard Evolution
This week I’d like to talk about the half guard. This position is one where you are lying on your back or side with one of your opponent’s legs between your own. In the last 10 years an increasing number of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling matches … [Read more...]