Why did you choose the guard you currently use?

[thugpoet]

I loved full guard and rubber guard when I was more flexible. But now I just use butterfly/half-butterfly, full guard (just for sweeps) and half-guard. I don't really go for submissions from the bottom, I just look for sweeps/scrambles to get to the legs with.

What's your go to sequence?

 

[ArtemV]

What's your go to sequence?

I like trying to scissor sweep in nogi, although it is easier with the gi. Failing that, I try to look for armbars just to get a flower sweep/pendulum sweep. I am also quite good at arm-drags from full guard to get to the back, or at least somewhere better.

 

[migeru29]

Originally I was a bravo guy so I used a ton of rubber guard then as I expanded my game, I started using butterfly then switched to z guard.

My guard game was always based on what I wanted to based my game on rubber guard for mma defense, butterfly for sweeps etc.

I've recently started using more butterfly to start working leg locks.

Why did you choose the guard that you use?

Im a judo/wrestling guy i don't use guard and never stay on my back for more than 5 seconds. No way in hell a BJJ pin me down from my back unless he has a wrestling background. So far I can survive well without guard against pure bjj guys

 

[yetanother]

Im a judo/wrestling guy i don't use guard and never stay on my back for more than 5 seconds. No way in hell a BJJ pin me down from my back unless he has a wrestling background. So far I can survive well without guard against pure bjj guys

In the gi too?

 

[migeru29]

In the gi too?

Both. The huge disadvantage or course against heavier guys, which I try to avoid at all cost. Not fun

 

[ChickenBrother]

Im a judo/wrestling guy i don't use guard and never stay on my back for more than 5 seconds. No way in hell a BJJ pin me down from my back unless he has a wrestling background. So far I can survive well without guard against pure bjj guys

Both. The huge disadvantage or course against heavier guys, which I try to avoid at all cost. Not fun

This was me for probably 15 years. Feels good to go to open mats and beat up on pure BJJ guys by taking them down, smash passing them and generally out-wrestling them. But it leaves a huge hole in your game. About 3 years ago, after getting repeatedly smashed by bigger wrestlers or just cock strong guys that outweighed me by 100 lbs, I finally said fuck this I need to learn to play guard for real. So I swallowed my pride, put on a white belt and started training pure BJJ.

It's a work in progress but no regrets and I'm glad I started. If you just prioritize "winning" every roll, you don't improve.

 

[RemyR]

Anything that keeps weight off of you is a good a thing.

What's your plan? You get X guard whats your next move

I’ll switch it up between three sweeps, basically this video sums up my x guard. I’ll also occasionally go for back takes if they try and sit their weight on top of me. Also sometimes I’ll go 50/50 on the leg I’m controlling if they’re tall.

 

[migeru29]

This was me for probably 15 years. Feels good to go to open mats and beat up on pure BJJ guys by taking them down, smash passing them and generally out-wrestling them. But it leaves a huge hole in your game. About 3 years ago, after getting repeatedly smashed by bigger wrestlers or just cock strong guys that outweighed me by 100 lbs, I finally said fuck this I need to learn to play guard for real. So I swallowed my pride, put on a white belt and started training pure BJJ.

It's a work in progress but no regrets and I'm glad I started. If you just prioritize "winning" every roll, you don't improve.

Even pure bjj guys that are heavier than me can beat me. I know that the only way to beat them is with technique which I have not is Power based. I'm not a small guy 195 pounds so I can usually smash but yeah size matters a lot

 

[thugpoet]

This was me for probably 15 years. Feels good to go to open mats and beat up on pure BJJ guys by taking them down, smash passing them and generally out-wrestling them. But it leaves a huge hole in your game. About 3 years ago, after getting repeatedly smashed by bigger wrestlers or just cock strong guys that outweighed me by 100 lbs, I finally said fuck this I need to learn to play guard for real. So I swallowed my pride, put on a white belt and started training pure BJJ.

It's a work in progress but no regrets and I'm glad I started. If you just prioritize "winning" every roll, you don't improve.

While I agree with your overall message I would say that getting at " plan A " and being able to implement it on everyone you can has a ton of merit. I am not saying don't be well rounded but it pays to be a specialist.

 

[thugpoet]

Even pure bjj guys that are heavier than me can beat me. I know that the only way to beat them is with technique which I have not is Power based. I'm not a small guy 195 pounds so I can usually smash but yeah size matters a lot

You will never realize how much strength you use until you roll with someone who is the son of the hulk

 

[ChickenBrother]

Even pure bjj guys that are heavier than me can beat me. I know that the only way to beat them is with technique which I have not is Power based. I'm not a small guy 195 pounds so I can usually smash but yeah size matters a lot

I'm 170 - 175 but have been lifting weights for 30 years so I've never felt underpowered vs. other guys up to maybe 200 lbs. There's a few guys at my gym that are 230+ and also strength trained, and I can't match them relying only on top game. In fact when those guys pass and get to side control, I'm pretty much fucked. Even if you prefer top game, at a minimum, I'd suggest getting comfortable with butterfly guard into either technical stand up or butterfly sweep. That's what my main coaches do and like me, they hate being on bottom. They're BJJ BB's and pro MMA fighters.

 

[ChickenBrother]

While I agree with your overall message I would say that getting at " plan A " and being able to implement it on everyone you can has a ton of merit. I am not saying don't be well rounded but it pays to be a specialist.

I think it depends whether you prioritize training for sport rules or to be a better martial artist. I train for the latter. Against guys my size or smaller, I can usually force top control if I want it and even if I get swept, I can easily carry the weight of someone my size and explode out of bad positions if needed. But rolling with bigger, stronger guys at my skill level or higher for the past 2.5 years has been keeping me honest. No matter how big, strong, skilled you are, there's going to be guys who can put you on your back whether it's from TD or a sweep.

Having literally NO "plan B" guard game is IMO a recipe for getting your ass kicked in both competition and in self defense.

 

[thugpoet]

I think it depends whether you prioritize training for sport rules or to be a better martial artist. I train for the latter. Against guys my size or smaller, I can usually force top control if I want it and even if I get swept, I can easily carry the weight of someone my size and explode out of bad positions if needed. But rolling with bigger, stronger guys at my skill level or higher for the past 2.5 years has been keeping me honest. No matter how big, strong, skilled you are, there's going to be guys who can put you on your back whether it's from TD or a sweep.

Having literally NO "plan B" guard game is IMO a recipe for getting your ass kicked in both competition and in self defense.

There's nothing wrong with expanding your game.

I'd also argue that being a specialist doesn't make you any less of a martial artist.

I just want to show the other side of the coin. the whole thousands moves vs one move a thousand times.

 

[ChickenBrother]

There's nothing wrong with expanding your game.

I'd also argue that being a specialist doesn't make you any less of a martial artist.

I just want to show the other side of the coin. the whole thousands moves vs one move a thousand times.

I agree with your sentiment but IMO to consider oneself a martial artist, you should have at least some ability in every position. i.e. striking, TD, top passing, guard, recompose, submission. If you're a specialist to the point that you've completely ignored one or more of those positions, you'll probably lose a fight to someone who specializes in that area.

Said another way, when I started training at my current school (coming from 8 years of wrestling and Judo), I had much better TDs, top control and base than a lot of pure BJJers but my guard game was white belt level. My coach told me I need to learn to play guard to make my top game better. I've found it to be true. The better I get at guard, the more confident I am on top. I can take more risks and go for subs that, even if I get swept, I'm comfortable working for a sweep or stand-up to get back to top control.

 

[migeru29]

I'm 170 - 175 but have been lifting weights for 30 years so I've never felt underpowered vs. other guys up to maybe 200 lbs. There's a few guys at my gym that are 230+ and also strength trained, and I can't match them relying only on top game. In fact when those guys pass and get to side control, I'm pretty much fucked. Even if you prefer top game, at a minimum, I'd suggest getting comfortable with butterfly guard into either technical stand up or butterfly sweep. That's what my main coaches do and like me, they hate being on bottom. They're BJJ BB's and pro MMA fighters.

Well my grip is way too strong as well due to years of Judo. But I feel my technique is is power based, butterfly guard? LOL too late for me. I would just rather keep avoiding heavier guys.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Well my grip is way too strong as well due to years of Judo. But I feel my technique is is power based, butterfly guard? LOL too late for me. I would just rather keep avoiding heavier guys.

There's something to be said for avoiding heavier guys. I get hurt WAY less when I stick to guys no more than ~20 lbs heavier or so.

But at some point we all get old. I remember when I used to compete Judo, the 30+ guys would advise learning to use sasae and de ashi barai because at some point you're going to be not explosive enough to pull off uchi mata or o soto gari. Now that I'm mid 40's, I'm noticeably slower and less explosive with a smaller gastank and I'm forced to play guard more than before. There's a 53 yo purple at my school that's still strong as hell, but like me, he's slowed down with age and has been working on his guard game more, out of necessity.

 

[thugpoet]

I agree with your sentiment but IMO to consider oneself a martial artist, you should have at least some ability in every position. i.e. striking, TD, top passing, guard, recompose, submission. If you're a specialist to the point that you've completely ignored one or more of those positions, you'll probably lose a fight to someone who specializes in that area.

Said another way, when I started training at my current school (coming from 8 years of wrestling and Judo), I had much better TDs, top control and base than a lot of pure BJJers but my guard game was white belt level. My coach told me I need to learn to play guard to make my top game better. I've found it to be true. The better I get at guard, the more confident I am on top. I can take more risks and go for subs that, even if I get swept, I'm comfortable working for a sweep or stand-up to get back to top control.

Defining a martial artist by something like skill in a certain position is close minded. A boxer is as much of a martial artist as a mma fighter. The act of studying how to fight no matter the rules makes you a martial artist.

Being well rounded is definitely a bonus not denying that, but if you don't have a primary skill set you will loose fairly often

 

[ChickenBrother]

Defining a martial artist by something like skill in a certain position is close minded. A boxer is as much of a martial artist as a mma fighter. The act of studying how to fight no matter the rules makes you a martial artist.

Being well rounded is definitely a bonus not denying that, but if you don't have a primary skill set you will loose fairly often

Agreed.

I suppose I was referring to different positions within an individual discipline. If we're talking MMA, that's still a combat sport albeit one closer to real fighting than boxing or wrestling. But we've seen that at the highest level, top MMA fighters almost always came up first through an individual discipline, whether wrestling, BJJ or striking, and attained at least full proficiency (if not elite level) before branching into MMA.

But in say BJJ, if you ONLY know how to play TD into top game with no understanding of guard retention or recomposing, not only would you be at a big disadvantage vs. other pure BJJ players, it would be a stretch to even call you a BJJ practitioner. You need at least a rudimentary understanding of every position in BJJ to be a proficient BJJer. If you chose to then make that your specialization base to pursue MMA, you would need to further round it out with striking, wrestling control, cage control, GnP, etc. to be proficient under the new rule set.

Even Conor McGregor has pretty good grappling just like Khabib has pretty good striking. Neither are elite at their B games but if they had NO proficiency there, neither would have been as successful.

 

[thugpoet]

Agreed.

I suppose I was referring to different positions within an individual discipline. If we're talking MMA, that's still a combat sport albeit one closer to real fighting than boxing or wrestling. But we've seen that at the highest level, top MMA fighters almost always came up first through an individual discipline, whether wrestling, BJJ or striking, and attained at least full proficiency (if not elite level) before branching into MMA.

But in say BJJ, if you ONLY know how to play TD into top game with no understanding of guard retention or recomposing, not only would you be at a big disadvantage vs. other pure BJJ players, it would be a stretch to even call you a BJJ practitioner. You need at least a rudimentary understanding of every position in BJJ to be a proficient BJJer. If you chose to then make that your specialization base to pursue MMA, you would need to further round it out with striking, wrestling control, cage control, GnP, etc. to be proficient under the new rule set.

Even Conor McGregor has pretty good grappling just like Khabib has pretty good striking. Neither are elite at their B games but if they had NO proficiency there, neither would have been as successful.

As successful is hard when talking about what ifs.

Again I am no arguing against being well rounded. I was arguing that beingaa specialist doesn't make you any less of a martial artist. And if we are talking about being effective as possible than being a specialist will lead to more victories as proven over and over again by the mma

 

[ChickenBrother]

As successful is hard when talking about what ifs.

Again I am no arguing against being well rounded. I was arguing that beingaa specialist doesn't make you any less of a martial artist. And if we are talking about being effective as possible than being a specialist will lead to more victories as proven over and over again by the mma

I think we're saying the same thing. In my previous post I said almost all top MMA fighters came up in a base style that they are better at than most people. If that's what you mean by "specialist," then yes that's indisputable.

I was talking about having literally no training or understanding of a certain area that would be expected to occur in a given ruleset, and that I think is very rare if not non-existent. There is no top MMA fighter today that does not train some form of grappling (including guard work), some form of striking AND some manner of gnp etc. Even if they're a blue belt in BJJ but a black belt with these hands, they still train and have a rudimentary understanding of guardwork, sweeps and subs. And if that were not worthwhile or necessary, we'd still be seeing style vs. style match-ups with no cross-training, a la UFC 1.