Powerful Kneebar Finish From X Guard

By Corey Kuropas, December 15, 2016

When it comes to open guards, X Guard is one of the most dynamic. The position made famous by Marcelo Garcia, is a very flexible guard. When you get to it, a variety of sweeps and submissions become available to you. The other awesome aspect of the X Guard is that it can transfer easily from gi to no gi. It works in both, and quite well I may add. While most people use it purely as a sweeping guard, there are some powerful submissions from it. One of those overlooked submissions is the kneebar attack. It is not hard at all to get to or use. Here is how you can get that powerful kneebar finish.

One of the nice sequencing ways to get it is to start from the Butterfly Guard. When you are in the butterfly guard, you can go for the basic hook sweep. The sweep itself is effective, but it is also easily thwarted. When an opponent wants to defend it, he will post his arms so that he won’t be swept over. This will be your entry into the X Guard. As he posts his arms, use your hand to grab his near side knee and pull him into your X Guard.

When he is secured in your guard, you must use your legs to stretch him out. There is another sweep from that stretch, but in this case, we will ignore the sweep to get the finish instead. As he is stretched far out, his nearside leg will be light. He should be only on his toes at this point. From there, you will take out your backside foot hook and use it to chop down on the leg that you are controlling. From there, fall to the side where fit foot will be pinned between your neck and the mat. Bring out your leg that is on the inside of his and cross your own legs. Make sure you have a rear naked choke grip on his foot/ankle and extend to finish the kneebar.

This is one of my personal go to techniques from X Guard. It is quick and usually unexpected. The kneebar is a great leg attack and is available from other positions as well. If you’re looking to improve your leg attacks, especially the kneebar, then check out Dean Lister’s Leg Attacks & Grappling Hacks.

Click here to see Leg Attacks & Grappling Hacks at BJJ Fanatics!