Butterfly Guard Sweep Made Easy

By Ismail Safi, July 18, 2019

One of the weirdest positions that grappler can use in Jiu Jitsu is the butterfly guard. This position is often weird for both the guard player and guard passer. Although the butterfly guard has been around for a long time, not many of the elite competitors have mastered it. A few examples of grapplers notorious for this position include Marcelo Garcia and Gordon Ryan.

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There are two common reactions people experience when playing from butterfly guard. The first is that their opponent stands up, forcing the guard player to switch to shin-on-shin guard or some other position. The other common reaction is for the guard passer to try to force half guard, which is easier to pass than butterfly guard.

In order for a guard passer to flatten the guard player and advance, they will often look for an underhook. The underhook its self is not difficult to acquire, however, reaching for it creates a lot of space for the guard player to progress forward. At this stage, it is up to who is better technically.

In the following video, Gordan Ryan explains how you can take advantage of the underhook to set up a simple butterfly guard sweep. Gordon discusses many details here that are crucial for proper execution. See below:

There is a concept regarding butterfly guard that every grappler should know and utilize. In order to be proficient at this position, you must always be on the attack. Butterfly guard fails when the guard player becomes complacent and stops attacking.

For example, many grapplers will just sit back and do nothing in butterfly guard if their opponent retreats. If you have ever watched Gordon or Garry Tonon, though, you would have noticed that they are constantly moving forward and even stand up if they are given enough space in the guard.

Another important tip for having a good butterfly is maintain a strong posture while leaning forward. At no point should someone playing from butterfly guard be leaning back. If you lean backwards, you are making it very easy to push you down and flatten you. Instead, always keep you shoulder forward, past the hip line, preferable right above the knees.

Check out Gordon’s “Systematically Attacking the Guard”, and while you are at it, you should probably pick up “Getting Swole As A Grappler” his complete meal plan and workout strategy that allowed him to pack on insane amounts of muscle and functional strength. Besides, does anyone not want to be shredded? Yeah…. Didn’t think so.

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