High Closed Guard

Your legs and core are what make closed guard really strong, not your hands pulling in. According to Isak Ivanovicjj, you want to be using your knees to pull someone in since your legs are much stronger than your hands.

Closed guard is often a battle for inside position—when your hands are in the middle, you can grab the head, get overhooks, and attack with shoulder crunches, whereas if your opponent's hands are in the middle, they can try to get in your armpits and stand up. Isak Ivanovicjj emphasizes winning this hand position battle early.

You must pull the opponent's elbow into your belly button rather than leaving it outside your hip, as this limits your ability to climb your legs high for armbars and triangles. Isak Ivanovicjj stresses keeping the elbow inside so you have more offensive options.

Isak Ivanovicjj describes a rare and highly effective technique taught to him by Dana that involves keeping your guard closed as the opponent attempts to stand, though he notes this is something he had never seen before learning it.

The High Closed Guard positions the guard player's legs high on the opponent's back, with the ankles crossed near the shoulder blades rather than around the waist. The high guard breaks the opponent's posture more effectively than the low guard because the elevated legs pull the opponent's upper body down, making it difficult for them to posture up.

The high closed guard is a refined closed guard configuration used by advanced guard players who seek to maximise submission opportunities from the closed guard. It is particularly associated with armbar and triangle attacks that require the guard player's legs to be high on the opponent's body.

IBJJF: разрешён — Legal — guard is fundamental to BJJ, sweeps from guard score 2 points; IJF: ограничен — Guard pulling penalized as non-combativity — groundwork from guard permitted …; ADCC: разрешён — Legal, guard pull penalized -1 point in points portion; Unified MMA: разрешён — Legal — no penalty for playing guard; FIAS Sport Sambo: разрешён — Legal

Оценка опасности 2/10. Low — guard positions are defensive; injury risk comes from transitions, not the position itself

Стандартная цепочка подготовки: Achieve Guard Contact → Control Grips → Manage Distance → Threaten Submissions/Sweeps.

Стандартные контрприёмы: Guard Pass — systematically work to clear the legs and establish a dominant position / Leg Pin — control one or both legs to neutralize guard retention / Pressure Passing — use heavy chest pressure to flatten and immobilize the guard player.

Распространённые варианты: High closed guard (legs high on the back for tighter control and more submis…); Low closed guard (ankles locked at the waist, controlling posture with grips); Body-lock closed guard (wrapping with both overhooks for tight breaking mechanics).

High closed guard is frequently used to set up armbars and triangles in BJJ competition.

Основные ошибки, на которые стоит обратить внимание: Attempting to climb to high guard without first breaking posture — the opponent must be broken down before climbing / Climbing with arm strength instead of hip movement — alternating hip escapes create the climbing motion / Locking high but not maintaining the position — the opponent will try to push the legs back down; resist actively / Not attacking immediately from high guard — the high position is temporary; attack before the opponent adjusts.

High Closed Guard также известен как Hai Kurōzudo Gādo, High Guard, Climbing Guard, High Full Guard.