Unless you're living under a rock, you undoubtedly know who Gordon Ryan is.  At barely 25 years old, with about six years as a black belt he has put the entire BJJ competitive scene on its collective heels.  Having most recently won double...

When you're just starting out training BJJ the difference in our minds between Closed Guard and Open Guard is about as big as the difference between Kansas and Oz for Dorothy. With closed guard and half guard, I know where my opponent is,...

We sat down with Jon Thomas to talk about developing a double sleeve open guard game, what double sleeve is, his modalities of training, how he develops and learns, differences in training in Sweden, his start in BJJ, how he thinks new students...

  We talk to open guard specialist and elite competitor Lucas Valente about how he built one of the best open guards in BJJ, how to mix open guard with guard recovery, having a diverse guard, who was his most difficult training recently,...

  When working from the open guard, we’ll encounter many different passing postures from the opposing party. Things can change here very quickly as the top player begins to make decisions about the type of pass and pathways they’re going to choose. They...

  The sumi gaeshi or hook sweep as many refer to it, has very deep roots in BJJ history. Using the instep to  elevate an opponent or even an assailant is a tale as old as time. Since the inception of our art...

  The open guard is as exciting as it is versatile. Anything can happen as we set up and wait for the guard passer to approach and we begin to respond. But are you just choosing an open guard posture randomly or are...

  The open guard is as exciting as it is versatile. The prospects for advancement here are many and there is literally a world of possibilities at the ends of our limbs. The open guard can be tough to understand at first, with...

  The butterfly guard is one of those interesting positions that offers more than we can possibly imagine. The possibilities are endless. Forward, backward, and side to side movement can all be taken advantage of in a myriad of ways. Patience is key...

The open guard can be a scary place. Disconnection creates uncertainty and especially when you’re a beginner, it can be tough to know where to start. Some type of plan must be established so that we can spend our time here playing the...

The open guard in Jiu Jitsu is one of the most dynamic positions that a grappler can utilize. Personally, the creativity and complexity of the open guard is what drew me mostly to begin training Jiu Jitsu years ago. When compared to other...

BJJ Globetrotters Priit Mihkelson’s New Instructional Series Do you know BJJ Globetrotter Pritt Mihkelson? Pritt Mihkelson is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under SBG President and founder Matt Thornton. He has been involved in martial arts for over eighteen years, with ten...

The first level of open guard, especially no-gi, is shin-on-shin guard. This guard is kind of the spider guard for no-gi. It allows you to maintain a certain level of distance from you partner while having some form of control whilst also giving...

One of the first reversals we might learn in BJJ is the elevator sweep. It’s a self defense essential, and it gives us insight into how to begin using our insteps to elevate our training partners in order to sweep them. Elevation is...

Open The Closed Guard In 3 Simple And Easy To Learn Steps! If there is one position that you will use your entire Brazilian Jiu Jitsu career, whether as a student in a live roll, or as a competitor, it is definitely closed...