Tim,

I have a new training partner who his "very" good fighting from the guard. He is good at controlling my wrist/sleeves when I'm in his guard. How can I prevent him from controlling my sleeves/wrist and pass his guard?

Thanks,

Robert

Hi Robert,
It's virtually impossible to stop someone from getting good grips if you are in their guard. My advice is to break their grips and re-grip yourself until you have strong enough/ superior grips to begin your guard pass. If you get the grips you need, you should be able to open the guard even if your opponent has good grips as well. It will often take quite alot of work.

For example, I try to never allow an opponent to get a deep cross collar grip. It will cause too much trouble when I set up a guard break. So I might circle my head under the grip or use both hands to break it, then quickly adjust my position (sit back a little or up a little) and re-grip the opponent's torso to keep his hand away from my neck. Eventually I should be in a strong enough position to start my pass.

If he has strong grips on your wrists, your arms should still be mobile enough to move your grips to a good position. Keeping your elbows close in and heavy is also helpful

Thanks, Tim.

Tim,

Have you ever tried in wristlocks to release/aggrivate/distract your opponent while in the guard?

Thanks, again!

Robert

I can tell you that he has! And often! I know this personally!

-Chris

I will often use wristlocks to break grips when I can set them up. They can often be turned into submissions if you can control the opponent tightly enough with your legs.

"...if you can control the opponent tightly enough with your legs."

Could you elaborate?

Thanks,

Robert

It is usually difficult to control an opponent's arm well enough to apply a wristlock if you are laying flat on your back in the guard. The hand is the most mobile part of the body.

If you can set up a high guard (one leg over the opponent's shoulder) or move to the opponent's side and pressure his arms down to the mat, the resultant, relative immobility will give you a better chance of finishing wristlocks.

The success of the wristlock then is primarily determined by the position you get, and the ability to hold the position with your legs while you attack the opponent's wrist.

Backarcher, if you can establish your grips, then you don't have to worry so much about the opponent's grips on the sleeves. From inside the opponents guard, I try to get good grips on his pants and lappel keeping my elbows in tight and controlling the opponent's hips. However, jiu jitsu is a fluid sport and the grips should be adjusted according to the situation. Remember that your opponent has to worry just as much about your grips and you controlling him, just as much as you have to worry about him. Keeping that in mind, try to establish your grips and position and keep the pressure on your opponent so that he has to react to you and not the other way.