It’s your skill and physical abilities that let you have success. I say your gym and open mats around your area test you more than a comp. If you think about it, there’s different sizes, physical abilities and skill sets. In a comp it comes down to someone your size and at your level.
hobbyist is anyone who isnt attempting to do this for money. If you're not trying to generate income off of it, it's by definition a hobby. Unfortunately the community seems to use hobbyist as almost a slur sometimes.
I wonder if he misunderstood his coach when asking Chewy this question. Sometimes coaches want their students to explore new positions and develope other parts of their game so that they're not so one dimensional. I mean the guy is only a white belt, his coach could be trying to develop him in different areas of his game to push him to blue belt. Anyways solid advice as always professor!!
Right, we don't know the full ccontext. Sometimes I push White Belts away from Closed Guard so they spend less time trying to stall during free training.
I do the same with my students. I know where they are good at and where they need work and I do say things like, "advance your position don't play guard here" because it's training, use your best game in competition use your worse game in training. (In a nut shell)
If he's there 5 days per week and only doing closed guard you can under his coach getting frustrated. Maybe he wants him to work on different positions like you say and learn movement.
Back when I was a blue belt, my old professor from Rio had the _nastiest_ closed guard I had ever seen. _EVERY SINGLE TIME_ he got me there I knew I was screwed 😆 Maybe not right away, but eventually I would get swept or submitted... for 2 years I *never* got out of his closed guard safely even one time!! That really inspired me to develop my own closed guard. 5 years later and a couple stripes into my brown belt, I have one of the best closed guards in my dojo. Everyone hates getting caught there when they roll with me and I only have Felipe to thank for destroying me all those times in the past. He really opened my eyes to the potential of that position! I always tell my white belt training partners to never look past it because it's just so fundamental and very effective / dangerous if someone puts in enough practice. Do it!
Hell yeah man! Thanks for sharing that’s pretty inspiring! That’s good to hear I’m a white belt about 8 months in with wrestling experience but I love the closed guard game. So many options! That’s great to know that it can be effective even at the high levels
@@CoachKevanKillsit Yeah man, right on. On that note, we had Jeferson Guaresi do a coaching stint at our dojo for a few months last year and of the dozen-or-so times I rolled with him he _never_ let me get closed guard (he never let me do anything, really LOL). When I mentioned that to him he smiled and said, "I don't allow it." For guys like him at the very top of the sport, he knows the dangers and difficulties that come from allowing someone to get closed guard! Roger Gracie in the past and currently Mica Galvao are great examples of people who really punish their opponents with closed guard. They make it an absolute nightmare to deal with and often win matches because of it.
I love full guard. The entries into K-guard and the leg entanglements when my opponent switches from their knees to one leg up can help keep the attack going or help me stand up. Love it
roger is the goat but he's a monster ( i mean tall and big) so sometimes i avoid using him as an example. kron had a nasty closed guard and was the first/only person to submit JT torres at black belt via armbar ( note nicky ryan subbed JT like 5 days ago and it was his second sub loss in like a decade..... Braulio estima had an amazing closed guard via over the back belt grip ( its like a rubber guard without need for legs). xande also had one
@@user-vc6 I always use Roger as a go to but I myself am 6'3 220lbs. However he uses it against other monsters as well like Buchecha. My professor Samuel Braga 5'7 14t5lbs has a nasty closed guard when he is bored with boloing everyone 🤙
Isolated examples don’t make closed guard suitable for everyone. High knee shield and half guard is better on average for all body types across the board to run as an A game
@@StillRolling oh with that body type rogers a perfect example. rogers also got that unique closed guard ( combat base/knee up but still closed. the one he used to sweep buchecha. you can't do unless your long..) i remember braga was legit and still must be. he's not much older then me . i started in 2005 so i remember him tearing it up
@@prandz420 the person in question in this video is 6'2. So it should be suitable, especially if he is already having success with it. The beauty of Jiu-Jitsu, there is a guard for everyone 🔥
Great advice, Coach. Thank you. I would respectfully submit that the closed guard is a friend to any older student who enjoys playing it. A 38 year old embracing closed guard, it will serve him well into his 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
maybe he's trying to get you to build other weapons. having a decent open guard is mandatory because closed guard is hard to obtain on good guys because they keep the knee up/not let you pull it.. they avoid it because there's no moves the really work besides open the guard/stand and open. then your back to square one . meanwhile on bottom like every submission can be done, loads of sweeps plus transition to nearly guard available. meanwhile the top guy can do two things lol . yeah closed guard top is awful ... braulio estima, claudio calasans , robert drysdale, roger gracie, kron gracie, xande ribeiro, caio terra, jacare etc also have used closed guard at the highest levels.
If you plan to transition in to mma, you wouldnt want to find yourself in the close guard position. But if you're just doing BJJ the full guard is an amazing position
I'm a longer guy (6'2") so my go to on bottom is the closed guard. I can play overhooks and have multiple subs off that. I can transition to spider, Williams, and lasso guards for sweeps and subs. Lots of options from the full guard. I remember watching Flo Grappling and Roger Gracie had a video on closed guard and it was a game changer on my closed guard.
I'm super new but I looked up full guard just to make sure it was the same thing as closed guard, because I was told right away that full guard was a great place to be. My instructor does poke fun at our highest brown belt for his inclination to heel hooks though, whereas he seems to really emphasize the importance of armbars himself. Maybe he likes stressing simplicity in effectiveness but I am seeing how personal styles seem to differ. I'm really excited to explore my own path. I cant sink any submission yet to save my life but I really like full guard and am starting to find myself setting people up in triangle chokes quite regularly. I would feel discouraged if my instructor told me to hold back on those.
Trained for about 8 months, 2 years ago. 1 stripe white belt, so barely comfortable with the fundamental positions and a couple basic moves. Just hit an open mat a few days ago. Knees are skinned all up. Ahhhh mat burn, how ive missed you. Looking forward to continuing the journey.
I'm 6'3" and built a full game around pulling to closed guard. The game allowed me to get 3rd at Master's World's a s blue belt. I built the game specifically because I felt like so many people, especially lower belts, were sleeping on it. It's the OG guard because it works...people always want the fancy, but the fundamentals are built around the most efficient and effective techniques. In close guard you control the pace and action. You can have counters set up for every reaction. It can also allow you easy entry into some of your favorite open guards. Crazy they are discouraging it.
At my gym we are encouraged to not use closed guard too much, not because it's not effective but because it can be too effective to just hold on to it and you almost rob yourself of training time by stalling out positions when you could have been trying techniques. Obviously when the goal is to win you use what works but when learning is the goal you want as many opportunities to try things out as you can get per session.
Great stream. I'm about 4 hrs in here lol. I hear you say a lot of bring back when you draft players, meaning NFL week 17 playoffs? Does that draft strategy work on other platforms like Drafters or is the bring back mainly an underdog strategy?
I tune into you a lot, there has to be a distinction made between sport BJJ and as you say traditional GJJ. In GJJ the guard is important because you can stop the person on top from hitting me on the bottom. In BJJ there is more movement, in GJJ my job is to exhaust you then submit you the mindset is different. In a BJJ tournament it's called stalling in GJJ it's called exhaust the heck out of your attacker without getting hit in the mouth, so the mindset is very different. I am going to make you fight for every inch, you may hit me lightly, you will not submit me I will exhaust you.
It's amazing how many coaches run 5 minute matches and tell me I need to be more offensive because I'm playing alot of defensive slow jiu-jitsu. I'm from a Pedro Sauer school... I'm hard to submit... give me 10 minutes, and you will see guys getting tapped.
@@b4dmaash Gracie Jujitsu, Helio, Rorion, Rickson, Royce side of the family, GJJ is purely defensive. Not good for tournaments but excellent for streets and real fighting. We don't do tournaments
I’m a purple belt but I know a black belt who’s closed guard is so dangerous he can sweep me at will. I mean I kind of suck but I know what he’s trying to do and I can’t stop the dude.
Every time I see a video like this, I am reminded why I love my professor/coaches/gym. We are always told, BJJ is a very personalized. “Find what works for you”, is heard a lot around there. Basic fundamentals executed properly always work, but that doesn’t mean everyone will use them.
I don’t like to spend much time on bottom closed guard early on with my students, because they feel too safe there just locking their legs. Showing them how to retain guard in open guard scenarios instead helps their coordination and movement skills, framing, etc. I remember when I was a white belt. I felt too safe in closed guard and didn’t want to work on more advanced guards. You have to get past that early. Long term, closed guard shouldn’t be neglected though, even if you don’t ever elect to play it, just because I believe in having a complete knowledge base in all positions. There shouldn’t be areas you aren’t proficient or knowledgeable in “just because you don’t play that game”.
I really want to get better at closed guard, because I’m 40 and I think that being able to control a younger and stronger opponent’s explosiveness would be easier with more of my body connected to theirs. Problem is the gym I’m at doesn’t seem to spend a whole lot of time teaching those techniques, so I’m just working hard on Z and Butterfly guard
It's the best guard. I say that as someone that loves "modern" guards. You have sweeps and back takes, but the most control, and the most submissions of any other guard.
I also train 5 times a week but consider myself a hobbyist. Reason being is the guys in my gym that compete train 2-3 times a day at 5-6 days a week. Id like to train more but due to work and that I can only get 1 class a day in mon-fri.
Closed guard is not a problem to play. If you know what you are doing, you are not going to be submitted from there. They have to break open the guard to pass (endless number of transitions to other guards from there). All while they play defense, you are playing offense with sweeps and submission attempts. Most of the time while they are trying open the closed guard they are wasting energy.
The thing is, from a historical perspective, the entire martial art of brazilian jiu jitsu really revolves around this one position, the full guard. And to this day, full guard is a very effective position against people who don't know jiu jitsu. Full guard is still pretty effective in jiu jitsu, certainly you can make it work in your gym, but it's fallen out of favor because it's not very effective in MMA. And with the decline of full guard we've seen the decline of jiu jitsu specialists in MMA.
I'm purposely de-emphasizing my full guard for opposite reason, I'm not particularly effective in it. From white => blue re-acquiring full guard was drilled into me over and over again. I got relatively good at it and holding people there. Unfortunately it became my comfortable way of escape, a safe place to rest, and with larger, experienced partners I'm now more often getting passed and smashed under some kind of mount or side-control. Now that I'm in blue => purple part of my journey my coaches have told me to take more chances, sweep and move to more advantageous positions and be more aggressive seeking submissions. My full guard submissions are just not very good yet, yes I will still work on them, but one purple belt has encouraged me to "make them earn full guard". Play more open guard.
Yes sir we see how all of that worked out. I use all of those often. Not so much full guard anymore but that's because I'm playing with other interesting guards.
Excellent perspective. It seems that the people that bash closed guard typically struggle against people with good closed guard games. People that bash wrestling/standup typically struggle with that part of the game. People that complain about leg locks aren't usually proficient at leg locks. Different things work for different sizes, ages, builds, etc. Don't ignore other aspects of the game, but keep using what works for you.
To me the real questions are :1) Did you try to understand what your coach's intention behind his instructions ? I believe a good coach teaches what a student needs to learn, not what he wants to learn. 2) Do you trust you coach ? If yes, try to follow is guidance, else change gym. Not trying to defend anyone neither know who's right or wrong. However these modern days, people tend to rely too much on UA-cam. A reminder, UA-cam doesn't watch you train on a daily basis. Your local coach in your local gym does (or at least should. if not, refer to question 2).
In scenarios where I’m hearing new guy is questioning advice of an experienced person I admit new guy could be right but lean towards assuming they didn’t understand the feedback. I’m wondering if feedback was more towards feeling they should work on other aspect of game besides guard (takedowns or passing or escapes from bad positions etc.) Also maybe even just try other guards beyond full guard to be more rounded. I know the poster specifically framed question in way that made it sound like their coach felt closed guard wasn’t good but that’s such bad advice I think something had to be lost in translation.
My challenge to grapplers who believe it is suitable for street fighting: run your week of practices and sparring in a parking lot. On the concrete. I learned the hard way. Won a fight but looked like I was in a motorcycle accident. Thoughts?
i can understand his coach tho. it's not about winning rounds by pulling someone into your closed guard and holding them there. it's better for the development of your guard to learn how to move being on your back, how and when to play certain grips, to learn when it fails why it fails, developing guard retention skills etc. even danaher prefers half guard for beginners vs having them learn closed guard first. i've seen people in my gym being strong one trick ponies and when the level got higher and people learned how to open their closed guard or beat their "move" their whole game crumbled.
I wonder if Brian‘s coaches were attempting to ensure he gives proper focus to other things as well. Like with new people, bigger people, they habitually rely on strength and size to achieve things and this is often at the expensive developing technique and understanding of leverages. So maybe a coach wants to prevent that by asking him to focus on something he’s not strong at. But if not, yeah any coach that says don’t use guard is probably missing the point. “Whatever controls the opponent“ is something that works.
When i was a white belt I hyper focused on full guard and thought it was working. However, my game stagnated seriously until I ended up swearing it off for a while to focus on other things. Not saying that's the case here, but IMO at white belt people tend to focus and on things that aren't right for them to the detriment of their overall game.
I wonder if he is misunderstanding what his coaches are wanting him to do. His coaches might be wanting him to venture away from full guard to try and build a foundation around a different guard and the he’s getting too comfortable doing the same thing. I’m thinking that it could be the fact that they want him to start getting his feet wet around the board with different positions as a white belt who is still learning.
I have the opposite problem with my coach. I never go to full guard and actively avoid using it, not because I think it’s useless but because I am trying to build a game that directly translates to my mma game. My coach is always telling me I have to use full guard and while I understand that he’s the coach and a black belt and knows more than me I respectfully disagree that it’s absolutely necessary to use full guard in grappling. I think you can see clear as day that less and less people in high level MMA are using full guard and the people that do often get trapped on bottom and elbowed. I’d rather expose my back, understanding the risks and fighting the hooks and then stay underneath somebody in a grappling exchange. If that means when I do jujitsu, I get my back taken and choked more often, then it is what it is but my coach doesn’t understand it.
Full guard is so fundamental and being offensive from that position is excellent. But work on other guards so that you're versatile and simply more skilled.
Anyone else hear the question and think the guy asking the question is just grabbing someone and holding them in closed guard and not moving or attempting any moves?
Incredible how anyone that has done jj beyond white belt could ever say closed guard is bad 🤦🏻♂️ A good closed guard is loaded shotgun; I mean look at Mica, at Meregli at Roger, for crying out loud. Again, incredible and a coach saying something like that, would make me doubt his legitimacy right away.
So I think people build up too many distinctions between techniques in Jiu Jitsu. The classics are classic for a reason. While you may not see a lot of traditional Closed Guard at the highest levels, you can easily see the principles of Closed Guard coming into play. Take for example Levi Jones Leary in his most recent W at Oceania trials. He plays feet on the outside and bolos, but when people get their hips low and shut it down, he transitions into a hip bump without ever going to a Closed Guard. While he may not lock a Closed Guard, he's still within the realm of "Full Guard". Even some "modern" guards like K Guard can be seen as an extension of "full guard".
I find that so crazy the dude's coaches are telling him full/closed guard is ineffective and shouldn't be used while the guy is a white belt. Full/Closed guard is like an iconic position of BJJ and one of the first positions every BJJ practitioner learns. Personally, I love using full/closed guard. I was just at a IBJJF tournament and people were using full/closed guard in almost all the matches so it can't be a waste. Maybe, the guy's coaches are just trying to get him out of his comfort zone or maybe they fear he might be stalling too much?
I'm not saying the case and certainly wasn't involved in the conversation but a part of me wonders about using a technique too much because it's comfortable. The idea relating from other activities I'm involved in being that if you always fall back to what you're comfortable with you may slow your development. Of course that doesn't necessarily play well with your specialization video from not long ago but I'm a white belt so specializing isn't exactly in my cards yet.
Calling closed guard a waste of time is a seriously red flag. The only techniques that arguably could be called a waste of time are the "trap" ones: positions that work, but your opponent needs to do something very specific or detrimental to you.
I don't think, we will have a ressurection of closed guard in high Level competition. Closed guard is a very strong grip but you lock up your own legs, we have a trend in many high Level Sports and competitions towards more dynamic, high risk fast aktion but also stalling heavy, playstiles. Rigit linear playstiles once beaten don't seem to come Back. For a single Person this doesn't matter ofc.
In BJJ there are nearly no other people than hobbyists. Its because you cant make money in it. Anyway, as for full guard, im not dogmatic in that sense. I think its important to keep advancing your position to the top or a submission. Full guard can be used effectively to that goal. But it can also make people "lazy", and they get stuck there. In that last case I would encourage people to open their guard and make their game more loose.
to chewys point about the dude that told him not to play half guard, the top level guys in bjj currently use half guard as a checkpoint to successfully passing the guard, being less dangerous and easier to control than a full open / closed guard game at the highest levels... gordon ryans whole game passing style revolves around securing half guard... just my observation on this, maybe theres some merit to these "myths"
All half guards are not equal. Depending on positioning the half guard can be very favorable to the top person or to the bottom person. Gordon himself has a great bottom half guard and even an instructional on attacking using half guard.
If a move or position works and you like it, invest in it. But once you've invested in it and it's a solid part of your game, move on to investing in something else to diversify your game. Might be that the coach is encouraging him to diversify?
Any coach that steers his students away from Closed Guard doesn't fully understand it. Watch how Roger and Mica absolutely destroy the competition with it. Closed Guard > Half Guard > Rest
And look at all the other guards out there which get used a lot more often. High knee shield and half guard in general is a lot more useful across the board for all body types. Closed guard is really hard work and is not essential to be good at
@@prandz420Like I said, closed guard is only hard work if you don't understand it. My professor is a Roger black belt, we had to be good at it by blue belt. I visited gyms across Europe and people my size couldn't open it, then I'd sub or take the back. You'll get to the other guard anyway if things go bad, don't go there when in close guard he's on the defensive. Tire him first in your close guard. It never made sense to me for people to teach their students to open their closed guards.
@@Frazful all due respect but beating people your own size in gyms does not prove anything and isn’t impressive. Go and prove everyone wrong in black belt competition if it really is true that people don’t understand it. There’s a reason why it’s not the main guard at high level despite it being drilled into pretty much every beginner. It isn’t a dead position but it is overrated for most people. The coach referred to in this video is probably right about their student.
The guy who told you that guillotines are low percentage must have been on crack. According to the Tapology dataset, guillotines are the #3 submission in MMA.
I’m 6’5”, brown belt, with 9 years of training. Guard is a good position, but its drawbacks are it’s easy to get comfortable in there. And after a while, people start figuring you out. I now make it a point when I train that if I can’t sweep or submit in 1 minute, then I let the guy pass so I’m forcing myself to work on something else. Oh and guard is a bitch on your lower back as you get older. I’ve got the chiropractor bills to prove it.
Nothing wrong with full guard. But there can be something wrong with staying with something you are already good at, failing to evolve, not risking leaving your comfort zone or neglecting other positions. He should listen to his coaches, its rare that they actively steer you wrong.
So, if at your gym you’re rolling with all different kind of guys, bigger, smaller, more skilled less skilled and you’re doing well against them, what makes you think that competing for points and a five dollar medal is going to make you not a hobbyist. I say your tested more at your gym and at different open mats around your area, than competition.
Roger Gracie would crush 99% of the BJJ population by using full guard and other basic old school techniques. Berimbolos, DLR, spider, Lasso, K and other fancy stuff is cool, but basics are sometimes all you need.
I'm just here for the hobby, five out of seven days a week.
Yep, that got me too 😆
There are levels to it. I train 4-5 times a week and I still feel like a hobbyist compared to a lot of guys in my gym.
It’s your skill and physical abilities that let you have success. I say your gym and open mats around your area test you more than a comp. If you think about it, there’s different sizes, physical abilities and skill sets. In a comp it comes down to someone your size and at your level.
The number of sessions a week you train does not dictate whether you are a hobbyist or not. You can be a hobbyist and train as much as you feel like.
We all been there in the beginning.
Hi I am a hobbyist too, I train 7 days a week, twice a day
Pffft that barely counts
Haha right?! I was like 5 days is a hobbyist now?
I am a hobbyist as well with multiple sponsorships but do 7x4's.
@ctsd623 yeah John Danaher is sponsoring me
Soft hands brother. I havent been able to make a fist in years
5 day a week hobbyist lol. I consider myself a "hobbyist" at like 1-2
And he's 6'2" lol
@@kace999hobbyists can't be tall?
@@l.k.9666 The man is gonna be a killer! Of course we can be tall lol just in awe of his potential.
hobbyist is anyone who isnt attempting to do this for money. If you're not trying to generate income off of it, it's by definition a hobby. Unfortunately the community seems to use hobbyist as almost a slur sometimes.
What does number of times per week have to so with being a hobbyist or not??
All techniques suck until you get good at them
I wonder if he misunderstood his coach when asking Chewy this question. Sometimes coaches want their students to explore new positions and develope other parts of their game so that they're not so one dimensional. I mean the guy is only a white belt, his coach could be trying to develop him in different areas of his game to push him to blue belt. Anyways solid advice as always professor!!
Right, we don't know the full ccontext. Sometimes I push White Belts away from Closed Guard so they spend less time trying to stall during free training.
I do the same with my students. I know where they are good at and where they need work and I do say things like, "advance your position don't play guard here" because it's training, use your best game in competition use your worse game in training. (In a nut shell)
This is probably it yes
Was thinking the same thing. If they want you to get out of that position they probably want you to explore more.
If he's there 5 days per week and only doing closed guard you can under his coach getting frustrated. Maybe he wants him to work on different positions like you say and learn movement.
Back when I was a blue belt, my old professor from Rio had the _nastiest_ closed guard I had ever seen. _EVERY SINGLE TIME_ he got me there I knew I was screwed 😆 Maybe not right away, but eventually I would get swept or submitted... for 2 years I *never* got out of his closed guard safely even one time!! That really inspired me to develop my own closed guard.
5 years later and a couple stripes into my brown belt, I have one of the best closed guards in my dojo. Everyone hates getting caught there when they roll with me and I only have Felipe to thank for destroying me all those times in the past. He really opened my eyes to the potential of that position! I always tell my white belt training partners to never look past it because it's just so fundamental and very effective / dangerous if someone puts in enough practice. Do it!
Hell yeah man! Thanks for sharing that’s pretty inspiring! That’s good to hear I’m a white belt about 8 months in with wrestling experience but I love the closed guard game. So many options! That’s great to know that it can be effective even at the high levels
Dude, did Felipe move to Texas by any chance? This is insane if we’re talking about the same guy.
@@CoachKevanKillsit Yeah man, right on. On that note, we had Jeferson Guaresi do a coaching stint at our dojo for a few months last year and of the dozen-or-so times I rolled with him he _never_ let me get closed guard (he never let me do anything, really LOL). When I mentioned that to him he smiled and said, "I don't allow it." For guys like him at the very top of the sport, he knows the dangers and difficulties that come from allowing someone to get closed guard!
Roger Gracie in the past and currently Mica Galvao are great examples of people who really punish their opponents with closed guard. They make it an absolute nightmare to deal with and often win matches because of it.
@@JunkPunched22 He's in Florida. I'm sure there are _many_ Felipe's from Brazil with nasty closed guards LOL
Is there anything in particular you’d like to share about the position? Any phrase or sentence that changed your perspective?
I love full guard. The entries into K-guard and the leg entanglements when my opponent switches from their knees to one leg up can help keep the attack going or help me stand up.
Love it
Ask your coach if he has ever heard of a guy named Roger Gracie. I still use it myself quite a bit and always will🤙 seen the title and had to watch.
roger is the goat but he's a monster ( i mean tall and big) so sometimes i avoid using him as an example. kron had a nasty closed guard and was the first/only person to submit JT torres at black belt via armbar ( note nicky ryan subbed JT like 5 days ago and it was his second sub loss in like a decade..... Braulio estima had an amazing closed guard via over the back belt grip ( its like a rubber guard without need for legs). xande also had one
@@user-vc6 I always use Roger as a go to but I myself am 6'3 220lbs. However he uses it against other monsters as well like Buchecha. My professor Samuel Braga 5'7 14t5lbs has a nasty closed guard when he is bored with boloing everyone 🤙
Isolated examples don’t make closed guard suitable for everyone.
High knee shield and half guard is better on average for all body types across the board to run as an A game
@@StillRolling oh with that body type rogers a perfect example. rogers also got that unique closed guard ( combat base/knee up but still closed. the one he used to sweep buchecha. you can't do unless your long..) i remember braga was legit and still must be. he's not much older then me . i started in 2005 so i remember him tearing it up
@@prandz420 the person in question in this video is 6'2. So it should be suitable, especially if he is already having success with it. The beauty of Jiu-Jitsu, there is a guard for everyone 🔥
There's a guy names mica galvoe...he uses it pretty effectively. He's young but I think the kid has a future
Yeah his arm drag to the back from guard is nasty
@@ryanslife4478 Facts!
Sometimes us old guys need to slow some young scrappers down. That's what full guard is for.
And the gi!
Great advice, Coach.
Thank you.
I would respectfully submit that the closed guard is a friend to any older student who enjoys playing it.
A 38 year old embracing closed guard, it will serve him well into his 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
35 4 stripe white and I almost exclusively play guard haha
maybe he's trying to get you to build other weapons. having a decent open guard is mandatory because closed guard is hard to obtain on good guys because they keep the knee up/not let you pull it.. they avoid it because there's no moves the really work besides open the guard/stand and open. then your back to square one . meanwhile on bottom like every submission can be done, loads of sweeps plus transition to nearly guard available. meanwhile the top guy can do two things lol . yeah closed guard top is awful ... braulio estima, claudio calasans , robert drysdale, roger gracie, kron gracie, xande ribeiro, caio terra, jacare etc also have used closed guard at the highest levels.
Thanks Chewie. Love to play the closed guard
The way you said boyfriend 😂 .
Much appreciated, thanks.
If you plan to transition in to mma, you wouldnt want to find yourself in the close guard position. But if you're just doing BJJ the full guard is an amazing position
What he hears, "full guard is a waste of time"
What his coach said, "you are wasting time with your full guard and you need to try something else"
Yep
I'm a longer guy (6'2") so my go to on bottom is the closed guard. I can play overhooks and have multiple subs off that. I can transition to spider, Williams, and lasso guards for sweeps and subs. Lots of options from the full guard. I remember watching Flo Grappling and Roger Gracie had a video on closed guard and it was a game changer on my closed guard.
I'm super new but I looked up full guard just to make sure it was the same thing as closed guard, because I was told right away that full guard was a great place to be. My instructor does poke fun at our highest brown belt for his inclination to heel hooks though, whereas he seems to really emphasize the importance of armbars himself. Maybe he likes stressing simplicity in effectiveness but I am seeing how personal styles seem to differ. I'm really excited to explore my own path. I cant sink any submission yet to save my life but I really like full guard and am starting to find myself setting people up in triangle chokes quite regularly. I would feel discouraged if my instructor told me to hold back on those.
Trained for about 8 months, 2 years ago. 1 stripe white belt, so barely comfortable with the fundamental positions and a couple basic moves. Just hit an open mat a few days ago. Knees are skinned all up. Ahhhh mat burn, how ive missed you. Looking forward to continuing the journey.
my old bjj coach wouldnt teach half guard, he said thats not a good guard, youre halfway getting passed
makes sense hes your old coach because thats trash advice
Trash advice
Well said chewy 👏
I'm 6'3" and built a full game around pulling to closed guard. The game allowed me to get 3rd at Master's World's a s blue belt. I built the game specifically because I felt like so many people, especially lower belts, were sleeping on it. It's the OG guard because it works...people always want the fancy, but the fundamentals are built around the most efficient and effective techniques. In close guard you control the pace and action. You can have counters set up for every reaction. It can also allow you easy entry into some of your favorite open guards. Crazy they are discouraging it.
At my gym we are encouraged to not use closed guard too much, not because it's not effective but because it can be too effective to just hold on to it and you almost rob yourself of training time by stalling out positions when you could have been trying techniques. Obviously when the goal is to win you use what works but when learning is the goal you want as many opportunities to try things out as you can get per session.
Keep working on it until it stops working. 100% right. That’s part of the journey.
Great stream. I'm about 4 hrs in here lol. I hear you say a lot of bring back when you draft players, meaning NFL week 17 playoffs? Does that draft strategy work on other platforms like Drafters or is the bring back mainly an underdog strategy?
I tune into you a lot, there has to be a distinction made between sport BJJ and as you say traditional GJJ. In GJJ the guard is important because you can stop the person on top from hitting me on the bottom. In BJJ there is more movement, in GJJ my job is to exhaust you then submit you the mindset is different. In a BJJ tournament it's called stalling in GJJ it's called exhaust the heck out of your attacker without getting hit in the mouth, so the mindset is very different. I am going to make you fight for every inch, you may hit me lightly, you will not submit me I will exhaust you.
It's amazing how many coaches run 5 minute matches and tell me I need to be more offensive because I'm playing alot of defensive slow jiu-jitsu.
I'm from a Pedro Sauer school... I'm hard to submit... give me 10 minutes, and you will see guys getting tapped.
Nailed it, 100%
What is gjj?
@@b4dmaash Gracie Jujitsu, Helio, Rorion, Rickson, Royce side of the family, GJJ is purely defensive. Not good for tournaments but excellent for streets and real fighting. We don't do tournaments
@@BOBBOB-tx7ox why don't it work in comps?
I’m a purple belt but I know a black belt who’s closed guard is so dangerous he can sweep me at will. I mean I kind of suck but I know what he’s trying to do and I can’t stop the dude.
Ummm closed guard is still cool. Friken mica galvao uses it all the time
@Chewjitsu, you gotta contact Leake BJJ back for when you come to MO in August. We want you there!! Please and thank you 🙏 😊
went to a seminar with the brilliant Gordo not too long back. Nothing half past about that half guard 👌🏼
Imagine telling Magid to stop baseball bat choking from full guard.
Good thoughts, Chewy. And no. I’ve won a lot of comps the last few years from closed guard. No position is a waste of time.
Every time I see a video like this, I am reminded why I love my professor/coaches/gym. We are always told, BJJ is a very personalized. “Find what works for you”, is heard a lot around there. Basic fundamentals executed properly always work, but that doesn’t mean everyone will use them.
I don’t like to spend much time on bottom closed guard early on with my students, because they feel too safe there just locking their legs. Showing them how to retain guard in open guard scenarios instead helps their coordination and movement skills, framing, etc.
I remember when I was a white belt. I felt too safe in closed guard and didn’t want to work on more advanced guards. You have to get past that early.
Long term, closed guard shouldn’t be neglected though, even if you don’t ever elect to play it, just because I believe in having a complete knowledge base in all positions. There shouldn’t be areas you aren’t proficient or knowledgeable in “just because you don’t play that game”.
Depends on body type. Probably wouldn’t work very well with someone who has 2-ft legs.
I really want to get better at closed guard, because I’m 40 and I think that being able to control a younger and stronger opponent’s explosiveness would be easier with more of my body connected to theirs. Problem is the gym I’m at doesn’t seem to spend a whole lot of time teaching those techniques, so I’m just working hard on Z and Butterfly guard
It's the best guard. I say that as someone that loves "modern" guards. You have sweeps and back takes, but the most control, and the most submissions of any other guard.
4 years in and I'm at a point where it doesn't matter. Do what ever you want. It's a game, have fun.
I also train 5 times a week but consider myself a hobbyist. Reason being is the guys in my gym that compete train 2-3 times a day at 5-6 days a week. Id like to train more but due to work and that I can only get 1 class a day in mon-fri.
Closed guard is not a problem to play. If you know what you are doing, you are not going to be submitted from there. They have to break open the guard to pass (endless number of transitions to other guards from there). All while they play defense, you are playing offense with sweeps and submission attempts.
Most of the time while they are trying open the closed guard they are wasting energy.
The thing is, from a historical perspective, the entire martial art of brazilian jiu jitsu really revolves around this one position, the full guard. And to this day, full guard is a very effective position against people who don't know jiu jitsu.
Full guard is still pretty effective in jiu jitsu, certainly you can make it work in your gym, but it's fallen out of favor because it's not very effective in MMA. And with the decline of full guard we've seen the decline of jiu jitsu specialists in MMA.
I'm purposely de-emphasizing my full guard for opposite reason, I'm not particularly effective in it. From white => blue re-acquiring full guard was drilled into me over and over again. I got relatively good at it and holding people there.
Unfortunately it became my comfortable way of escape, a safe place to rest, and with larger, experienced partners I'm now more often getting passed and smashed under some kind of mount or side-control. Now that I'm in blue => purple part of my journey my coaches have told me to take more chances, sweep and move to more advantageous positions and be more aggressive seeking submissions. My full guard submissions are just not very good yet, yes I will still work on them, but one purple belt has encouraged me to "make them earn full guard". Play more open guard.
I mean if you were training MMA, full guard would be risky unless you’re extremely high level. However, pure BJJ shouldn’t have be a problem
i am purple belt and i do not do closed guard anymore, just do open guard.
I have had some of my best training sessions use full guard
Yes sir we see how all of that worked out. I use all of those often. Not so much full guard anymore but that's because I'm playing with other interesting guards.
Excellent perspective. It seems that the people that bash closed guard typically struggle against people with good closed guard games. People that bash wrestling/standup typically struggle with that part of the game. People that complain about leg locks aren't usually proficient at leg locks. Different things work for different sizes, ages, builds, etc. Don't ignore other aspects of the game, but keep using what works for you.
Except closed guard is horrible for self defense and mma. It’s why it’s looked down upon.
Lol. I remember all those. "Half-guard is half-mount."
if you can keep breaking posture so they cant stand, full guard js very effective
If you’re going to play guard whether it is full guard or open guard, stay dynamic, stay fluid, and keep attacking.
To me the real questions are :1) Did you try to understand what your coach's intention behind his instructions ? I believe a good coach teaches what a student needs to learn, not what he wants to learn. 2) Do you trust you coach ? If yes, try to follow is guidance, else change gym. Not trying to defend anyone neither know who's right or wrong. However these modern days, people tend to rely too much on UA-cam. A reminder, UA-cam doesn't watch you train on a daily basis. Your local coach in your local gym does (or at least should. if not, refer to question 2).
Im 6 ft 1 215 lbs and full guard, x guard, single leg x guard etc etc work well for me.
In scenarios where I’m hearing new guy is questioning advice of an experienced person I admit new guy could be right but lean towards assuming they didn’t understand the feedback. I’m wondering if feedback was more towards feeling they should work on other aspect of game besides guard (takedowns or passing or escapes from bad positions etc.) Also maybe even just try other guards beyond full guard to be more rounded. I know the poster specifically framed question in way that made it sound like their coach felt closed guard wasn’t good but that’s such bad advice I think something had to be lost in translation.
My challenge to grapplers who believe it is suitable for street fighting: run your week of practices and sparring in a parking lot. On the concrete. I learned the hard way. Won a fight but looked like I was in a motorcycle accident. Thoughts?
i can understand his coach tho. it's not about winning rounds by pulling someone into your closed guard and holding them there. it's better for the development of your guard to learn how to move being on your back, how and when to play certain grips, to learn when it fails why it fails, developing guard retention skills etc. even danaher prefers half guard for beginners vs having them learn closed guard first. i've seen people in my gym being strong one trick ponies and when the level got higher and people learned how to open their closed guard or beat their "move" their whole game crumbled.
This is why it's called Martial Arts. Like art teachers, teachers teach you how to do the basics but eventually you'll find your own style
I wonder if Brian‘s coaches were attempting to ensure he gives proper focus to other things as well. Like with new people, bigger people, they habitually rely on strength and size to achieve things and this is often at the expensive developing technique and understanding of leverages. So maybe a coach wants to prevent that by asking him to focus on something he’s not strong at.
But if not, yeah any coach that says don’t use guard is probably missing the point. “Whatever controls the opponent“ is something that works.
When i was a white belt I hyper focused on full guard and thought it was working. However, my game stagnated seriously until I ended up swearing it off for a while to focus on other things. Not saying that's the case here, but IMO at white belt people tend to focus and on things that aren't right for them to the detriment of their overall game.
Closed guard is one of the strongest positions in jiu-jitsu
I wonder if he is misunderstanding what his coaches are wanting him to do. His coaches might be wanting him to venture away from full guard to try and build a foundation around a different guard and the he’s getting too comfortable doing the same thing. I’m thinking that it could be the fact that they want him to start getting his feet wet around the board with different positions as a white belt who is still learning.
I have the opposite problem with my coach. I never go to full guard and actively avoid using it, not because I think it’s useless but because I am trying to build a game that directly translates to my mma game. My coach is always telling me I have to use full guard and while I understand that he’s the coach and a black belt and knows more than me I respectfully disagree that it’s absolutely necessary to use full guard in grappling. I think you can see clear as day that less and less people in high level MMA are using full guard and the people that do often get trapped on bottom and elbowed. I’d rather expose my back, understanding the risks and fighting the hooks and then stay underneath somebody in a grappling exchange. If that means when I do jujitsu, I get my back taken and choked more often, then it is what it is but my coach doesn’t understand it.
Full guard is so fundamental and being offensive from that position is excellent. But work on other guards so that you're versatile and simply more skilled.
someone in here should be mentioning the power slam
Anyone else hear the question and think the guy asking the question is just grabbing someone and holding them in closed guard and not moving or attempting any moves?
Closed guard is there to make the best of a bad situation. It's notna "go too".
hobbyist 5 days a week - wish I had that time to train. it sucks training only two days a week
Incredible how anyone that has done jj beyond white belt could ever say closed guard is bad 🤦🏻♂️
A good closed guard is loaded shotgun; I mean look at Mica, at Meregli at Roger, for crying out loud.
Again, incredible and a coach saying something like that, would make me doubt his legitimacy right away.
Full hard can be hard on the lower back
My guess is he's trying to promote the guy but wants him to work of there positions first. That's my read on the situation
So I think people build up too many distinctions between techniques in Jiu Jitsu. The classics are classic for a reason. While you may not see a lot of traditional Closed Guard at the highest levels, you can easily see the principles of Closed Guard coming into play.
Take for example Levi Jones Leary in his most recent W at Oceania trials. He plays feet on the outside and bolos, but when people get their hips low and shut it down, he transitions into a hip bump without ever going to a Closed Guard. While he may not lock a Closed Guard, he's still within the realm of "Full Guard".
Even some "modern" guards like K Guard can be seen as an extension of "full guard".
I used to play full guard, now I almost never use it, everyone’s game changes over time
but keep in mind, you should always try different things and im not saying chewjitsu is wrong
I'm a hobbyist and train bjj 8 hours a day.
ask roger gracie
I find that so crazy the dude's coaches are telling him full/closed guard is ineffective and shouldn't be used while the guy is a white belt. Full/Closed guard is like an iconic position of BJJ and one of the first positions every BJJ practitioner learns. Personally, I love using full/closed guard. I was just at a IBJJF tournament and people were using full/closed guard in almost all the matches so it can't be a waste. Maybe, the guy's coaches are just trying to get him out of his comfort zone or maybe they fear he might be stalling too much?
I'm not saying the case and certainly wasn't involved in the conversation but a part of me wonders about using a technique too much because it's comfortable. The idea relating from other activities I'm involved in being that if you always fall back to what you're comfortable with you may slow your development. Of course that doesn't necessarily play well with your specialization video from not long ago but I'm a white belt so specializing isn't exactly in my cards yet.
I spent 15 minutes playing guard in an MMA fight. I did not win.
Calling closed guard a waste of time is a seriously red flag. The only techniques that arguably could be called a waste of time are the "trap" ones: positions that work, but your opponent needs to do something very specific or detrimental to you.
I don't think, we will have a ressurection of closed guard in high Level competition. Closed guard is a very strong grip but you lock up your own legs, we have a trend in many high Level Sports and competitions towards more dynamic, high risk fast aktion but also stalling heavy, playstiles.
Rigit linear playstiles once beaten don't seem to come Back.
For a single Person this doesn't matter ofc.
upside down mount
Full guard is a neutral position
In BJJ there are nearly no other people than hobbyists. Its because you cant make money in it.
Anyway, as for full guard, im not dogmatic in that sense. I think its important to keep advancing your position to the top or a submission. Full guard can be used effectively to that goal. But it can also make people "lazy", and they get stuck there. In that last case I would encourage people to open their guard and make their game more loose.
Nah, go visit Matt Thornton or Rickson Gracie for a private lesson. They will clear you up on this common misunderstanding...swiftly
to chewys point about the dude that told him not to play half guard, the top level guys in bjj currently use half guard as a checkpoint to successfully passing the guard, being less dangerous and easier to control than a full open / closed guard game at the highest levels... gordon ryans whole game passing style revolves around securing half guard... just my observation on this, maybe theres some merit to these "myths"
All half guards are not equal. Depending on positioning the half guard can be very favorable to the top person or to the bottom person. Gordon himself has a great bottom half guard and even an instructional on attacking using half guard.
If a move or position works and you like it, invest in it. But once you've invested in it and it's a solid part of your game, move on to investing in something else to diversify your game. Might be that the coach is encouraging him to diversify?
Any coach that steers his students away from Closed Guard doesn't fully understand it. Watch how Roger and Mica absolutely destroy the competition with it.
Closed Guard > Half Guard > Rest
And look at all the other guards out there which get used a lot more often.
High knee shield and half guard in general is a lot more useful across the board for all body types.
Closed guard is really hard work and is not essential to be good at
@@prandz420Like I said, closed guard is only hard work if you don't understand it. My professor is a Roger black belt, we had to be good at it by blue belt. I visited gyms across Europe and people my size couldn't open it, then I'd sub or take the back.
You'll get to the other guard anyway if things go bad, don't go there when in close guard he's on the defensive. Tire him first in your close guard. It never made sense to me for people to teach their students to open their closed guards.
@@Frazful all due respect but beating people your own size in gyms does not prove anything and isn’t impressive.
Go and prove everyone wrong in black belt competition if it really is true that people don’t understand it. There’s a reason why it’s not the main guard at high level despite it being drilled into pretty much every beginner.
It isn’t a dead position but it is overrated for most people. The coach referred to in this video is probably right about their student.
@@prandz420 Say the same to Rickson, Roger, Mica, . I don't need to prove you a thing personally. Good Jiu Jitsu will defend itself.
A closed gaurd player is dangerous. Tall, lanky triangle dudes lol
I think people dont know how to control the head and arm, and thats why they aren't being effective with closed guard.
The guy who told you that guillotines are low percentage must have been on crack. According to the Tapology dataset, guillotines are the #3 submission in MMA.
Are you sure it’s Guillotines or rear naked chokes?
@@HaroldBluetooth-uz1zz Rear naked chokes are #1.
I’m 6’5”, brown belt, with 9 years of training.
Guard is a good position, but its drawbacks are it’s easy to get comfortable in there. And after a while, people start figuring you out. I now make it a point when I train that if I can’t sweep or submit in 1 minute, then I let the guy pass so I’m forcing myself to work on something else.
Oh and guard is a bitch on your lower back as you get older. I’ve got the chiropractor bills to prove it.
Chewy is older than half guard
Am I stupid for thinking being in a good guys full guard is dangerous asf
Nah not at all, any neutral or dominant position someone has that knows what they’re doing can be dangerous
I hate being in the closed guard. I try to avoid it is possible.
half guard not a position? lol what?
Nothing wrong with full guard. But there can be something wrong with staying with something you are already good at, failing to evolve, not risking leaving your comfort zone or neglecting other positions. He should listen to his coaches, its rare that they actively steer you wrong.
I'm in the gym grappling 7 days a week, but I consider myself a hobbyist because I'm not a competitor. Isn't that how it works? (Not Sarcasm)
So, if at your gym you’re rolling with all different kind of guys, bigger, smaller, more skilled less skilled and you’re doing well against them, what makes you think that competing for points and a five dollar medal is going to make you not a hobbyist. I say your tested more at your gym and at different open mats around your area, than competition.
Ask mica galvao then 😂😂
Roger Gracie would crush 99% of the BJJ population by using full guard and other basic old school techniques. Berimbolos, DLR, spider, Lasso, K and other fancy stuff is cool, but basics are sometimes all you need.
His full guard is amazing.
But would be crushed in mma and street fighting.
Roger Gracie was 8-2 in mma with 6 subs, 1 ko, and 1 decision.
Jiu Jitsu IS the guard..change gyms.
no half guard? blaspheme!