Closed Guard

Closed Guard is a fundamental position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where the person on the bottom wraps their legs around the opponent's waist, crossing their feet and locking them behind the opponent's back. This creates a strong control position that limits the mobility of the person on top and provides numerous offensive and defensive opportunities for the bottom player.

Key Elements

Leg Control

  • Your legs encircle the opponent's waist, creating a strong connection and controlling their posture and movement.
  • Your feet are locked behind the opponent’s lower back to maintain control.

Posture Control

  • Use your hands to break the opponent’s posture, often by gripping their collar or sleeves.
  • Pulling them down prevents them from posturing up, limiting their ability to strike (in self-defense scenarios) or pass your guard.

Grip Fighting

Angles and Attacks

  • Shifting your angles is key for setting up submissions like the Armbar, Triangle Choke, or Omoplata.
  • Adjusting your hips and positioning allows you to move fluidly between attacks and sweeps.

Breaking the Guard

  • The person on top will attempt to open your legs to break the guard. It's your job to use frames and pressure to maintain control.

Common Submissions from Closed Guard

Common Sweeps from Closed Guard

Closed Guard is one of the most versatile positions in BJJ, offering a mix of control, offensive potential, and defensive security. Mastering it is critical for both beginners and advanced practitioners.

Advancing Closed Guard

Advancement from Closed Guard requires a mix of breaking their posture, controlling grips, and creating angles. Use attacks like submissions or sweeps to force reactions, opening opportunities to transition to dominant positions like Mount or Side Control. Prioritize maintaining strong connections while dictating the pace of the engagement.

Transitions from Closed Guard

To Open Guard

  • Release your feet from behind your opponent and establish frames or grips to control their posture while placing your feet on their hips, thighs, or in Hooks.

To Butterfly Guard

  • Open your guard and scoot your hips back while inserting your feet under their thighs for Hooks, keeping strong grips on their sleeves or lapel.

To Rubber Guard

  • Break their posture down, isolate one side, and use your leg to wrap over their shoulder, controlling their posture further.

To Half Guard

  • If they begin breaking your guard open, establish an underhook and lock one of their legs with your own, transitioning to Half Guard.

Submissions from Closed Guard

Triangle Choke

  • Break their posture and trap one arm inside your legs while locking your legs around their neck and shoulder.

Armbar

  • Control their arm, pivot your hips, and extend their arm while locking your legs across their chest and neck.

Omoplata

  • Break their posture, isolate their arm, and shift your hips to lock their shoulder using your legs.

Kimura

  • Use a Figure-Four Grip to isolate and attack the arm by pushing their wrist toward the back.

Guillotine

  • Snap their head down, wrap your arm under their neck, and secure the choke by closing your guard.

Cross Collar Choke

Wrist Lock

  • Attack their wrist when they reach or post on your chest.

Sweeps from Closed Guard

Hip Bump Sweep

  • Sit up explosively, bumping your hips into their chest while controlling one arm and posting on the mat.

Scissor Sweep

  • Control their posture with grips, open your guard, and use your shin to cut across their body while pushing their base leg.

Flower Sweep

  • Break their posture and grab their leg while swinging your leg in an arc to destabilize them and come to Mount.

Overhead Sweep

  • Use their momentum when they drive forward, breaking their posture and rolling them overhead.

Push Sweep

  • Create space, post on their hip or knee, and push them backward to sweep.

Guard Passes to Counter Closed Guard

Guard Passes/Knee Cut

  • Open their guard, establish a frame on their chest, and cut your knee through their thigh while controlling their hips.

Over-Under Pass

  • Open the guard and scoop one leg up while driving pressure through their hips.

Single Stack

  • Posture up, stack their knees to their chest, and pass around their legs.

Toreando

  • Open the guard, control their pant legs, and use angles to circle around to Side Control.

Floating Guard Pass

  • Use your weight distribution and balance to bypass their legs after opening the guard.

Escapes from Closed Guard (Top Position)

Posture Escape

  • Grip their belt or collar to maintain posture while pushing their hips to open the guard.

Standing Escape

  • Maintain posture, stand up, and use gravity to pop open their guard.

Underhook Escape

  • Create an underhook and rotate out, establishing control over their legs to pass.

Takedowns to Enter Closed Guard

Guard Pull

  • Grip their collar or sleeve and sit back, bringing them into your closed guard.

Trip from Guard Pull

Countering Takedowns

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