Hi everyone
Would have liked to ask what are the pros and cons of opening the legs 1) on knees 2) standing up
in Gi and No-gi situations (straight grappling)
How do you generally prefer to open the legs?
A good way I feel is standing up and then sliding one knee in, but the problem is it only works for people with short legs and so definately not for me. People I´ve taught it to and whose bodytype it is accustomed to use that method to great success.
I used to open the legs seated, but it gets harder and harder to keep posture (especially in no-gi) so lately I´ve begun to stand up with one of their arm to open the legs. But it´s hard to do so in No-gi cause the arm is hard to grab and hold.
What possible postures do you use for opening the guard?
Thank you, Indrek
personally i like to grab their belt line and dig my elbow into their inner thighs and pushing down while leaning back a bit. it causes them some discomfort and won't seriously cause damage and it also stops them from reaching up and grabbing you.
it should work on any opponent wether they're shorter or taller. and if you can't grab their gi just don't grab the belt line, just push down on it.
it works cause 95% of the people out there don't have their inner thighs built up and it's a pretty senstive area to begin with.
When you open the legs and pass standing, you have gravity to your advantage, which usually means more power and leverage. But the bad part is that your balance isn't as good. It's the opposite with sitting guard opening techniques and sitting guard passes. When you're sitting, it's harder to sweep you, but you don't have quite as much leverage to open your opponent's legs and it can also sometimes be hard if your opponent is grabbing your arms and/or your head. Then it's often a good idea to stand up and try to break the guard open and pass from there.
Basically, the idea is to switch between standing and sitting until you pass the guard. If sitting is hard, try standing and vice versa.
To make it easier for you to do the "knee in the tailpipe" guard opening technique, try beginning the technique by putting your hands in your opponent's armpits, pushing them away as you walk your knees back. Try to get as far back as you can, really stretching your arms. This will make his guard slide high up your back until his legs are closed around your armpits instead of your hips. Next, stand up and insert your knee and sit down on your other knee. You have to hit the exact spot for his ankles to uncross. If he's really resisting, you can try pushing his thighs down as well with your hand(s) or elbow(s).
Hope this helps!
jonpall.
Get good upright posture and strike. When he opens his legs slide your knee in so he can't close back up again, or move outside immediately. There are many methods, but strike first if possible.
Indrek asked: "Would have liked to ask what are the pros and cons of
opening the legs 1) on knees 2) standing up in Gi and No-gi situations
(straight grappling)"
Burton said: "Get good upright posture and strike. When he opens his
legs slide your knee in so he can't close back up again, or move
outside immediately. There are many methods, but strike first if
possible."
I tried that in my last submission grappling event and I got
DQed! Did I do something wrong Burton?
:)
Mike
Thanks for the replies...
Burton: I was considering gi/no-gi grappling without striking.
Spikespiegel: the elbows to thighs isn´t really very technical is it - and when people try to do it to me I usually am able to keep the guard closed if I want to
jonpall: the knee up to tailbone is a good one I´ve taught to lot of people and they are doing well with it - but it doesn´t work for me cause I have extra long legs compared to my torso. I just can´t get the knee in unless the guard is really high.
I am really been experimenting with standing up with one arm - and if i don´t get the arm then I stand up with one hand on chest and other on the hip. But both are rather hard to do No-gi..
"I just can´t get the knee in unless the guard is really high."
By walking back and pushing the armpits away before you stand up, you can often force his guard to get really high.
There is also another common way to pass the guard from standing. Just stand up and immediately put one leg back so that your opponent can at most grab one of your legs, but not both. Get your posture as upright as possible and put either your elbow in his inner thigh or your hand on his knee like you were passing the guard sitting down. Next, shake your whole body up and down until his ankles uncross. Your next task would be to immobilize his hips and subsequently get pass his legs to side mount.
the elbows always seem to work for me, make sure you dig them into the inner thighs pretty close to the groin and really push down. if you do it properly it hurts like a bugger and it seems to work better the bonier your elbows are.
i don't know how technical it is, i've been taught it by several different people, i do however know it works.
once you've broken the guard then you pass their guard by what ever way you feel comfortable doing or is the best way.
standing up i think would be hard to do with a bjj guy or a wrestler cause they'd grab your legs and take you down again.
Spikespiegal is a very wise professor. Long live the blue shirt maniac!!!