Search: “guard top”

The Guard Top family within the Guard Group covers the techniques and strategies for the top player when trapped inside an opponent's guard — maintaining posture, controlling grips, and working to bre...

The Guard Top group covers all positions, techniques, and strategies for the fighter on top when the opponent is playing guard — the offensive counterpart to the guard player's sweeps and submissions....

The guillotine choke from top half-guard is applied when the top player wraps the bottom player's neck in a guillotine grip while the bottom player retains a half-guard. [1,2] The top player typically...

The cradle neck crank from top half-guard is applied when the top player locks a cradle from the half-guard position by reaching around the opponent's head with one arm and under the near-side leg wit...

The D'Arce choke applied from the top half-guard position, where the attacker threads the arm under the bottom player's neck while they attempt to underhook or recover guard. This entry capitalises on...

The can opener from closed guard top is applied by the top player who clasps both hands behind the opponent's head and drives the head forward toward the chest, flexing the cervical spine under intens...

The power guillotine from top half guard is a high-pressure variant where the attacker applies a guillotine choke while maintaining top position in half guard, using full body weight and hip pressure ...

The Gable-Grip D'Arce from top half guard uses a palm-to-palm Gable grip (instead of the standard figure-four/RNC grip) to finish the D'Arce choke — providing a different compression angle and grip se...

The Guard Position Standing family covers the standing guard positions used in grappling, where one fighter controls the standing opponent's posture or distance while seated or positioned on the groun...

The Friendship Position is a guard top posture where both fighters have mutual grips on each other's biceps, creating a temporary neutral position. [1] BJ Penn uses this position as a control point be...

The Over the Top Elbow is a looping elbow strike delivered from guard top or mount, arcing over the opponent's guard and dropping down onto the face. [1]

The near-side cradle from top half guard hooks the opponent's near leg — the leg on the same side as the attacker's head — and connects it to the head through a clasped grip, folding the opponent late...

The Knee Shield Half Guard positions the guard player's top knee across the opponent's chest or midsection as a frame while maintaining half guard leg control on the bottom. [1] The knee shield create...

Combat Base is a guard-top position where one knee is up and one knee is down, creating a stable platform that allows the top player to defend sweeps while setting up guard passes. [1] Danaher conside...

The Ankle Pick X-Guard sweep completes the X-guard sweep by reaching out and picking the opponent's far ankle while elevating with the X-guard hooks, removing their base and toppling them. [1] From th...

The Sweep — Guard Reversal group encompasses all techniques for reversing position from a bottom guard position to a top position, constituting the offensive component of the Escape and Reversal class...

The Standard Z-Guard establishes the Z-guard with the top knee angled across the opponent's midsection and the bottom leg controlling the opponent's leg in half guard, with hands controlling the colla...

The Top Position group encompasses all dominant ground positions where the fighter on top has passed the opponent's guard and achieved a controlling position. [1] Top positions represent the upper hal...

Calf slicers from guard are applied when the bottom player catches the opponent's leg during guard passing attempts, threading a shin behind the knee and folding the calf. [1,2] Common entries include...

The stack-through can opener combines the traditional can opener neck crank with a stacking guard pass, driving the opponent's knees toward their face while cranking the neck in flexion. [1] From clos...

Closed guard is the most fundamental guard position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where the bottom player wraps their legs around the opponent's torso and locks their ankles behind the opponent's back, crea...

The arm drag from seated guard applies a wrist flexion lock while the bottom player uses an arm drag to off-balance the top player from the guard position. [1,2] The guard player grips the opponent's ...

The Peruvian necktie from closed guard with shin across the neck applies the necktie's signature leg-over-head mechanic from a bottom guard position. [1] The attacker, playing closed guard, wraps the ...

The Guard Sweep family covers all sweeping techniques executed from guard positions to reverse the top and bottom positions — the primary offensive tool for the bottom player in BJJ. [1] Guard sweeps ...

The Grinding Elbow from Half Guard is a short-range elbow strike delivered while in the top half guard position, grinding the point of the elbow into the opponent's face or temple. [1]

The Back Position Transition family covers techniques for transitioning to and maintaining back control — the second-most dominant position in grappling (after mount in some hierarchies, or the most d...

The Ezekiel choke from guard with sleeve grip finish uses the attacker's own gi sleeve as a lever to compress the opponent's neck from the bottom guard position. [1] The attacker threads one arm behin...

The Ezekiel choke from guard is applied by the bottom player who threads one hand inside their own sleeve and wraps it around the opponent's neck, then uses the forearm of the other arm to press acros...

The Z-Guard subfamily covers the half guard variation that combines the knee shield across the opponent's body with half guard leg control, creating a 'Z' shape with the legs. [1] Z-guard is essential...

The Standard Bridge And Roll Kesa executes the fundamental kesa gatame escape by trapping the opponent's far arm, bridging explosively toward the opponent's head, and rolling them over the bridge. [1]...

The Esgrima Pass is a half guard passing technique where the passer uses a fencing-like leg threading motion — sliding the shin forward and through the opponent's half guard like a sword being drawn f...

The Godfather Sweep is a 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu technique executed from The Stomp Position — a specific guard configuration entered when the opponent achieves double underhooks from inside the practiti...

The Standard Old School sweep executes the classic half guard reversal by securing a deep underhook, switching the hips to come to the knees, and driving forward using the underhook to push the oppone...

Guard passing encompasses all techniques used by the top player to navigate past the bottom player's legs and achieve a dominant position — it is the yin to the guard's yang and arguably the most comp...

The D'Arce choke (also called the Brabo choke) is a front headlock arm triangle where the attacker threads one arm under the opponent's armpit, across the neck, and locks a figure-four grip with the o...

The Standard Upa (trap and roll) traps the opponent's wrist and hooks the same-side ankle with the foot, then bridges explosively by driving the hips toward the ceiling while turning to the trapped si...

The Standard Scissor Sweep opens the closed guard, places the top knee (shin) across the opponent's chest as a frame, grips the collar and sleeve, then chops the bottom leg across the opponent's far k...

The Hitchhiker Defence subfamily covers the armbar escape technique where the defender rotates in the direction of the thumb (like a hitchhiking motion), turning the body to relieve the hyperextension...

The Toe Hold is a foot lock submission that attacks the ankle and foot by gripping the opponent's toes/ball of foot and rotating the foot outward (or inward) using a figure-four grip — creating torsio...

The Guard Position group encompasses all positions where the bottom fighter uses the legs to control, manage distance, attack, and defend against the top fighter. [1] The guard is BJJ's most revolutio...

The Granby Roll is a dynamic wrestling escape from the turtle position where the bottom fighter rolls over their shoulder to invert, escape the opponent's top control, and recover guard or create a sc...

A Damn Good Guard is BJ Penn's term for an active closed guard that immediately threatens with submissions while preventing the top player from posturing up or passing. [1] The guard player maintains ...

The Standard Collar-Sleeve Sweep executes the fundamental collar-sleeve sweep by placing one foot on the opponent's hip and the other foot on the bicep of the controlled sleeve arm, then off-balancing...

The standard can opener is a cervical flexion crank applied from inside the opponent's closed guard, where the attacker clasps both hands behind the opponent's head and pulls it forward toward the che...

The Closed Guard family covers the guard position where the bottom fighter wraps the legs around the opponent's waist with ankles crossed behind the back, creating a locked-leg control that keeps the ...

The Monoplata is a shoulder lock submission similar to the omoplata but using only one leg to control the opponent's arm — applied from mount, side control, or back control rather than from guard. [1]...

The figure-four wrist lock from seated guard is a flexion submission where the attacker uses a figure-four grip configuration to isolate and bend the opponent's wrist from a bottom guard or seated pos...

The Standard Bridge And Roll from side control bridges the hips explosively while turning into the opponent, using the bridge momentum and body rotation to tip the opponent over. [1] The defender time...

The Sweep group encompasses all ground-based reversal techniques where the bottom player uses leverage, momentum, and leg work to reverse the top and bottom positions — the primary offensive tool for ...

The monoplata is a shoulder lock applied from top position (mount or side control) where the attacker traps the opponent's arm under their armpit using a single leg, then sits down to hyperextend the ...