A Complete Guard
Dont hit the ground without one
With more new members joining weekly, it’s been awesome sharing the art with all of you, and easy to see the level of understanding grow in even the newest members.
We’ve just wrapped up the chapter focusing on securing, escaping and finishing from the mounted position, and are now just about to start looking at quite possibly the most flexible position in Jiu-Jitsu: THE GUARD.
The philosophy behind the Guard is what really set Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu apart from most martial arts at the beginning of mixed martial arts competitions.
How amazing is it that you can survive, defend yourself and even win while being on your BACK in a fight or match?
Today, with the art of BJJ being so popular, most people train with the sporting application in mind, which is great and which can be a lot of fun. But there is another side of the coin being ignored by most people learning the art today. Used well, the Guard is literally a lifesaver – used wrong, the Guard is certainly not the place to be in a fight.
Case in point below: he broke some of the fundamental principles of using the
Guard in our fight at UFC 115 and clearly paid the price.
Mississauga a coach claude patrick at ufc 115 taking advantage of loose guard work
With my Mixed martial arts matches I have had to work on the guard extensively in the event I ended up on the bottom; but even before that – and actually from the very first day I studied Jiu-Jitsu – using the Guard properly to defend myself from what I like to call “the everyday bad guy” was my main priority. (More stories on that to come later, and I have some pretty epic ones, too.)
Looking back at things, today’s BJJ training is very different than when I started out learning the art. In the mid-late 90s, everyone’s focus was using BJJ for self-defense or fighting, and on the whole, the combat side of the art was the bigger focus.
In most academies today, the focus is on the strategies that lead to a win in sport BJJ events, or friendly no–time limit “rolls” in the academy – both fun, but far from a complete use of the art.
And so it begins: this week, in the BJJ 101 class we start the in-depth study of developing a complete Guard.
p.s. Traditional martial artist, sport BJJ player, or straight-up pacifist who never plans to fight: don’t miss this chance to learn the core concepts that make your Guard a useful tool that enables you to protect yourself off your back in sport or fighting situations when it’s actually needed.
For info about the class click here
See you on the mats.
C.P.
