Quick Guide to Open Guard Systems | No Gi Edition
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Open Guard·Knight Jiu-Jitsu
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Open Guard
Familyオープンガード(Ōpun Gādo)
Translation: Open guard
Overview
Open guard encompasses all guard positions where the bottom player's legs are NOT locked around the opponent, instead using feet on hips, hooks on legs, grips on sleeves/collars, and dynamic hip movement to control distance and create offensive opportunities. [1] Open guard sacrifices the tight control of closed guard for greater mobility, a wider attack repertoire, and the ability to play at longer range — making it both more versatile and more technically demanding. [1],[2] The open guard revolution began in the 1990s with Ricardo De La Riva's outside hook guard and exploded through the 2000s–2010s with innovations like spider guard, lasso guard, X-guard, worm guard, and berimbolo, creating a vast and ever-expanding universe of specialised positions. [2],[3] Modern competition BJJ at the highest levels is dominated by open guard exchanges, with competitors building entire careers around mastery of a single open guard variation. [3]
Open GuardDistance GuardNon-Closed Guard
History & Origin
While open guard concepts existed in earlier BJJ, the open guard revolution began with Ricardo De La Riva in the late 1980s–1990s, who developed the outside hook guard that bears his name. [1] The 2000s saw explosive innovation: Marcelo Garcia revolutionised butterfly and X-guard, the Mendes brothers developed berimbolo from reverse De La Riva, and spider/lasso guard became dominant in gi competition. [1],[2] The 2010s brought Keenan Cornelius's lapel/worm guard, further expanding the open guard universe. [2],[3] Today, open guard innovation continues to be the primary driver of BJJ's technical evolution. [3]
Effectiveness
Open guard is the dominant guard type in modern competition BJJ — the majority of matches at black belt are contested from various open guard positions rather than closed guard. [1] Marcelo Garcia won 5 IBJJF World Championships and 4 ADCC titles primarily through butterfly guard sweeps and back takes from open guard. [2] The Mendes brothers' berimbolo system from De La Riva/reverse De La Riva guard produced multiple World Championship titles. [3]
Lineage
Competition Record
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Biomechanical Mechanism
Primary Action — Using the feet, hooks, and grips as independent control points to manage distance, create angles, and generate sweeping/submission leverage from a non-locked bottom position
Joints Involved — Hips (constant hip movement — scooting, inverting, hip switching — is the engine of open guard retention and attack), feet (placed on hips, biceps, legs as independent control points), knees (framing and shielding against the passer), hands (grips on sleeves, collar, pants, or wrists provide the upper-body control framework)
Force Vector — Multi-directional — open guard attacks in all directions simultaneously: feet push (creating distance), hooks pull (off-balancing), grips control (preventing disengagement), and hip movement creates angles; this multi-vector control makes open guard extremely dynamic
Control Mechanic — Open guard maintains control through connected frames — each grip, hook, and foot placement creates a structural connection to the opponent; losing any single connection is survivable, but losing multiple connections simultaneously allows the pass; guard retention is the art of maintaining at least 2-3 connections at all times
Position & Entry
From closed guard break — When the opponent breaks open the closed guard, immediately establish feet on hips and grips on sleeves to transition to open guard rather than allowing a pass [1]
From standing (guard pull) — Grip collar and sleeve, sit to butterfly guard or sit-back to De La Riva — many modern competitors pull directly to their preferred open guard
From failed sweep — When a sweep from one guard position fails, transition to a different open guard rather than trying the same sweep — e.g., failed De La Riva sweep flows to X-guard or berimbolo entry
Videos
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Ratings
Risk of injury to the person this technique is applied to
3
Moderate3/10
Moderate — open guard is relatively safe but slightly more dangerous than closed guard because the legs are not locked; risk of being stacked, leg-dragged, or having legs pinned during passing attempts; in MMA, open guard allows more ground-and-pound than closed guard
Skill level needed to execute this technique reliably
Intermediate
Whether this technique is allowed under major competition rule sets
Restricted
— IJF — Guard pulling penalized as non-combativity — ground...
IJF Sport and Organisation Rules 2025, Article 27PDFLegal
— IBJJF — Legal — guard is fundamental to BJJ, sweeps from ...
IBJJF Rules Book v6.0, June 2024PDF— ADCC — Legal, guard pull penalized -1 point in points por...
ADCC Rules Update, April 2025PDF— Unified MMA — Legal — no penalty for playing guard
Unified Rules of MMA, August 2025PDF— FIAS Sport Sambo — Legal
FIAS International Sambo Competition RulesPDFTraining Notes
✓Guard retention is more important than any specific sweep or submission — before learning open guard attacks, learn to keep the opponent from passing using hip movement, frames, and grip fighting (Danaher instructionals) [1]
✓Choose 2-3 open guard variations to specialise in rather than trying to learn every guard — competition champions typically master a small number of guards deeply
✓Hip movement is the foundation — scooting (moving your hips toward the opponent), inverting (going upside down for guard retention), and hip switching must be reflexive
✓In gi, grip fighting determines everything — the battle for sleeve and collar grips is the opening of every open guard exchange
✓In no-gi, use collar ties, wrist control, and underhooks instead of gi grips — no-gi open guard is fundamentally different from gi
✓Positional sparring (guard player vs passer, starting from open guard) is the most efficient training method [2]
✓Study how elite guard players retain guard when nearly passed — Mikey Musumeci, the Miyao brothers, and Lachlan Giles demonstrate world-class guard retention
✓Combine sweeps with submission attempts — the opponent's defence of one opens the other
Common Mistakes
!Lying flat on the back in open guard — open guard requires constant hip movement and being on one hip; flat = getting passed
!Allowing the opponent to control both legs simultaneously — if the passer pins both legs to one side, the pass is essentially complete; always keep at least one leg free and active
!Reaching with arms instead of using legs — the legs are stronger and longer; overuse of arms in open guard leads to fatigue and submission vulnerability
!Playing the same guard against every passer — different passers require different guards; a pressure passer requires a different response than a speed passer
!Not training guard retention — spending all time on sweeps and submissions while having no answer for passing attempts
!Letting the opponent establish grips on your pants/legs — grip fighting is two-way; strip the passer's grips while establishing your own
!Ignoring the distance — open guard works at either long range (feet on hips/biceps) or at close range (hooks in); the middle range is where passes happen
Related Techniques
Closed Guard — the alternative with locked ankles for tighter controlHalf Guard — a guard variation that overlaps with open guard conceptsGuard Pass — the opposing skill set that open guard defends againstSweep — the primary offensive tool from open guardBack Take — accessible from many open guard positions, especially De La Riva and reverse De La RivaLeg Lock — modern open guard intersects with leg lock entries from single-leg X and ashi garami
Counter Techniques
Grip Stripping — systematically removing the guard player's grips eliminates their control frameworkStanding Passes (Toreando) — standing up and throwing the legs to pass at speedPressure Passes — driving forward with heavy chest pressure to flatten the guard playerLeg Drag — gripping and dragging one leg across the body to clear the passing laneBackstep — stepping backward to exit the guard and re-enter from a different angle
Setup Chain
1Establish Open Guard — set feet on hips/biceps, establish grips on sleeves/collar
2Manage Distance — control the range to your preferred distance
3Create Angle — use hip movement to angle off-centre for sweep/submission setups
4Off-Balance — use grips and hooks to break the opponent's base
5Attack — execute sweep, back take, or submission
6Retain Guard — if attack fails, use hip movement and frames to re-establish guard before being passed
Sources & References
Primary Source
The Guard (Ed Beneville & Joe Moreira, 2003)
1BookJiu-Jitsu University (Ribeiro, 2008)
Description sources — [1] Jiu-Jitsu University (Ribeiro, 2008) [2] The Guard (Beneville & Moreira, 2003) [3] X-Guard (Garcia, 2008)
2BookThe Guard (Beneville & Moreira, 2003)
History sources — [1] Ricardo De La Riva competition record [2] Marcelo Garcia career [3] Keenan Cornelius worm guard development
3BookX-Guard (Marcelo Garcia, 2008)
4BookAdvanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Danaher, 2007)
5CitationJiu-Jitsu University (Ribeiro, 2008)
Description sources — [1] Jiu-Jitsu University (Ribeiro, 2008) [2] The Guard (Beneville & Moreira, 2003) [3] X-Guard (Garcia, 2008)
6CitationThe Guard (Beneville & Moreira, 2003)
History sources — [1] Ricardo De La Riva competition record [2] Marcelo Garcia career [3] Keenan Cornelius worm guard development
7CitationX-Guard (Marcelo Garcia, 2008)
8CitationAdvanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Danaher, 2007)
Community
Athletics
Requires
hip mobility (constant movement), grip endurance (maintaining control connections), flexibility (inversions for guard retention)
Favours
long legs (more reach for hooks and control), flexible hips, quick reactions
Key muscles
hip flexors (scooting, inverting), core (rotation and guard retention), forearms (grip fighting), adductors (hooking)
Sub-techniques
Headquarters Position
SubFamilyHeadquarters (HQ) is a top control / pre-pass position in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where the standing or kneeling top player parks one shin across the bottom player's near hip with the foot hooked behind their far hip — converting the bottom player's open guard or De La Riva guard into a stalled, controlled checkpoint from which multiple guard passes (knee cut, leg drag, smash pass, long step) become available. [1,2] The position was popularised by Rafael Mendes and the Atos lineage as the central hub of their guard-passing system: rather than committing to a specific pass on entry, the top player establishes Headquarters first, neutralises the bottom player's primary attacks (berimbolo, single-leg, leg lasso), and then chooses the pass that fits the moment. [1,3] The defining structural detail is the shin alignment — the lead shin runs across the bottom player's hipline and traps the lower body, while the trailing leg posts wide for base. [1]
Explore
Rubber Guard Basics
SubFamilyRubber Guard uses extreme leg flexibility to control the opponent from closed guard by placing the foot behind the opponent's head, creating a platform for submissions and sweeps without relying on gi grips. [1]
Explore
Notes
Open guard encompasses all guard positions where the legs are not closed around the opponent — spider guard, lasso guard, De La Riva, reverse De La Riva, and others. Modern BJJ competition is dominated by open guard play. (Ribeiro, Jiu-Jitsu University)
Frequently Asked Questions
What sweep options do I have if my opponent pushes into my open guard?
Knight Jiu-Jitsu explains that if your opponent pushes to the inside, you can swap to a secondary tripod sweep, or transition to a single leg X guard. If they continue to push out of single leg X, you have additional options available to keep them engaged.
How do I set up a tripod sweep from open guard?
According to Knight Jiu-Jitsu, you place one leg under your opponent's first leg from the hip position, then pull their hands to the floor to get them balanced before executing the sweep.
How does the Open Guard work?
Open guard encompasses all guard positions where the bottom player's legs are NOT locked around the opponent, instead using feet on hips, hooks on legs, grips on sleeves/collars, and dynamic hip movement to control distance and create offensive opportunities. Open guard sacrifices the tight control of closed guard for greater mobility, a wider attack repertoire, and the ability to play at longer range — making it both more versatile and more technically demanding.
Where does the Open Guard come from?
While open guard concepts existed in earlier BJJ, the open guard revolution began with Ricardo De La Riva in the late 1980s–1990s, who developed the outside hook guard that bears his name. The 2000s saw explosive innovation: Marcelo Garcia revolutionised butterfly and X-guard, the Mendes brothers developed berimbolo from reverse De La Riva, and spider/lasso guard became dominant in gi competition.
Is the Open Guard legal in competition?
IBJJF: legal — Legal — guard is fundamental to BJJ, sweeps from guard score 2 points; IJF: restricted — Guard pulling penalized as non-combativity — groundwork from guard permitted …; ADCC: legal — Legal, guard pull penalized -1 point in points portion; Unified MMA: legal — Legal — no penalty for playing guard; FIAS Sport Sambo: legal — Legal
How dangerous is the Open Guard?
Danger rating 3/10. Low-moderate — open guard is relatively safe but slightly more dangerous than closed guard because the legs are not locked; risk of being stacked, leg-dragged, or having legs pinned during passing attempts; in MMA, open guard allows more ground-and-pound than closed guard
How do I set up the Open Guard?
The standard setup chain: Establish Open Guard → Manage Distance → Create Angle → Off-Balance → Attack → Retain Guard.
How do I defend against the Open Guard?
Standard counters include: Grip Stripping — systematically removing the guard player's grips eliminates their control framework / Standing Passes (Toreando) — standing up and throwing the legs to pass at speed / Pressure Passes — driving forward with heavy chest pressure to flatten the guard player / Leg Drag — gripping and dragging one leg across the body to clear the passing lane.
What are the variants of the Open Guard?
Common variants: De La Riva guard (outside hook on the opponent's lead leg with same-side co…); Spider guard (feet on the opponent's biceps with sleeve grips; creates …); Butterfly guard (seated with both feet hooked inside the opponent's thighs…); X-guard (underneath the opponent with legs forming an X around one…); Lasso guard (wrapping the leg around the opponent's arm from spider gu…); Reverse De La Riva (inside hook on the opponent's lead leg; sets up berimbolo…); Single-leg X (ashi garami) (controlling one leg with both legs in an X configuration;…); Worm guard (using the opponent's lapel threaded around their leg as a…).
How effective is the Open Guard in competition?
Open guard dominates modern IBJJF and ADCC competition, with the majority of black belt matches featuring open guard exchanges. Multiple World Champions have built careers on specific open guard variations.
What are common mistakes when doing the Open Guard?
Top errors to watch for: Lying flat on the back in open guard — open guard requires constant hip movement and being on one hip; flat = getting… / Allowing the opponent to control both legs simultaneously — if the passer pins both legs to one side, the pass is ess… / Reaching with arms instead of using legs — the legs are stronger and longer; overuse of arms in open guard leads to f… / Playing the same guard against every passer — different passers require different guards; a pressure passer requires ….
What are other names for the Open Guard?
The Open Guard is also known as Ōpun Gādo, Open Guard, Distance Guard, Non-Closed Guard.