hey Andreh, I remember you asking on the forum one time about the practice of not adjusting their one knee out before inserting the other knee against the sitz bone or tailbone to open the guard from the knees. I still don't understand the pros and cons of each to a deep level but this video has some insight into the method of not moving the non-tailbone knee first:
it seems most videos i've seen use this method without going into much detail on why.
michael jen (iirc) shows moving the knee first on his old guard passing vids.
thoughts (anyone)?
I believe the idea is, if you let your knees come together when you start your guard break, you are shortening your base and in that moment are more vulnerable to a well-timed sweep.
Matt Thornton teaches to move the non-tailbone knee out at a 90 degree angle before placing the wedge knee in.
I've done it like that ever since, works a hot damn, and it's hard to move someone when they're leaning out to the side over the side reaching knee.
Also, I just do whatever Matt says, because he's huge and awfully good and I'm terrified of him.
Your knees should never be placed closed together in the top guard. They should always be wide as possible. When you decide to use the knee wedge break just simply rise up (get off your heels) and place the one knee in the tail bone and immediately shoot the other knee at a 90 degree and sit back down. This will raise your opponent's hips off the ground if done correctly.
Andreh also makes the point that when you drop the nontailbone leg back you need to recenter your weight so that you are not heavy to one side. At least that is how I remember him showing me. Its the only way i open from the knees. 
shen -
I believe the idea is, if you let your knees come together when you start your guard break, you are shortening your base and in that moment are more vulnerable to a well-timed sweep.
Master Shen has broken the closed guard of correct.
I like to keep the knees close together to monitor the opponents hip. Marcelo does this. I remember danaher teaching me this a ling time ago too (he would keep his knees literally touching. That said, I think standing is the way to go - still at some point you will be on your knees in the closed guard so you have to understand the position.
delicious bass - I like to keep the knees close together to monitor the opponents hip. Marcelo does this. I remember danaher teaching me this a ling time ago too (he would keep his knees literally touching. That said, I think standing is the way to go - still at some point you will be on your knees in the closed guard so you have to understand the position. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
well there goes everything out the window.
dammit.
delicious bass - I like to keep the knees close together to monitor the opponents hip. Marcelo does this. I remember danaher teaching me this a ling time ago too (he would keep his knees literally touching. That said, I think standing is the way to go - still at some point you will be on your knees in the closed guard so you have to understand the position. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
I think you are talking about keeping his hips pinned between your knees though, correct? This is what I like to do if I need to regain some control of their hips especially if you can hold them down via elbows or grips. This is how I start e.g. when I have both hands in their arm pits and my forearms are tight to their rib cage.
However, this is different than the technique of opening the guard where you bring 1 knee towards the tailbone. I think Shen nailed that one. I think that by opening the other leg first you're also in a better position to control his leg on that side and further reduce his chances of countering as you bring your other knee in. Although I don't like bringing it all the way to the tailbone.
As with every position in jiu-jitsu, there are no absolutes. I like placing the knees together at first because it gives me more pushing power when I move one knee back. Although you are more vulnerable to being swept with your knees together if you don't have good base, some people have amazing base in this position. Furthermore, if the person tries to sweep you most likely he will open his guard to do so and that's exactly what your goal was to begin with. A lot of it comes down to skill level. If I'm wary of my opponent's guard I'll keep my knees further apart for better base, whereas if I'm not too concerned I'll place my knees together.
any specific thoughts on the video? anyone want to embed?
this roy harris video is interesting as well. more than one way to skin a cat i suppose:
demandango - this roy harris video is interesting as well. more than one way to skin a cat i suppose:
To give it a fair opinion I'd have to work it on the mats. However, I am philosophically against putting my forearm across the waste like that while the guard is closed. Gives your opponent a damn good attacking chance..arm bars, arm drag. Your opponent has both arms against yours. I also think that you'd need to be bigger than your opponent to have any confidence that your weight is going to keep him pinned. I would love for my opponents to try this opening on me. I'd be flower sweeping to mount a few seconds later.
With the Roy Harris video I was more referring to the placement of his knees but of course welcome the other comments as well. Thanks for the input.
demandango - With the Roy Harris video I was more referring to the placement of his knees but of course welcome the other comments as well. Thanks for the input. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
That placement of both of the knees is great for doing a dbl under pass after you've got the guard open..You shouldn't keep driving into your opponent as he scoots away. Pull his butt onto your lap instead (beep?). I don't think that you can create enough pressure at you opponents ankles just by arching your back at that point. It doesn't allow you to rotate your hips and create that extra distance. I also think that it limits the speed of putting your shin over the leg that you're pinning to the mat...which is a nice option. When I start to do a single leg pass, I like to have my shin over the other leg. Just my .02