Well, at least mine is. Since I have come back from my ACL surgery my guard is getting passed like a knife through hot butter. I think my main problem is that I'm keeping my back flat on the mat and not getting any angles. This is letting people posture and start to pass. Today we did pass and defend at the day class and I got passed every single time. Days like this are the most frusrating periods of my life. Luckily, I have hit these walls before and know if I keep plugging away at it then I'll figure it out.
Rodney,
You just love to set yourself up so DeFranco can come on here and dog you.
Maybe FullBlast will come down to Dallas again and help you out with your bjj since you are sucking so bad at it now.
Marco
I used to play a lot of 1/2 guard but our coach devleoped a game that shut it down. Then he went and showed everyone else how to shut it down. Now, anytime I try to pull 1/2 on any of the good purples or higher it's an automatic ass whoopin.
There really are many counters to counters in the 1/2 guard and they really do work.- Trust me.- work the 1/2 guard.
No worries, man, my guard sucked today too. Like you said, these days happen, and often right before you make a big jump.
At least that's what I'm telling myself. ;)
To kill the 1/2 guard Carlos does a very simple thing takes away the angle and sticks you on the mat. So if my right leg is in your 1/2 guard I grab your left collar with my left hand. I then drive my forearm into your neck and drive you down while kind of lifting my elbow a little to really drive into you throat. From here your opps back is flat on the mat. I'm sure there are counters to this but Carlos shut everyone down with it, then everyone else started using it so it's damn hard to play the 1/2 with any success.
Marco
Even though Defranco is old and his shape is undesirable from laying on the beach drinking Mai Tai's the bastard still got me with twice with the same reversal. That's ok though, cause I'm working on some Ninja shit to lay the smack down on him.
i feel your pain!
I took 7 yrs off, its like I am a beginner, however you can look at it like this, it shows everyone is improving, so you know you will too.
ttt
Marco, you can count on me coming back soon to help my pal Rodney feel much better about his BJJ! And you too buddy!
that just means that he's beating you to your handles by recognizing/setting up the positions...if you have a plan going into the half guard and force your opponent to react to you, he won't be able to cut the angles and pressure you. The half guard is not a great passive position so don't play it that way...it's all about timing and set-ups here...
I would imagine, and correct me if I am wrong here, that Carlos Machado has probably shut down more than his fair share of 1/2 guards out there in his career in BJJ. Just a guess.
Rodney, have you talked to Carlos about maybe restructuring your game to deal with issues you may have as a result of your surgery? Maybe working closed guard will be more difficult because of it.
Rodney,
Let me just put myself in DeFranco's position....Wah, Wah, Wah, grow a pair and just man up...no one wants to hear your whining! LOL!
In all seriousness though, Purple belt is the hardest belt IMO. Don't beat yourself up so bad, you are just now coming back from a major injury.
One of the best concepts I ever learned was that I must be active. So if I have someone in guard, I keep my guard closed and start attacking, usually with the arm bar sweep combo. If I am passing the guard, I try not to let the other guy start. I start my pass immediately. I want the other guy to either defend my attacks or my passes.
Alvis
To shut down head control, other than the obvious things like not them your opponent get the underhook, the main thing is controlling the head. If your opponent cannot look to the side, he cannot get his hips out, and that flattens them out. So for the bottom man, if you are in half guard with your opponents right leg trapped, it is very important to use your rigth arm to control your opponents bicep which keeps them from flattening you out.
The John Frankl seminar DVD explains this very well.
ttt for some ninja shit
"I think my main problem is that I'm keeping my back flat on the mat and not getting any angles. This is letting people posture and start to pass."
That about says it all. An inoffensive guard = waste of time and is just asking to be passed. Good guard work requires proactive play by the guy holding guard. Just think 1/ shut down their posture then 2/ see what you can do to tip the balance of power.
And good luck with the ACL recovery (and welcome to the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Knee).
Honestly I'm bummed out too. I had two tears in my MCL that I got repaired in September and since has fully recovered. What hasn't recovered is my guard that completly sucks right compaired to before surgery b/c I rely alot more on strength to stay out of positions that I associtate with my knee being vurnable in. Where it's hurt me is in playing the De La Riva, Butterfly, and x guard which was what I mainly played before I got hurt. Now I play mostly full and half where i'm ok but not as good. I think it's going to take a long time to get back the mobility in the joints and strength where I'm confident to play guard like I want to.
Alvis,
Thanks for stepping in for Rob. :)
I think some of my problem is I'm not using my foot in the hip as much to creat my angle. I had a vacation day yesterday so I went to practice twice. Carlos showed me some things to help me out. I'm kind working the armdrag game he does when somebody is backing out of your guard. Before the surgery I did a lot of high guard but now I don't feel like I have all my strength back to work that very well. I tried to get a triangle on someone this week and it felt like I couldn't squeeze my knees together very well to get the finish.
Alvis,i don't need you talking for me,thank you.Rodney stop being a pussy and suck it up.Any one who takes time off ,theirs skills will suffer when they return.So you coming on here and crying like a two year old girl is not gonna help,what will help is shutting your pie hole and just train.I'm geting a little tired of having to come on here and bitch slap you into being a man.FullBlast can you come down and help your old buddy Rodney with his manhood?
Rodney, I hear you. It took me a long time to get the
game back up to speed after recovery from ACL/meniscus
reconstruction. Work around the areas that are
uncomfortable for now, then as the knee feels better
get back to positional drilling and sparring with the
problem areas. It does get better.
Rob, hopefully I will be able to get back down there next month, but I think I will stay away from Rodney's manhood. I mean, the pink belt is cool and all but, there are just some things I won't do!