Half Guard

Pinch your knees together tightly—this is critically important since you need both feet on the mat to bridge effectively. The Art of Skill emphasizes crossing your top foot over and around your bottom foot, as this gives the strongest pinch and prevents the pass.

Position your top foot around the front of your bottom foot so you can pinch as hard as possible. The Art of Skill recommends testing this foot placement yourself to feel the difference it makes.

The knee shield acts as a fulcrum that lets you use that connection point to move yourself, which drastically changes the angle you are positioned at relative to your opponent.

You want your center of gravity below your opponent's, and The Art of Skill emphasizes that applying pressure is one of the keys to creating opportunities as you become a more advanced player. Build a game plan with clear pathways worked out ahead of time so you can respond instantly to what you feel in the moment.

The Half Guard family covers the guard position where the bottom fighter controls one of the opponent's legs between theirs while the opponent has passed the other leg to achieve a partial guard pass. The half guard was transformed from a stalling, defensive position into one of the most dynamic and attack-rich guard positions in BJJ through the innovations of Roberto 'Gordo' Correa, Lucas Leite, and Bernardo Faria.

The half guard was revolutionised by Roberto 'Gordo' Correa in the 1990s, who developed the position into a complete guard system after a knee injury limited his full guard play. Gordo's innovations inspired generations of half guard specialists who further expanded the system into deep half, lockdown, Z-guard, and other variations.

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: Standard half guard (one leg trapped between both legs with an underhook); Deep half guard (fully under the opponent with the leg fully entangled); Lockdown half guard (figure-four leg lock on the trapped leg (10th Planet)); Z-guard (knee shield) (knee across the opponent's chest creating a frame).

Lucas Leite won multiple IBJJF No-Gi World Championship titles using the half guard as his primary position, proving its viability at the highest levels. Bernardo Faria won five IBJJF World Championship titles (2012-2015), with the deep half guard as the centrepiece of his game.

Основные ошибки, на которые стоит обратить внимание: Playing flat-on-the-back half guard — get on the side with an underhook for offensive capability / Allowing the crossface without resistance — the crossface pins you flat; fight it with frames and the underhook / Not controlling the trapped leg — maintain the half guard lock with active legs / Playing half guard without a plan — half guard is a launching pad for sweeps and back takes, not a stalling position.

Half Guard также известен как Hāfu Gādo, Half Guard, Half Bottom, Meia Guarda.