The reason this channel is so great is Jeff actively pursues two of the most important and most forgotten concepts in martial arts. #1. Practical application: If it doesn't work spontaneously, it doesn't work. #2. Personal application: Different things work for different people And that's why we drill and spar so we can figure out OUR best fighting style by trial and error.
Awesome video! I'm recently learning to develop the high guard but kept wondering which guard would be best for me in the long run. This video answers so much. Thank you Jeff
For tall person with long arms n foots, long guard works well, high guard has big holes for tall dudes, use it as last resort or just clinch + knee for short range.
You have to be dynamic, but for mma, a boxing stance where you are ready for takedowns. Like, philly shell is not good for mma, but if your roudhouse gets jammed, you will end up in philly shell because you swing your arm. You have got to know how to defend the counter from that guard.
I personally like the long guard, I especially think it's best for a no gloves situation. And I'm very focused on real life scenarios so I gravitate towards that, but admittedly I'm still fairly beginner skill level. When I use the long guard though it's still fairly high and tight, so maybe it's half and half.
Honestly, when you are focused o real life situations you might just want to consider using a forearm high guard. Meaning you put your hands way up in your head, so that the elbows point to the front. In a street fight it's very messy, you might not see every opponent and I wouldn't rely on headmovement or an active long guard. Most people know shit about fighting and just want to punch you directly in the face. When you have the elbows high, you can absorb a lot of damage and break their hands in the process. It's just something I would consider if I were you and really want to do self defense instead of Sparring. These are completely different things...
@@maxwellsdemon10 You make a fair point but it sounds like you're talking about surviving a mob. Which just goes to show how incredibly situation real life defense is. I do think though the worst option is to have no training/gameplan. I think I any intelligent training gives us a huge edge. Which is something I always say. "I may not be great but most people are straight up clueless at fighting. My mediocre skills are a huge edge over 90% something of the populace" Also I have been in a *few* real fights/spontaneous attacks and I did well because of fast aggressive action. My being proactive overwhelmed them. So based on that experience I find the idea of essentially just shelling up to not be very appealing.
@@jelaneytaters8149 first of all, I agree. Having some kind of training is always better than none. But you are good in what you train and training to fight one opponent of similar size in a well controlled environment with a specific ruleset is awesome, but not the reality of a fight. (I do both, boxing/Kickboxing and Kravmaga. Both have their place and are fun, but both are different). I think you might have misunderstood me. I don't think you should shell up and try to survive. The way is to put your elbows up and ram them into the attacker. You are absolutely right, that you have to be proactive. The most important principles from Kravmaga are speed, surprise and aggression. The problem is, that you often don't know if you are fighting one person or multiple attackers. Maybe that guy who is aggressive has a buddy that I'll hit you once you fuck the other guy up.
@@maxwellsdemon10 ah gotcha ok to that point I am hugely in favor of knees and elbows. More damage to them, less damage to you, harder to miss etc While I love the high guard or defending with primarily elbows we do have to consider that punches can and will slip through. Which is why I take sortve the in between guard. Funny enough those real life situations I mentioned all kinna went down the same way. I kicked/kneed the stomach/crotch area ( I'm not choosy ) and basically throat chopped/gripped them It was instinctual, but it worked. The dilemma is you don't know what works until you actually do it, and some things you can't actually do in a safe environment. so some things start to become theoretical. At the end of the day is rather have well practiced mostly efficient movements than perfectly efficient theoretical movements. ( As I'm sure you'd agree ) the challenge is in achieving practical/safe simulation which sounds like that's what both of us aim to do.
I'm not an experienced fighter or anything but I've been in a few dozen fights and I learned to like leaning forward with my hands low in a real fight. Most people don't know anything about fighting and throw sloppy wide shots at your face. So you can just lean back then counter with a good kick to the stomach, thighs, groin; chest. Kicks are your best friend in a fight. They're frustrating and hard to defend against so they'll either end up backing down after a few good kicks or charge in for a tackle and you can get ahold of their neck and choke them.
I like a long/high guard hybrid depending on my opponents range. Also I think body type plays a significant role in which guard you should use and can excel at.
That's kinda a way to describe my guard. I'm a shorter guy and it helps me parry and close the distance. As well as being able switch from being defensive to being offensive easily
100 percent and what type of fighter you are if you have super fast reflexes like roy jones in his prim u could get away w hands down If your big and strong and slower a high guard / long guard would be better. Look at jon jones hes got a huge reach avantage he can use the long guard so effective
@@theawesomest2850 which ones do you use? I've started kickboxing a few months ago, and being VERY short is giving me a hard time to get into range and shoot a few punches. Mates are bored of being hit in the fist with my face
@@leandromirkin7814 I use a tight high guard and sometimes a long guard but mostly the high guard. It's pretty much just a peek-a-boo guard but higher lol. If it helps when you block bring your elbows up to your forehead.
@@leandromirkin7814 also to close distance you gotta move. In and out side to side and use feints(with strikes and movement) to help close the distance. I've been training for a while and closing the distance on larger people(almost everyone) was something I had to work alot on.
Long guard and hands down are my favorite cuz it’s easier to switch between the two and set up attacks. You even can pressure with the long guard to create opportunities than get to the hands down get out of danger to reset. High guard and Philly are good too but situations is what determine when to use all these
Excellent content, as always. Would add that gloves are a major factor. In a self-defense (no gloves) scenario - long guard is the safest option by far, unless cornered.
@unkn0wn_persona545 not really, you need to modify your block by bringing the arm higher and use more head movement, also move in as you block so you don't take force at the end of the lever and know how to grapple. Shoulder blocking works just as well although it hurts more obviously. Feel free to ask me any other questions as I don't really know what to elaborate on but yea, it still works well
@@angelocarantino4803 that's interesting that you say that you bring the arms higher, I guess its different if the person you're up against doesnt' know how to fight. I've seen the shoulder roll used in bkfc and ufc where some of those fighters have their lead arms down and have plenty of utilization off the shoulder, there are only some that bring up their lead arm higher, but of course they have to modify it a little more.
I like my palms forward in the high guard. It allows me a greater chance to parry and i can feel the punches on the outside of the range vs the closer range of the palms in, which will give you 0 counter opportunities and you feel the shock of the impact more.
You look most comfortable in the long guard. It seemed like you had more time and space to see punches and kicks coming. The biggest con I saw was that the long guard makes you almost forget to move your head.
Personally a big fan of low guard since I mainly like to focus on keeping distance and counter-striking. Really nice to see it get some recognition as a valid style!
Jeff sparing is like a real fight they go hard in the gym fair play lads I’m nowhere near ready for that kind of sparring but damn you are both good fighters keep working hard bro and it’ll pay off when you are the UFC champion of the world 🌎!!!! Good luck god bless you all
Maybe its just me, but I always feel Jeff is very controlled and actually one of the safest people to spar against. It all depends on the partner, and they both were very controlled. Some punches here and there are hard but no knockout intent in them. Kicks to the body and legs are almost always fair game for everyone in sparring, because you HAVE to learn how to defend them coming at real speed and power. Head trauma should be preserved for fight preparation, and even then after a few years of that, you should only be hard sparring on a semi regular basis, if that. From my experience
Jeff and Fred are sparring at high pace, but their punches are very light. It's how all sparrings should look like - being careful and respectful for each other and at the same time being meaningful to your training and improvement.
I learned to like the Philly Shell in Self Defense. Its a context where encountering many kicks or takedowns is not as likely anyway and you can throw great lowkicks as well, which is something nobody in self defense ever sees coming.
Like you I switch up my guard and it really depends on who I'm fighting if I'm sparring a newcomer I'll use Philly shell and just defend so they can get use to striking. If I'm sparring some who's intermediate level I tend to go long arm so I can get quick shots in and teach them to keep their hands up and move. If I'm sparring someone more experienced or on the same level as me then I'll use helmet/turtle guard and switch to the Philly shell. Then if I'm sparring with a guy/girl that I've known for a while I'll go hands down just to have some fun
*You can still attack and counter with any guard. Specific offensive counter techniques are easier to pull off depending on the guard* High guard-good for offensive aggression, not as good defensively. Vision can be blurred and harder to maintain distance Long guard-helps to stay outside of striking range by keeping the lead hand out and extending the lead arm. Easy to get hit once someone gets into your lead arm range. This guard keeps everyone out of range. Jab and lead hooks are faster since the lead hand is already out instead of from the face. Parry and counter with the lead hook or parry and counter with the cross. If the opponent moves into the lead arm then the lead roundhouse kick to the body can be used. Even possible to blitz in with punches to stay in striking range if the opponent isn’t being aggressive or is also using the long guard
I experimented a bit during sparring using the philly shell in kickbox/muaythai. To prevent a barrage of low kicks I simply lowered my height a little so they either had to kick calves (mostly easy to avoid) or risk kicking into my knee by accident. This also allowed for quick/partial checks, stepping forward at the same time to get closer into boxing/elbows range, sometimes throwing an overhand along or a solid jab to the face after the check. Sometimes it allows quick, unorthodox lead arm elbows in interesting targets too at this close distance, and also gets you too close for low kicks. Having my legs unusually bent also allowed for faster turning/swiving and level changes to avoid punches, also allowing a bit better footwork. But this was never tested against proper competitors, merely few sparring experiments/exercises. Still I would love to get back into training and re-develop that to see how far can I take it without getting KTFO Much love and success, thanks for a great video Jeff!
I can testify to this, I spar with alot of people that are much better than me but some of those weird techniques really catch them off guard, trapping, hammer fists etc
‘Stuffing’ or stiff-arming your opponents with a long guard can also be turned into a shoulder roll (with arm extended) to avoid head kicks. I say this because normally we shoulder roll while covering up the body, and often fighters using a long guard eat headkicks (a side effect of holding your opponent out headkicking range.) They will make the mistake of only leaning to the side, which isn’t enough movement to avoid the kick. By rolling with your arm still extended, you get your head out of the way and also deflect the kick some with your arm and back.
Philly shell is my favorite but like you said I’m always more susceptible to leg kicks. However if you shuffle step inside their kicking range and get inside I like to really bait my chin and intercept their punches with a clean shoulder roll and followup with a cross counter or liver punch combo off the 1/2. My bread and butter. As usual amazing content.
I actually find there are some benefits to using the Philly shell against kicks, the left arm being at my hip helps me get at least one undertook. when defending takedowns, and to catch kicks (even though it can hurt to block kicks with an extended arm lol).
I'd been interested to hear your thoughts on the Archie Moore Style Cross Guard. Seems to me like the Philly shell guard it sacrifices a lot in terms of kick and take down defense but has some really interesting applications in the boxing range.
@@MMAShredded watch some Archie Moore footage and give it a whirl, its fun in how it allows you to link the action of blocking into powering up for hooking strikes.
Like you said, you need to use different guards, but my favourite lately is the Philly shell. I've found I can get more power and speed out of my jab by whipping it up from my hip, like Muhammad Ali did for his flicker jab. In particular, I can counter a one-two by catching then shoulder rolling, but I use that roll to snap my jab up in the same movement. That counter jab lines up with the gap in their guard while punching and my arm movement is obscured by their straight right. It stops their momentum and combos great into a Floyd Mayweather-esque counter right.
I was a long guard guy forever but recently I've been messing with an active high guard and let me tell you, you can rip your shots! My body hook to low kick combo has never felt this smooth. I love high guard now, even for MMA style sparring
@@aidanmccarthy5441 the same way you do any guard. The difference is when you have your ear muffs on you're more square naturally so you can really add some hip into your body hook. From there you're already set up to throw the low kick. Don't just enter using this or you'll get sparked though. Start with jabs and 1-2s. Fake a jab, high guard up, body shot hook, full torque and as the hook lands, twist your hips into a low kick angled downwards. I can't get any more specific than that
It's a blessing to have a partner like the one you have! ... He was doing pretty good with his hands down. Even though I have done Karate for more than 10 years... I have never feel comfortable having that guard. I always prefer the long guard or high guard, also mainly because outside of Karate, my main focus was Kickboxing and a little Muay Thai. Great video!
My fav guards are the long and no guard. But sometimes I think it’s good to use the high guard to lure your opponent in and counter them when you see a spot where you can hit. Right now I only use the high guard because my coach says so. But if I’m not a beginner anymore I would definitely use all three guards.
Awesome video! Thanks for the mix of content. I always strive to try diff things and sometimes get constructive criticism/critique for the things that don't work in my gym. Will try to mix it up more
Awesome video! I'm a recreational striker, but I like using the low guard as much as possible. I'm an older guy, so I like slowing down the fight if I can. And even though I'm older, the years I've put in on footwork and distance management help me compensate for youth and athleticism with the low guard. Also, having my hands down helps me defend against kicks and takedowns. All that said, until I feel someone out, I usually have my hands up higher to protect my head. It's only once I really feel I can relax that I'll completely drop into the low guard. Again, thanks for the great video!
I like all these guards and they're really good for transitioning between ranges and how gassed you are. I like to start with the long guard in a thai stance, perfect for establishing range, teeps, and keeping a safe distance. Not great for mma and power shots imo, too tall. Definitely depends on the person, but I noticed for me towards the later rounds when I'm pretty tired and my partner picks up on my timing, more shots slip in and when they blitz you it's slower to react. Hand trapping and feinting are good ways to get around the long guard. High guard is definitely great for being aggressive, more in the pocket. I do dutch style so most of the time it's high volume, high guard. The long guard for me really helps to conserve stamina, it's patient, defensive, and great for countering like the Philly shell. Only downsides really are if the opponent stays aggressive even though you get some solid counters in, you end up backing up a lot. I use a lot of kicks to enter, drop my leg down and you're in the pocket. sit down on my punches and use the dutch kicks to set up my hands and to chip away at their lead leg.
Low guard looks cool, it helps saving energy but it isn't ideal if you don't have a good head movement, Hands up style is ideal for new beginners like myself, I also switch to side stance and long guard when I throw side kicks, my advise is keep your low when you're out of opponents' range, but keep the hands up, when you're attacking or under attack
Amazing video! I love the two-fer. Watching you and Fred together is like collecting gold coins in Super Mario. Real time check left hooks, Stipe pivot right crosses, I need to watch in super slow motion to get all the gold!
Very interesting as usual Jeff. Thank you. I prefer the long Guard but it doesn't work with aggressive opponent no ? What a sparring, punching soft but accurate and quick, with hight intensity... I like !
Another excellent video. I would love to see one where you explain some of the blocks like I've heard you say Carriage block or 360 block but don't know what they are. I know people sometimes have different names for these things so it would really help out a lot , thanks
Excellent breakdown as always, kudos to your training partner too for actively noticing and abusing the weakness of a non changing guard, could you do a video of an adaptation of peek a boo for mma ? Ive been trying to figure out a few ground rules for actually using it and I find its good for punches and td defense but it falls short on throwing and defending kicks, with good discipline you can still block them, but an experienced fighter will still fuck you up if he times you leaning into a kick.
Pretty cool analysis! I have found that I like the Philly Shell a lot and have had success using it in mixed striking situations since it gives you a GREAT counter-jab at an angle many folks are not expecting. Interestingly enough, I actually developed into using the Philly Shell after analyzing Bruce Lee's diagrams of the Bai Jong stance in The Tao of Jeet Kune Do.
Love using the long guard, combined with some nice fast front leg kicks + pushes as the opponent advances or tries a move, it helps me win most of my fights :D
I'm old and the only two things I have left are experience and a "punchers" chance. I always start out with my hands down just outside of kicking range. I'm looking to counter and waiting to see if my opponent tries to extend a kick or rush to punching range. Once we close to kicking range, I move to long guard and look to kick, clinch, or slip. Once we've closed to short range, I move to a high and aggressive peek a boo style and rush to clinch. This is really where I've wanted to get to the entire time. If they run, they get peek a boo pressure and if they don't, we find out how much time they've put in to clinching and now I don't have to worry about my old ass lack of cardio as much. There is a time, place, and skill set for every style. My 6 and 8 year old just started and they will start with a high guard/ long guard hybrid until they get the fundamentals down. That's actually why I'm watching these videos. It's one thing to do and another to teach.
boss man if u ever get a chance can you do a video with Archie Moore's style of blocking or George foreman's clinching he used to move his opponents around and position them for his punches with his arms or how rocky Marciano used to target all parts of the body you have a good way of explaining how styles are used you explain it in a way everyone of all levels can understand
Great Video Man ! I was wondering about the effectiveness of head movement in Muay Thai or MMA since there is the possibility of being kicked. Are you supposed to use a different technique for head movement in Martial Arts with kicks/ knees like Muay Thai for example? would love to hear your input.
I’ve never seen someone say the high guard is bad on defense but good on offense… it’s main weakness comes from the fact you shut down most available targets which forces you to give up the control of space. On top of this, if you have a long guard or you keep your hands low and someone gets inside the pocket your only option to avoid getting battered is to move backwards or try to counter, both of these options are available at any time with the high guard, as well as the fact you can (and should) catch punches on your guard to return fire in the middle of your opponent’s combination. Which is why you see defensive fighters like Floyd Mayweather use his high guard as often as his Philly Shell, Petr Yan using his high guard to catch shots that would have been much harder to dodge as well as counter, and Canelo who spends most of the time he’s fighting in his high guard rather than using his head movement like you see in the highlights.
I think a looser high guard, ability to stay fluid and defensively aware...as well as intelligent footwork is the best...especially defensively....catching, rolling and deflecting....cutting angles and out...footwork is the most important thing in mma because of the amount of weapons. And a high loose guard seems the best.
I love mixing all guards a bit but I feel the high guard works best for me overall plainly because I'm not exactly tall or rangy so a good high guard 80% of the time mixed with a few bits and bobs works well for me overall especially when mixed with some faints and movement
Nice video im btw trying to master i MEAN master really well the hands down guard because it gives me more opportunities to make counters and more dodges if i master it well
The Long guard! I dont know if it is me, but in my gym, ppl critisize me for it, they like the turtle shell but i dont like it. Your head gets ratled when you get hit. I use footwork and long guard it works fine.
As a short fighter, (I'm 160cm / 5'3. A midget) I'm more into high and tight guard, touching the cheeks or forehead. One disadvantage that I see both in the long and high guard is that them both tire a lot the arms though time (at least to me), so when I'm in a boxing match, I like to make a guard similar to Philly Shell, where I support my arms into my torso to rest them a little...
I'm a former competitive boxer with 7 years as a competitive fencer (epeeist) and alongside boxing trained some kickboxing ,and I use naturally an hybrid long/high guard ,everyone have different styles so a type of guard works can't work for everyone .
Philly shell is op in every situation except for, you’ll be exposed to kicks on that side and checking is hard while shifting. Reason I say that is because you almost always shift while using a Philly shell/roll but you’ll be off balance to check any incoming kicks. Long guard does well for that. Learn the fighter before running striaght in
You should Watch old fights with Superfoot Wallace, he used a modified Philly Shell Guard and was undfeated in kickboxing. IN the early bouts kicks to the legs were allowed.
This is just me but the best guard I find is the basic guard but with your lead hand slightly extended. Start with back hand strictly on your face at cheek level. Then put your lead hand check level and slightly forward. I usually find it best with mma gloves and no glove but with boxing gloves, high guard is the best.
Tip from philly, no one in philly calls it a Philly shell, it’s called the money shell or mayweather shell. It’s also just a better name cause most guys from philly are gonna walk you down with a high guard most of the time from my experience.
As a Kung Fu practitionner I prefer the long guard, feels more natural to me. But I am trying to improve my tight guard because it can be useful when I spar boxers ! Thank you for your vidéo Jeff !
High/dutch guard all day! Petr Yan is a great example of how it can work for mma. I coach but i don't force my students to conform to my style. My best student is great at high guard but even better with his hands down. So that's how i tell him to spar. Be yourself, whatever works for you.
The reason this channel is so great is Jeff actively pursues two of the most important and most forgotten concepts in martial arts. #1. Practical application: If it doesn't work spontaneously, it doesn't work.
#2. Personal application: Different things work for different people
And that's why we drill and spar so we can figure out OUR best fighting style by trial and error.
Take what is useful
Be like water my friend.
Jkd
@@anthonyallen9560 Best quote ever!
JKD all the way
Awesome video! I'm recently learning to develop the high guard but kept wondering which guard would be best for me in the long run. This video answers so much. Thank you Jeff
I have found great success using Philly shell but only after I crowd my opponent taking away his kicking range.
Bro you're here too . I'm literally finding you everywhere 😂. First it was with Jessie Enkamp and now Jeff Chan
For tall person with long arms n foots, long guard works well, high guard has big holes for tall dudes, use it as last resort or just clinch + knee for short range.
A collaboration would be great.
You have to be dynamic, but for mma, a boxing stance where you are ready for takedowns. Like, philly shell is not good for mma, but if your roudhouse gets jammed, you will end up in philly shell because you swing your arm. You have got to know how to defend the counter from that guard.
Fred is super Dope too... he deserves many kudos for being a great training partner , not just for you, but for us too.. Thank you Fred
I personally like the long guard, I especially think it's best for a no gloves situation. And I'm very focused on real life scenarios so I gravitate towards that, but admittedly I'm still fairly beginner skill level.
When I use the long guard though it's still fairly high and tight, so maybe it's half and half.
Honestly, when you are focused o real life situations you might just want to consider using a forearm high guard.
Meaning you put your hands way up in your head, so that the elbows point to the front.
In a street fight it's very messy, you might not see every opponent and I wouldn't rely on headmovement or an active long guard. Most people know shit about fighting and just want to punch you directly in the face. When you have the elbows high, you can absorb a lot of damage and break their hands in the process.
It's just something I would consider if I were you and really want to do self defense instead of Sparring. These are completely different things...
@@maxwellsdemon10 You make a fair point but it sounds like you're talking about surviving a mob. Which just goes to show how incredibly situation real life defense is. I do think though the worst option is to have no training/gameplan. I think I any intelligent training gives us a huge edge. Which is something I always say. "I may not be great but most people are straight up clueless at fighting. My mediocre skills are a huge edge over 90% something of the populace"
Also I have been in a *few* real fights/spontaneous attacks and I did well because of fast aggressive action. My being proactive overwhelmed them. So based on that experience I find the idea of essentially just shelling up to not be very appealing.
@@jelaneytaters8149 first of all, I agree. Having some kind of training is always better than none. But you are good in what you train and training to fight one opponent of similar size in a well controlled environment with a specific ruleset is awesome, but not the reality of a fight. (I do both, boxing/Kickboxing and Kravmaga. Both have their place and are fun, but both are different).
I think you might have misunderstood me. I don't think you should shell up and try to survive. The way is to put your elbows up and ram them into the attacker.
You are absolutely right, that you have to be proactive. The most important principles from Kravmaga are speed, surprise and aggression.
The problem is, that you often don't know if you are fighting one person or multiple attackers. Maybe that guy who is aggressive has a buddy that I'll hit you once you fuck the other guy up.
@@maxwellsdemon10 ah gotcha ok to that point I am hugely in favor of knees and elbows. More damage to them, less damage to you, harder to miss etc
While I love the high guard or defending with primarily elbows we do have to consider that punches can and will slip through. Which is why I take sortve the in between guard.
Funny enough those real life situations I mentioned all kinna went down the same way. I kicked/kneed the stomach/crotch area ( I'm not choosy ) and basically throat chopped/gripped them
It was instinctual, but it worked.
The dilemma is you don't know what works until you actually do it, and some things you can't actually do in a safe environment. so some things start to become theoretical.
At the end of the day is rather have well practiced mostly efficient movements than perfectly efficient theoretical movements. ( As I'm sure you'd agree ) the challenge is in achieving practical/safe simulation which sounds like that's what both of us aim to do.
I'm not an experienced fighter or anything but I've been in a few dozen fights and I learned to like leaning forward with my hands low in a real fight. Most people don't know anything about fighting and throw sloppy wide shots at your face. So you can just lean back then counter with a good kick to the stomach, thighs, groin; chest. Kicks are your best friend in a fight. They're frustrating and hard to defend against so they'll either end up backing down after a few good kicks or charge in for a tackle and you can get ahold of their neck and choke them.
I like a long/high guard hybrid depending on my opponents range. Also I think body type plays a significant role in which guard you should use and can excel at.
That's kinda a way to describe my guard. I'm a shorter guy and it helps me parry and close the distance. As well as being able switch from being defensive to being offensive easily
100 percent and what type of fighter you are if you have super fast reflexes like roy jones in his prim u could get away w hands down
If your big and strong and slower a high guard / long guard would be better. Look at jon jones hes got a huge reach avantage he can use the long guard so effective
@@theawesomest2850 which ones do you use? I've started kickboxing a few months ago, and being VERY short is giving me a hard time to get into range and shoot a few punches. Mates are bored of being hit in the fist with my face
@@leandromirkin7814 I use a tight high guard and sometimes a long guard but mostly the high guard. It's pretty much just a peek-a-boo guard but higher lol. If it helps when you block bring your elbows up to your forehead.
@@leandromirkin7814 also to close distance you gotta move. In and out side to side and use feints(with strikes and movement) to help close the distance. I've been training for a while and closing the distance on larger people(almost everyone) was something I had to work alot on.
Long guard and hands down are my favorite cuz it’s easier to switch between the two and set up attacks. You even can pressure with the long guard to create opportunities than get to the hands down get out of danger to reset. High guard and Philly are good too but situations is what determine when to use all these
cheers!!
My favorite is definitely long guard, not comfortable enough with my head movement yet for hands down but I want to be! Great content as always 🙏
sweet!
Excellent content, as always. Would add that gloves are a major factor. In a self-defense (no gloves) scenario - long guard is the safest option by far, unless cornered.
@Fri Rose no hands down no! never.
In street fights ive found modified philly shell with the lead arm out front a bit around chest high works awesome
@@angelocarantino4803 wouldn't the philly shell be hard to use due to defending against bare knuckles?
@unkn0wn_persona545 not really, you need to modify your block by bringing the arm higher and use more head movement, also move in as you block so you don't take force at the end of the lever and know how to grapple. Shoulder blocking works just as well although it hurts more obviously. Feel free to ask me any other questions as I don't really know what to elaborate on but yea, it still works well
@@angelocarantino4803 that's interesting that you say that you bring the arms higher, I guess its different if the person you're up against doesnt' know how to fight. I've seen the shoulder roll used in bkfc and ufc where some of those fighters have their lead arms down and have plenty of utilization off the shoulder, there are only some that bring up their lead arm higher, but of course they have to modify it a little more.
I like my palms forward in the high guard. It allows me a greater chance to parry and i can feel the punches on the outside of the range vs the closer range of the palms in, which will give you 0 counter opportunities and you feel the shock of the impact more.
You look most comfortable in the long guard. It seemed like you had more time and space to see punches and kicks coming. The biggest con I saw was that the long guard makes you almost forget to move your head.
true! thanks for the feedback!
Personally a big fan of low guard since I mainly like to focus on keeping distance and counter-striking. Really nice to see it get some recognition as a valid style!
cheers!!
Poatan
Jeff sparing is like a real fight they go hard in the gym fair play lads I’m nowhere near ready for that kind of sparring but damn you are both good fighters keep working hard bro and it’ll pay off when you are the UFC champion of the world 🌎!!!! Good luck god bless you all
Maybe its just me, but I always feel Jeff is very controlled and actually one of the safest people to spar against. It all depends on the partner, and they both were very controlled. Some punches here and there are hard but no knockout intent in them. Kicks to the body and legs are almost always fair game for everyone in sparring, because you HAVE to learn how to defend them coming at real speed and power. Head trauma should be preserved for fight preparation, and even then after a few years of that, you should only be hard sparring on a semi regular basis, if that. From my experience
Jeff and Fred are sparring at high pace, but their punches are very light. It's how all sparrings should look like - being careful and respectful for each other and at the same time being meaningful to your training and improvement.
I learned to like the Philly Shell in Self Defense.
Its a context where encountering many kicks or takedowns is not as likely anyway and you can throw great lowkicks as well, which is something nobody in self defense ever sees coming.
cheers!
Love the long guard, but coming from a boxing background myself, I like using the philly shell, especially if i'm looking to counterpunch
Like you I switch up my guard and it really depends on who I'm fighting if I'm sparring a newcomer I'll use Philly shell and just defend so they can get use to striking. If I'm sparring some who's intermediate level I tend to go long arm so I can get quick shots in and teach them to keep their hands up and move. If I'm sparring someone more experienced or on the same level as me then I'll use helmet/turtle guard and switch to the Philly shell. Then if I'm sparring with a guy/girl that I've known for a while I'll go hands down just to have some fun
nice!!!
*You can still attack and counter with any guard. Specific offensive counter techniques are easier to pull off depending on the guard*
High guard-good for offensive aggression, not as good defensively. Vision can be blurred and harder to maintain distance
Long guard-helps to stay outside of striking range by keeping the lead hand out and extending the lead arm. Easy to get hit once someone gets into your lead arm range. This guard keeps everyone out of range. Jab and lead hooks are faster since the lead hand is already out instead of from the face. Parry and counter with the lead hook or parry and counter with the cross. If the opponent moves into the lead arm then the lead roundhouse kick to the body can be used. Even possible to blitz in with punches to stay in striking range if the opponent isn’t being aggressive or is also using the long guard
I experimented a bit during sparring using the philly shell in kickbox/muaythai. To prevent a barrage of low kicks I simply lowered my height a little so they either had to kick calves (mostly easy to avoid) or risk kicking into my knee by accident. This also allowed for quick/partial checks, stepping forward at the same time to get closer into boxing/elbows range, sometimes throwing an overhand along or a solid jab to the face after the check. Sometimes it allows quick, unorthodox lead arm elbows in interesting targets too at this close distance, and also gets you too close for low kicks. Having my legs unusually bent also allowed for faster turning/swiving and level changes to avoid punches, also allowing a bit better footwork. But this was never tested against proper competitors, merely few sparring experiments/exercises. Still I would love to get back into training and re-develop that to see how far can I take it without getting KTFO
Much love and success, thanks for a great video Jeff!
Long guard is great, especially if you do standing hammer strikes (something the Ancient Greeks used to do a lot). Might be worth experimenting with.
I can testify to this, I spar with alot of people that are much better than me but some of those weird techniques really catch them off guard, trapping, hammer fists etc
Standing hammer fist 😆
@@darkNovaskar Dangerous when your opponent is bent over ;)
‘Stuffing’ or stiff-arming your opponents with a long guard can also be turned into a shoulder roll (with arm extended) to avoid head kicks.
I say this because normally we shoulder roll while covering up the body, and often fighters using a long guard eat headkicks (a side effect of holding your opponent out headkicking range.) They will make the mistake of only leaning to the side, which isn’t enough movement to avoid the kick. By rolling with your arm still extended, you get your head out of the way and also deflect the kick some with your arm and back.
Philly shell is my favorite but like you said I’m always more susceptible to leg kicks. However if you shuffle step inside their kicking range and get inside I like to really bait my chin and intercept their punches with a clean shoulder roll and followup with a cross counter or liver punch combo off the 1/2. My bread and butter. As usual amazing content.
I actually find there are some benefits to using the Philly shell against kicks, the left arm being at my hip helps me get at least one undertook. when defending takedowns, and to catch kicks (even though it can hurt to block kicks with an extended arm lol).
Don’t forget philly shell you can counter your Lead leg being kicked by throwing out sidekick great counter
Thank you Jeff!
I'd been interested to hear your thoughts on the Archie Moore Style Cross Guard. Seems to me like the Philly shell guard it sacrifices a lot in terms of kick and take down defense but has some really interesting applications in the boxing range.
I have yet to play with that guard!
@@MMAShredded watch some Archie Moore footage and give it a whirl, its fun in how it allows you to link the action of blocking into powering up for hooking strikes.
Like you said, you need to use different guards, but my favourite lately is the Philly shell. I've found I can get more power and speed out of my jab by whipping it up from my hip, like Muhammad Ali did for his flicker jab. In particular, I can counter a one-two by catching then shoulder rolling, but I use that roll to snap my jab up in the same movement. That counter jab lines up with the gap in their guard while punching and my arm movement is obscured by their straight right. It stops their momentum and combos great into a Floyd Mayweather-esque counter right.
100%!
I was a long guard guy forever but recently I've been messing with an active high guard and let me tell you, you can rip your shots! My body hook to low kick combo has never felt this smooth. I love high guard now, even for MMA style sparring
How would you set that up using the high guard?
@@aidanmccarthy5441 the same way you do any guard. The difference is when you have your ear muffs on you're more square naturally so you can really add some hip into your body hook. From there you're already set up to throw the low kick. Don't just enter using this or you'll get sparked though. Start with jabs and 1-2s. Fake a jab, high guard up, body shot hook, full torque and as the hook lands, twist your hips into a low kick angled downwards. I can't get any more specific than that
It's a blessing to have a partner like the one you have!
...
He was doing pretty good with his hands down.
Even though I have done Karate for more than 10 years... I have never feel comfortable having that guard.
I always prefer the long guard or high guard, also mainly because outside of Karate, my main focus was Kickboxing and a little Muay Thai.
Great video!
This is one of the best martial Arts Videos i have ever seen
My fav guards are the long and no guard. But sometimes I think it’s good to use the high guard to lure your opponent in and counter them when you see a spot where you can hit. Right now I only use the high guard because my coach says so. But if I’m not a beginner anymore I would definitely use all three guards.
2:38 that dog is just as fascinated as me
Awesome video! Thanks for the mix of content. I always strive to try diff things and sometimes get constructive criticism/critique for the things that don't work in my gym. Will try to mix it up more
thanks bro!
Awesome video! I'm a recreational striker, but I like using the low guard as much as possible. I'm an older guy, so I like slowing down the fight if I can. And even though I'm older, the years I've put in on footwork and distance management help me compensate for youth and athleticism with the low guard. Also, having my hands down helps me defend against kicks and takedowns. All that said, until I feel someone out, I usually have my hands up higher to protect my head. It's only once I really feel I can relax that I'll completely drop into the low guard. Again, thanks for the great video!
thanks for watching!!
Very informative with good comparison. Thank you. Still the High Guard seems the best!
Long guard has worked really well to me. I've tried several guards but long guard is my favorite one.
I like all these guards and they're really good for transitioning between ranges and how gassed you are.
I like to start with the long guard in a thai stance, perfect for establishing range, teeps, and keeping a safe distance. Not great for mma and power shots imo, too tall. Definitely depends on the person, but I noticed for me towards the later rounds when I'm pretty tired and my partner picks up on my timing, more shots slip in and when they blitz you it's slower to react. Hand trapping and feinting are good ways to get around the long guard.
High guard is definitely great for being aggressive, more in the pocket. I do dutch style so most of the time it's high volume, high guard.
The long guard for me really helps to conserve stamina, it's patient, defensive, and great for countering like the Philly shell. Only downsides really are if the opponent stays aggressive even though you get some solid counters in, you end up backing up a lot.
I use a lot of kicks to enter, drop my leg down and you're in the pocket. sit down on my punches and use the dutch kicks to set up my hands and to chip away at their lead leg.
Great video Jeff Chan from MMAShredded. I look forward to your next fight 💪💪
thx bro!
Your videos featuring sparring footage with this guy are always great
Low guard looks cool, it helps saving energy but it isn't ideal if you don't have a good head movement, Hands up style is ideal for new beginners like myself, I also switch to side stance and long guard when I throw side kicks, my advise is keep your low when you're out of opponents' range, but keep the hands up, when you're attacking or under attack
My bro Jeff Chan got me into the hands down guard. Love it bro🔥🥊🔥
hehe :)
Amazing video!
I love the two-fer. Watching you and Fred together is like collecting gold coins in Super Mario. Real time check left hooks, Stipe pivot right crosses, I need to watch in super slow motion to get all the gold!
Very interesting as usual Jeff. Thank you. I prefer the long Guard but it doesn't work with aggressive opponent no ? What a sparring, punching soft but accurate and quick, with hight intensity... I like !
the long guard work best against aggressive opponents
Hot diggety Sir!
This was awesome.
I needed this.
Please don't be shy - post more of this good stuff.
Like the song said ; i just can't get enough.
Another excellent video. I would love to see one where you explain some of the blocks like I've heard you say Carriage block or 360 block but don't know what they are. I know people sometimes have different names for these things so it would really help out a lot , thanks
Excellent breakdown as always, kudos to your training partner too for actively noticing and abusing the weakness of a non changing guard, could you do a video of an adaptation of peek a boo for mma ? Ive been trying to figure out a few ground rules for actually using it and I find its good for punches and td defense but it falls short on throwing and defending kicks, with good discipline you can still block them, but an experienced fighter will still fuck you up if he times you leaning into a kick.
thank you!!
On point about using the Philly shell is it can make it easy to get an under hook with your lead hand when they shoot
Pretty cool analysis! I have found that I like the Philly Shell a lot and have had success using it in mixed striking situations since it gives you a GREAT counter-jab at an angle many folks are not expecting. Interestingly enough, I actually developed into using the Philly Shell after analyzing Bruce Lee's diagrams of the Bai Jong stance in The Tao of Jeet Kune Do.
Love using the long guard, combined with some nice fast front leg kicks + pushes as the opponent advances or tries a move, it helps me win most of my fights :D
cheers!!
Yo I just wanna say thank you for making these videos they have helped me a lot in training
I have a Thai fight in a few hours, Im nervious as fuck xd
Wish me luck!
Goodluck man!
Good luck
Oah shiiiiit
Tell us the outcome
Good luck random internet guy, kick some ass :)
Great video again Jeff very informational
thx brother!
Mix of long guard and hands down works best for me. Amazing video, keep them coming!
thanks :)
I use a mix of long/philly and hands down, it really depends a lot on the skill level and style your opponent has imo
I'm old and the only two things I have left are experience and a "punchers" chance. I always start out with my hands down just outside of kicking range. I'm looking to counter and waiting to see if my opponent tries to extend a kick or rush to punching range. Once we close to kicking range, I move to long guard and look to kick, clinch, or slip. Once we've closed to short range, I move to a high and aggressive peek a boo style and rush to clinch. This is really where I've wanted to get to the entire time. If they run, they get peek a boo pressure and if they don't, we find out how much time they've put in to clinching and now I don't have to worry about my old ass lack of cardio as much. There is a time, place, and skill set for every style. My 6 and 8 year old just started and they will start with a high guard/ long guard hybrid until they get the fundamentals down.
That's actually why I'm watching these videos. It's one thing to do and another to teach.
cheers!!
I favor long/low guard for sparring, but high guard for everywhere outside the dojo, especially for self-defense.
I learned a lot and confirmed a lot of ideas I had too with your stamp of confirmation
awesome!
One thing that was not mentioned ab the long guard, it makes the jab much quicker but makes the lead hook much weaker.
boss man if u ever get a chance can you do a video with Archie Moore's style of blocking or George foreman's clinching he used to move his opponents around and position them for his punches with his arms or how rocky Marciano used to target all parts of the body you have a good way of explaining how styles are used you explain it in a way everyone of all levels can understand
Great Video Man ! I was wondering about the effectiveness of head movement in Muay Thai or MMA since there is the possibility of being kicked. Are you supposed to use a different technique for head movement in Martial Arts with kicks/ knees like Muay Thai for example?
would love to hear your input.
Should have included the bai Jong guard too! Awesome video bro!
nice 🔥 this was really informative. And also that doggo in the background was cute at some scenes
thx!!
I’ve never seen someone say the high guard is bad on defense but good on offense… it’s main weakness comes from the fact you shut down most available targets which forces you to give up the control of space. On top of this, if you have a long guard or you keep your hands low and someone gets inside the pocket your only option to avoid getting battered is to move backwards or try to counter, both of these options are available at any time with the high guard, as well as the fact you can (and should) catch punches on your guard to return fire in the middle of your opponent’s combination. Which is why you see defensive fighters like Floyd Mayweather use his high guard as often as his Philly Shell, Petr Yan using his high guard to catch shots that would have been much harder to dodge as well as counter, and Canelo who spends most of the time he’s fighting in his high guard rather than using his head movement like you see in the highlights.
I think a looser high guard, ability to stay fluid and defensively aware...as well as intelligent footwork is the best...especially defensively....catching, rolling and deflecting....cutting angles and out...footwork is the most important thing in mma because of the amount of weapons. And a high loose guard seems the best.
cheers!
Great video! I think it depends on your body type, bigger frames would do better with the shell vs a lighter frame with the high guard.
cheers!
I love mixing all guards a bit but I feel the high guard works best for me overall plainly because I'm not exactly tall or rangy so a good high guard 80% of the time mixed with a few bits and bobs works well for me overall especially when mixed with some faints and movement
cheers!
My go to is the long guard and phily shell
Good stuff dude.
thanks bro!
Nice video im btw trying to master i MEAN master really well the hands down guard because it gives me more opportunities to make counters and more dodges if i master it well
Need to test this bare Knuckle plus reverse cross guard
The Long guard! I dont know if it is me, but in my gym, ppl critisize me for it, they like the turtle shell but i dont like it. Your head gets ratled when you get hit. I use footwork and long guard it works fine.
Thank you for the great video ,I usually use the high Guard but I want to start incorporating the long guard with good foot work.
As a short fighter, (I'm 160cm / 5'3.
A midget) I'm more into high and tight guard, touching the cheeks or forehead. One disadvantage that I see both in the long and high guard is that them both tire a lot the arms though time (at least to me), so when I'm in a boxing match, I like to make a guard similar to Philly Shell, where I support my arms into my torso to rest them a little...
In MMA I use the low hands + long guard. In Muay Thai I mostly use long guard + tight guard. In boxing I mostly use tight guard + Philly shell.
7:11 - 7:17 - Loved it! haha
6:38 Holy shit that reversal!
Fantastic Video! I really like the High and Long Guard. I'm not very good at utilising the hands down and philly shell.
I'm a former competitive boxer with 7 years as a competitive fencer (epeeist) and alongside boxing trained some kickboxing ,and I use naturally an hybrid long/high guard ,everyone have different styles so a type of guard works can't work for everyone .
Philly shell is op in every situation except for, you’ll be exposed to kicks on that side and checking is hard while shifting. Reason I say that is because you almost always shift while using a Philly shell/roll but you’ll be off balance to check any incoming kicks. Long guard does well for that. Learn the fighter before running striaght in
You should Watch old fights with Superfoot Wallace, he used a modified Philly Shell Guard and was undfeated in kickboxing. IN the early bouts kicks to the legs were allowed.
cheers!
This is just me but the best guard I find is the basic guard but with your lead hand slightly extended. Start with back hand strictly on your face at cheek level. Then put your lead hand check level and slightly forward. I usually find it best with mma gloves and no glove but with boxing gloves, high guard is the best.
I like Philly shell because of I like the blocking and slipping with shoulder
cheers!
Always love seeing these controlled sparring sessions
thank you!
Excellent Video.. subscribed!
thank you!
I personaly like the cross gaurd, especialy for short bursts of defense
Tip from philly, no one in philly calls it a Philly shell, it’s called the money shell or mayweather shell. It’s also just a better name cause most guys from philly are gonna walk you down with a high guard most of the time from my experience.
Great stuff as usual 😎 ossss
I use mostly high and long. This seems to be a popular mix in the comments too.
No one on yt provides more values than Jeff chan hands down
Very good Video. Thanks for it
As a Kung Fu practitionner I prefer the long guard, feels more natural to me. But I am trying to improve my tight guard because it can be useful when I spar boxers ! Thank you for your vidéo Jeff !
Awesome! This helped me so much!
Great stuff as always
The Philly Shell is great for defending takedowns. That low hand guarding the body makes getting an underhook so much easier
cheers!
@@MMAShredded I use it for that all the time. You just have to be careful if they get a strong weak side angle on you, you will be vulnerable.
I mix it up too but the high guard is what my coaches drilled us on
One of the guards you didn't show is the Cross Armed Defense(famously used by George Foreman).
true!
Great breakdown!
thx man!
I love the long guard and philly shell when I'm doing Muay Thai
nice!
Great video as usual
Thank you !!
I like the high guard. Always gotta keep them hands up!
Great video! Thx!
High/dutch guard all day! Petr Yan is a great example of how it can work for mma. I coach but i don't force my students to conform to my style. My best student is great at high guard but even better with his hands down. So that's how i tell him to spar. Be yourself, whatever works for you.
sweet!
Great video and very interested to look different guard congratulations 🤔🙏