Guard (grappling)

Transitioning directly from standing to the guard position is known as pulling guard. Tsunetane Oda, a judo groundwork specialist who died in 1955, demonstrated the technique on video. ==Closed Guard==

Sometimes referred to as full guard, the closed guard is the typical guard position. In this guard the legs are hooked behind the back of the opponent, preventing them from standing up or moving away. The opponent needs to open the legs up to be able to improve positioning. The bottom combatant might transit between the open and closed guard, as the open guard allows for better movement, but also has a bigger risk of the opponent passing the guard. == Half Guard ==

position Half guard is a position where the guard player wraps both of their legs around one of their opponent's legs. The half guard can favour the passer or the guard player, depending on the many details of the position such as body positioning and grips. The position affords many options for the guard player to initiate techniques such as sweeps and submission holds. Variants of half guard include the deep half guard, the Z-guard and the reverse De La Riva guard. ==Open Guard==

Close Combat manual The open guard is typically used to perform various joint locks and chokeholds. The legs can be used to move the opponent, and to create leverage. The open guard allows the opponent to stand up or try to pass the guard, so this position is often used only temporarily to set up sweeps or other techniques. Open guard is also a general term that encompasses a large number of guard positions where the legs are used to push, wrap or hook the opponent without locking the ankles together around them. Butterfly Guard training. The judogi of the top combatant is grabbed to prevent him from moving away. The butterfly guard involves both of the legs being hooked with the ankles in between the opponents legs, against the inside of the opponents thighs. The opponent is controlled using both legs and arms. The leverage in the butterfly guard allows powerful sweeps. The guard also allows one to elevate or set the opponent off balance and because of this it is particularly useful in avoiding damage and allows transitions to other dominant positions. The analogous technique in wrestling and catch wrestling is called double elevator. X-Guard The X-guard is an open guard where one of the combatants is standing up and the other is on their back. The bottom combatant uses the legs to entangle one of the opponent's legs, which creates opportunities for powerful sweeps. The X-guard is often used in combination with butterfly and half guard. In a grappling match, this is an advantageous position for the bottom combatant, but in general hand-to-hand combat, the top combatant can attack with stomps or soccer kicks. Likewise, skilled use of the x-guard can prevent the opponent from attempting a kick, or throw them off balance should they raise a leg. The x-guard was developed by Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva [in the 1990's,?] and popularized by Marcelo Garcia. ==Passing the Guard==

In order to overcome the primary defense of one's opponent, their guard, and attain a more dominant position, such as side mount, full mount, or knee on stomach a practitioner must pass the guard. There are several ways of doing so; many involve pain compliance whereby the practitioner persuades the opponent to release their guard through an abrasive action. Examples of this type of action would be digging the practitioner's forearms into the inner thigh of the opponent, standing and attempting a can opener neck crank, or in the case of a mixed martial arts setting, to simply strike the opponent until the guard is released. Passing the guard however has perils of its own, as it has a tendency to leave the practitioner particularly vulnerable to counterattack in the form of sweeps and submissions. Simple guard pass Simple guard pass also known as the arm/leg pull is a guard pass demonstrated in The Essence Of Judo by Kyuzo Mifune, and it is an unnamed technique described in The Canon Of Judo. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this pass is commonly referred to as the Toreando/Bull Fighter Pass. The main characteristic of the pass is the practitioner side-stepping around the opponent's legs whilst simultaneously pulling aside the opponent's leg or pinning the opponents legs to the ground. Stacking guard pass Stacking Guard Pass is also demonstrated in The Essence Of Judo by Mifune, and it is also an unnamed technique described in The Canon Of Judo. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, this guard pass is commonly referred to as the Knee Over Pass. The main characteristic of this pass is the practitioner driving their knee over the opponent's same side thigh while in the opponent's open guard. ==See also==