Concepts About Open Guard by Priit Mihkelson From BJJ Globetrotters Open Guard is nothing new in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu scene. There are many different ways you can play open guard. Take the De La Riva guard, for instance. It is one of...

 Invest One Minute and Avoid De La Riva The De La Riva Guard is one of the most frustrating versions of the open guard that one can find themselves mired in.  This version of open guard pioneered by the legendary competitor Ricardo De...

When it comes to the various forms that your opponents' and training partners' open guard can show you, none are as frustrating as the feeling of being stuck in a good Spider Guard players guard.  With two powerful grips on my sleeves and...

Your guard is one of the first lines of defense against an opponent.  Being able to keep the opponent controlled and at the proper distance is a crucial skill that you will work on for the entirety of your jiu jitsu life. Having...

In simplest terms, the guard in BJJ serves to keep distance between us and our opponents, typically by using our legs and hips as the first line of defense, supplemented by our arms and the grips of our hands.  The guard can be...

The De La Riva guard has long been regarded as one of the earliest and most well-developed versions of open guard that have existed in the history of BJJ.  Popularized by its namesake Ricardo de la Riva who is credited with being the...

Anytime someone is talking about opening or closing an opponent's guard, they are speaking about the the opponent's legs and whether or not they are wrapped around the waist and locked at the ankles, or in one of the dozens of positions that...

Take a moment and think back to a simpler time, when you were just starting jiu jitsu and all you knew was the closed guard.  Ah life seemed to be so easy, all you had to do was keep your opponent wrapped up...

The first time you meet that training partner or opponent who has a really creative open guard game can be extremely eye-opening, humbling and beyond frustrating.  Your sleeves are secured, you feel the hooks wrapping around your thighs and things begin to escalate...

While there are many great open guards in Jiu Jitsu, one of the most popular seems to be the De La Riva guard. The DLR guard offers some awesome guard sweeps. If you’re a person that loves to play the top game, but find yourself having trouble taking people down, the De La Riva guard […]

Felipe Pena, lovingly nicknamed Preguica is one of the best Jiu Jitsu competitors in the world. His dominance in the light heavyweight divison has taken him far. He is a multiple time Abu Dhabi Grand Slam champion, a Worlds champion and Copa Podio champ. His style is one of the reasons of his dominant nature. […]

The move of going from solely playing closed guard, to then playing open guard is a big one. Many people find it difficult to make that jump. The fear of once they open their guard is that their guard will be passed and put in a bad position. While that is a threat, the good […]

When it comes to open guards in Jiu Jitsu, one of the most versatile and dynamic has to be the butterfly guard. The butterfly guard has been a favorite of some legendary black belts and has proven its effectiveness in BJJ, submission wrestling and MMA. High percentage sweeps and submissions are available from the guard, […]