Wrestling from the Half Guard

Wrestling can be one of the best things you can cross train with your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training regimen.  Wrestling can be the game changing factor you are missing that segregates you from your competition.  Why is it so important to wrestle?  You can develop tenacity, technique, strength, cardio, and so much more.  Wrestling has its place in several aspects of Jiu Jitsu but today we are going to discuss the benefit of wrestling for the half guard.

The half guard is one of the best places to utilize good wrestling.  Many of the best competitors in the world use the half guard to come up and single leg or double leg their opponent.  Some of these competitors include “Cascao,” Bernardo Faria, Lucas Leite, and many more.

Why is wrestling so good for the half guard?  It is because so many of the best sweeps from the half involve using your under hook to get up and single leg, double leg, or ankle picks your opponent.  If you’re not familiar with the single leg or double leg, check out our articles “Single Leg Takedown” and "Double Leg Takedown.”

The Single Leg from half Guard

The single leg is one of the best sweeps from the half guard.  5x Black Belt World Champion Bernardo Faria infamously refers to his half guard as the “Single Leg half.”  The single leg from half is one of the only things you need to know.  The trick is to have an under hook while playing half guard and use it to get up to your knees and get a single leg takedown.

Once you get a single leg, you have to know how to finish it because your opponent can react in numerous ways.  You never know what they’re going to do so it is better to have a variety of ways to finish the takedown.  Check out this sweep from Bernardo Faria where he goes to a single leg from the half.

Double Leg from Half Guard

The double leg is another very important takedown to know from the half guard.  The double leg is the highest percentage takedown in wrestling and MMA.  It is one of the first takedowns that you learn but it is extremely difficult to master.  The double leg is very useful from the half guard because if the single leg is not working or your opponent manages to turn into you and put you in a sprawl position, the double leg may be your way out.

 There are so many ways to finish the double leg and you want to have a few different options when trying it.  Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan and you want to have a plan B and C.  Check out this technique below showing a double leg from the half guard.

If you want to take your half guard to the next level check out World Champion, Lucas Leite’s DVD Set “The Coyote Half Guard.”  Lucas has long been infamous for his aggressive half guard and incredible wrestling!