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Everyday Porrada Spider Guard By Romulo Barral
Have you ever been working your guard and just wanted a consistent way to utilize the same grips instead of always switching? Spider guard might be THE guard for you. Spider guard is a combination of sleeve grip(s) and using your feet to control their biceps. No one does it better than Romulo Barral.
If you find yourself stuck on the bottom with no submissions or sweeps in sight, it might be time to freshen up your game. Spider Guard offers an initial position to hunt for on a passer. What’s great about it is that it can be played against any style of passer. Whether the Guard Passer chooses to be on their feet, knees, or a combination of both Spider Guard will pose significant threats to the Guard Passer.
Obtaining dominant grips for ANY guard can be tricky. Another bonus to playing spider guard is it can be relatively easy to find your opponent’s sleeves, from there through hip movements you can start to find your feet on their biceps. Romulo Barral has made a career sweeping and submitting folks using the Spider Guard and now he’s ready to share it with you!
Another great aspect to Spider Guard is that there are ample oppurtunities to use variations that combine other positions. Spider De La Riva is a thing! Here is an example of Romulo using a single spider guard control over his partner’s arm, while using an inverted DLR hook on their leg! Check it out!
Notice the structure of Romulo’s spider control. Both sleeves are controlled but only one leg is inserted onto the arm. This is an example of a reactionary sweep used if an opponent defends an initial more simplistic sweep. Think of a scissor sweep but with spider control instead of a knee shield control. Using that type of sweep can cause the opponent to base and bring a knee up in between yours to hopefully thwart your sweep attempt. This is where Romulo performs a little magic!
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As the partner’s up knee starts to pressure into the guard of Barral, he inserts his Reverse DLR hook underneath of his partner’s knee. Romulo starts to dive underneath of his partner’s base, while controlling their sleeve. This causes the partner’s base to start to fold in the direction of the sweep, simultaneously this loads Romulos RDLR hook. From here it’s lift off! Romulo is able to stick with his partner’s momentum by maintaining sleeve control to the mount.
One detail to pick up while watching the second half of the video is the common mistake people make. Without enough uprooting effect created by Romulo’s diving motion the sweep can be easily countered. Once Romulo starts to dive underneath of his partner while facing his head in the direction of the sweep it provides the necessary leverage to stop his opponent from being able to defend. Rolling over your shoulder to follow to the mount is another skill that will determine how effective your finish is.
Having an effective guard can be tough. Once you master the basics of keeping someone in your guard, you have to be able to ATTACK! Everyday Porrada Spider Guard By Romulo Barral gives you a look at Romulo’s LEGENDARY guard, and the techniques behind it! Now is the time to finally land some sweeps and submissions off of your back, your opponent won’t know what hit them!
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