The Half Guard – Have you seen all it has to offer?

Posted by Fanatics Authors on June 22, 2018

The mighty half-guard. It’s one of the most talked about positions in BJJ. Its evolution has been rapid to say the least. It’s secrets and keys to success are chased daily. It’s dynamic, exciting, and offers a multitude of options to the practitioner. It’s been been made famous by many of BJJ’s heaviest hitters: Tom DeBlass, Lucas Leite, Bernardo Faria, Joao Asis, just to name a few.

For many of us, we discover the half guard in our earliest experiences on the mat attempting to pass the guard. We make a few mistakes, leave a leg behind and end up stuck in the clutches of the half guard. But that’s how we discover that there’s much more to be learned and that the half guard is a position to be mastered in itself.

One of the most beneficial traits of the half guard is that it seems to lend itself to BJJ players of all shapes and sizes, which makes it that much more interesting and versatile. I’m a rooster-sized BJJ guy, and I use the half guard every day. I’ve found it much easier to use a guard that only requires me to control one leg of my opponent, as opposed to having his entire waist and hips inside my legs. Most larger training partners need no skill to push down on one of my legs and make it difficult for me to maintain a closed guard. I feel much more mobile, dangerous, and comfortable employing the half guard in my BJJ game.

Lucas Leite can’t seem to go wrong when he’s hunting for the reversal in bottom half guard. He pursues the sweep relentlessly, and continues with multiple variations until he achieves the top position. In this video he demonstrates just how high the level goes when it comes to half guard. This collection is downright exciting to watch. The exchanges and techniques are performed masterfully, and it inspires one to delve into the half guard to learn it’s greatest secrets. Watch and enjoy!

Bernardo Faria built his career partially on his half guard abilities. To learn all of the secrets from the man they call "The Michael Jordan" of half guard, check out his "Battle Tested Half Guard" instructional from BJJ Fanatics.

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