The guards are the biggest contribution of jiu-jitsu to the world of grappling. They are essentially a way to fight off your back effectively, and the closed guard has been a staple of the art of jiu-jitsu in all areas\u2014self-defense, grappling competition, and MMA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A closed or full guard is a position where the bottom player has their legs around the top player’s torso with their feet crossed. This eliminates the use of the legs by the top player, gives the guard player a higher hip position, and allows them to control the distance between the two effectively.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The closed guard is one of the first positions everyone learns in jiu-jitsu, and it remains crucial throughout their entire journey. Although the development of many open guards<\/a> has shifted the higher-level game away from the closed guard, it remains the most critical position for beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Closed or full guard is a fundamental position in jiu-jitsu where you are on the bottom of the opponent and have your legs wrapped around them and your feet crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guard positions, in general, are what characterize BJJ the most. In other grappling styles, being on your back means you are losing the fight, but jiu-jitsu lets you fight off your back effectively precisely because of the guards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most other techniques, guards existed in grappling for centuries before making their way to Brazil, but their use was more limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Helio and Carlos Gracie introduced a more offensive use of the guard, and it became a part of their tactics rather than just a position you are put into involuntarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a long time, the closed guard was barely used, and people preferred the open guard, which was thought necessary to do an armbar. It was in the 1980s when the closed guard became more popular, and people started seeing its full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the different guards were developed mainly through BJJ competition, the closed guard is essential when striking is involved, like in Vale Tudo, self-defense, and later in MMA, all of which have been very important in BJJ’s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unique thing about the closed guard, as opposed to all open guards, is that the person on the bottom has all the distance control. This is important in all situations but becomes critical when the person on top can punch, kick, or elbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By taking advantage of the position, which puts their hips above those of the one on top, and using the legs, the person on bottom can manipulate the posture and the distance between the two grapplers. When strikes are possible, the closed guard allows you to pull the opponent close and eliminate their ability to create enough leverage to land strong blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The full guard is a reversed mount and is considered a neutral position, but in pure jiu-jitsu, where there are no strikes, one can argue the bottom player has more offensive options than the one on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, let\u2019s get to the practical side of things and show you how to have a strong closed guard, what the goals from the bottom should be, and how to turn it into an offensive position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we look at the closed guard from the perspective of the bottom player, but to know what to do, it’s also crucial to understand the goals of the person on top. In competition, the closed guard is considered a neutral position, and neither player gets any points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The person on top has almost no submission options, and the few possible ones are not techniques you can even do against an equally trained opponent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of the one on top of the closed guard in pure grappling is to open the guard, separating the legs and passing the now open guard. This can lead them into a dominant and scoring position like knee on belly, side control<\/a> or full mount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the one in bottom closed guard, your task is to turn this defensive position into an offensive one and sweep the opponent. This will take you to a dominant top position, earn you points in competition, or directly submit them. The road to both goes through the most important step: breaking the opponent’s posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>What Is A Closed Guard In BJJ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>What To Do In Closed Guard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Break The Posture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n