Check Out This Crucial Half Guard Technique From Jake Mackenzie

Countering The Underhook by Jake Mackenzie

It is a common problem amongst Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players who love half guard: how to counter the under hook. When playing half guard top, one of the most used techniques is to set an under hook while your training partner is trying to frame and create space. This can give you an advantage, as it allows you to smash and pass the half guard player. Part of being a good half guard player is knowing what to do when this happens. Chances are, it is going to happen to you eventually, so why not learn how to effectively counter the under hook and save yourself a bunch of time and frustration?

Jake Mackenzie may be the most knowledgeable half guard specialist in Brazil. Learn The Top Secret Half Guard System From The Canadian Who Infiltrated Brazil’s Toughest School

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Jake Mackenzie is world renowned for his half guard play. Jake is a Canadian born Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the infamous World Champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. He is regarded as one of the top North American grapplers of his generation, with an impressive list of titles including: 4x Brazilian National Teams Champion, 2x Brazilian National No Gi Champion, 2x São Paulo International Open Champion, World Masters Champion, São Paulo International No Gi Open Champion, Floripa International Open Champion, Brasilia International Open Champion, Chicago International Open Champion and more.

Today Jake Mackenzie is here at BJJ Fanatics Head Quarters to demonstrate how to counter the under hook when playing from bottom half guard. If you love to play half guard this is a really important technique that you will definitely want to add to your arsenal. Watch the video below of Jake Mackenzie demonstrating the under hook counter and then we will break down his technique. Check it out now!

Jake Mackenzie emphasizes that this is a very common attack that can happen from top half guard. The under hook should be your main concern when playing for the bottom. It is something that you want to watch for the whole time you are there. If you do a good job of countering the under hook it is going to make your job a lot easier. As soon as your opponent goes for the under hook you want to prevent his head from getting all the way to the mats. If he gets his head to the floor, there is going to be a lot of pressure and body weight on top of you, making things a lot harder. As your opponent is pushing forward to get the under hook you want to do a good job covering his opposite arm. The timing in this is very crucial. You do not want to hesitate when he goes for the under hook. Right away you should be looking to bridge and extend your arm out. Once you are fully extended you want to pull your elbow back and try to scoot your hips underneath. Now you can secure your under hook, and come up to your knees.

There are two crucial components to getting this technique right: timing and bridging as hard and as fast as you can. Once you get these two parts down you will really have a great counter to a very common problem when playing bottom half guard. So if you are the type of BJJ player who gets frustrated every time your half guard gets smashed, this is probably just what you were looking for. Jake Mackenzie has tons of techniques like this one that have been battle tested against top level competitors all around the world, so you know this will work. Remember to give it a try the next time you are on the mats in a live roll or in competition. It is a super great technique that will surely work for you!

Everybody feels in trouble when they play half guard with Jake. Now, it’s your turn to make everyone feel this way about your game. When you finish watching this series you’ll leave them thinking you were born on the mat. REMEMBER! Half guard is a safe guard to play. It has no age or body-type restriction. Anyone can play it - literally.

The problem is most people play half guard wrong. Jake is like an encyclopedia when it comes to half guard. He’s all about technique without force and shows you game-changing details.

Learn The System That Will Completely Change Your Half Guard Game.

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