Firstly, sorry about the English, I'm Brazilian without fluent English but I felt it necessary to share my relationship with half guard. I hope Google translator helps me hahahaha. I train on a team where most of my training partners are bigger and heavier than me and play a pressure-oriented guard passing game. Because of this, I tried to improve my guard passing while standing and with agility, to escape this scenario and stood out. Upon reaching the purple belt, the scenario unfortunately changed and my teammates' game stood out. I was unable to adapt to guard play like lasso or spider, due to the lack of flexibility and size and half guard emerged as an initial solution to stop the other's pressure game. Initially, it was frustrating to be under pressure all the time, but this period taught me how important it is to understand fundamentals such as maintaining the passer's distance from my body and the ways in which I could stop his movement and pressure. From half guard I started working with the Knee Shield, always looking for simple sweeps like the Coyote or the inverted half guard, following the change in movement of my training partners. During my entire purple belt period, which was 2 years, much more than sweeps themselves, I learned to work with maintaining and retaining guard, even in an extremely defensive way. I've been a brown belt for a year and since I changed belts, my guard game has evolved a lot through the understanding of these concepts and greater knowledge of sweep mechanics than half guard provides me with. Currently, I try to start my training from Half Guard with the Knee Shield, but looking for transitions when possible to Half Butterfly or even seated guard and Single One. In cases of extreme necessity, transit between the deep half, half lapel guard and the octopus guard. What I like most about half guard and its variations is how easy it is to map the possibilities of sweeps, attacks and especially understanding the options for how the guard can be passed and neutralized, the possibility of greater pragmatism in actions and a reduced risk rate . I confess to you that half guard regained my interest in Jiu Jitsu. Thank you for the video, I hope I managed to express what I think in my comment.
Google translator did good. I feel the same, working half guard more has made me open my eyes to other sweeps and back takes. Good luck on your journey!
I'm a black belt who has been doing jiu-jitsu for 20 years. Half guard is my game. This video is unreal and I'm going to use it to teach my son and add stuff to my game.
I have watched probably a thousand videos related to bjj. This is probably the most concise and informative ones I have ever seen on half guard. It wouldn’t have made as much sense to me as a white or even blue belt. A person needs to actually play and have been in these positions to really grasp the way they fit together. I have a whole new understanding of half guard. I ended up in a lot of these positions because I was reacting to my opponent now I feel like I’m putting myself into these positions for a reason and I’m being proactive. Please make more videos like this. You have a gift.
This video is a miracle. The technical walk through half guard as a system to other systems was spot and, somehow, you nailed a perfect aesthetic tone that I didn't know I needed. I am biased as a half guard player myself, but just wonderful.
Legit one of the best BJJ videos I've ever seen, my man. I hope you do more of these, but I'm also aware of the effort these must take. Hope you can make it worthwhile for yourself somehow!
I've been training for around a decade now and this clarifies so many things. The total breakdown of what you list as being about 50% of the system is really wonderful. It'll help me a lot with my game and with my teaching.
Incredible video. When I started bjj a little less than 2 years ago I favored half guard because I would often lose guard quickly during a roll and then I'd work to recover by getting into half guard. That happened so often that I based my game on getting into half guard and then working from there. This video is helping me understand details about half guard that I never thought of. Thanks!
Man, what a wonderful video. Congratulations. I don't know if it is only my view, but I mostly see people giving attention to half guard when they are way far in the road of bjj in the brown and black belts. In my bjj school, the guard most valued is the closed guard. because I have short legs, it is a game that I can't play very well and in these last months, I have dedicated myself to developing my half-guard game. Right now. I am rustling with the concept of distance, but your video is so well explained that helped me to open my eyes to other scenarios. One more time, congratulations!
Watched it once, then drilled most of the tight waste series. Still need to drill the different reactions from far leg, and all versions wo kisoto. I’m watching this again now, and I have even more appreciation for the level of detail. Please make more videos like this!!
rixty i hope this message finds you well. i've been anxious and waiting for this video since the last two half guard explanations that you've posted. congratulations for the great work. half guard is my preferred game and this serie is amazing.
Great video, I've heard an instructor call half guard the most important position because you're in it "half" the time (top or bottom). and bonus points for using music from 'home'
Great video! One of the most impactful details that I can think of from half guard bottom that got overlooked in the video is that you can windshield wiper your high leg, and just drag your big toe on the mat circle just under their knee even when it’s on the mat. The opponent doesn’t need to stand up that late to transition to butterfly. If it’s too tight, just adjust your hip out at inch to seamlessly go to butterfly guard, all you need to get in is really your big toe and you’re in, with that foot under the knee you can clamp on their femur, you can lift, set them back and you can control their hip. I’ve been doing it so long I intuitively use it, you can easy take it in an out to go back to half guard. And it’s a movement that’s very difficult to prevent. It’s a game changer! Thanks for the great video!
Crazy... I was looking for a video exactly like this, and you just released it 12 hrs ago.... I subscribed, liked, and now commented... please keep them coming... amazing work...
Love it! My favourite thing about half guard is that its truly a homebase of guard work, like a headquarters position but on bottom. You can transition to inside position full guards (butterfly, butterfly half) and hit sumi gaeshi or elevate to various x and ashi garami positions (usually the moment you transition to them), or transition to outside position guards like k guard, closed guard, dlr, clamp, even rubber guard. And of course it has its own sweeps, submissions, and the wrestle up/backtake/standup trilema too. And like closed guard, you can hold them close to you and lock them from backing out, but better than closed guard you can control distance, prevent getting smashed with knee shields, and maintain hip mobility by being on only one hip and shoulder instead of pinning yourself in closed guard against a guy with good top pressure or ground and pound in mma. And to top it off, how many of our escapes from bottom pins put us in bottom side? How many good passers force flat half? I think if you can learn to recover to half and recover from flat half to an offensive half, youve got the start of a good bottom game. I love it!
Your comment is very good! you expressed in a very technical way the same positive aspects that I think about the half guard, I even share the idea that the half guard can be seen as the "headquarters" of the guards, as it allows for pragmatic transitions between other guards, without generating unnecessary exposure and If an unforeseen event occurs, it allows you to return to a comfortable situation without greater effort
Incredible video! It is filled with information presented in a well-explained, organized manner. Thank you for all the work you put into this and for sharing. I will be referring to it a lot.
This type of guard came to me when I had a rib injury on my right side and I couldn’t play closed guard, so I had to literally hide my ribs and play on my side - half guard. Changed everything, and this video has aided me so much granted I’m only a scrub blue belt. But it really helps my half guard game. One more thing is I like something mentioned from the great Dean Lister about half guard. He said that one thing can change everything about half guard. As highlighted in this video.
Really great video. Had a bunch of ah hah moments. Particularly taking the back from when the go reverse, i usually squid sweep, but now i can shoot for the back too
This video is so great. I would love to see more systematic breakdowns like this. I would like to know what more of you do when you can't get the underhook?
I consider half guard my A-game and you just showed me a weakness in my reverse half guard (offense) that I never experienced. Well played with this systematic approach to mapping out the position. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing future vids on all of the positions!
Blue belt here. I’ve had success in local tournaments where I live but one of the few times I lost is because there a huge gap in my half guard game. I will invest my time thoroughly studying and practicing the half guard. Thanks for this video.
Iv been training ju jitsu for 5 months and I feel the safest in half guard, because I can shrimp to knee shield, sweep for a ashi to heel hook or I can transition to deep half guard. I’m small but strong, with a wrestler build. If I get underneath my opponent I can offset them, it’s difficult for an opponent to brute force me into a sub position. So even if I end up in a compromising position, I can wrestle/ wizzer/ dog fight/ explode out or frame. My inversions suck, so my guard gets passed easily. So I look for takedowns instead of pulling full guard. I feel like ju jitsu is about learning your strengths and baiting people into your game just like chess. When it comes to passing an opponents guard. I pressure pass, again because if my strength and small stature. I pin and explode my legs into side Mount and look for a bolo roll, leg over to Mount or Americana/ kimora.
Notes to self 1. Knee lever: if they keep inner leg on ground, wrap legs around knee and turn 2. Butterfly hook: if they keep knee up, put your legs in between in butterfly, off balance them and clamp on their calf or bridge them higher, throw them over If they make a mistake and not keep their outer leg tight against you 1. Underhook: path to back take 2. Single elbow: path to guard prevent them from getting back of your head or have their chest on your chest 1. Knee shield: use top knee as barrier. With gi, can do cross collar grip + elbow grip (on their side opposite of your knee) 1. Underhook and try to get a leg hook if you can 2. Can go for double leg takedown from side 3. Can go for headlock 4. Can go for outside roll through escape
Glad you enjoyed it. Not the next one, but I may do a video on Closed Guard in the future. I have a lot of video ideas written down for my next project. I will probably spend the next couple of weeks deciding which one I will go with!
Great new concept for making instructional videos, what might be called a meta-instructional. With a logic put out there of how things relate using schematics, and where many sources are put together. One suggestion: Rather than show many examples quickly that are sort of relevant, do one or two where there is more time to think through what is happening, and where the application is clearer. And when showing a clip of an instructional video, put it up longer.
Firstly, sorry about the English, I'm Brazilian without fluent English but I felt it necessary to share my relationship with half guard. I hope Google translator helps me hahahaha. I train on a team where most of my training partners are bigger and heavier than me and play a pressure-oriented guard passing game. Because of this, I tried to improve my guard passing while standing and with agility, to escape this scenario and stood out. Upon reaching the purple belt, the scenario unfortunately changed and my teammates' game stood out. I was unable to adapt to guard play like lasso or spider, due to the lack of flexibility and size and half guard emerged as an initial solution to stop the other's pressure game. Initially, it was frustrating to be under pressure all the time, but this period taught me how important it is to understand fundamentals such as maintaining the passer's distance from my body and the ways in which I could stop his movement and pressure. From half guard I started working with the Knee Shield, always looking for simple sweeps like the Coyote or the inverted half guard, following the change in movement of my training partners. During my entire purple belt period, which was 2 years, much more than sweeps themselves, I learned to work with maintaining and retaining guard, even in an extremely defensive way. I've been a brown belt for a year and since I changed belts, my guard game has evolved a lot through the understanding of these concepts and greater knowledge of sweep mechanics than half guard provides me with. Currently, I try to start my training from Half Guard with the Knee Shield, but looking for transitions when possible to Half Butterfly or even seated guard and Single One. In cases of extreme necessity, transit between the deep half, half lapel guard and the octopus guard. What I like most about half guard and its variations is how easy it is to map the possibilities of sweeps, attacks and especially understanding the options for how the guard can be passed and neutralized, the possibility of greater pragmatism in actions and a reduced risk rate . I confess to you that half guard regained my interest in Jiu Jitsu. Thank you for the video, I hope I managed to express what I think in my comment.
Google translator did good. I feel the same, working half guard more has made me open my eyes to other sweeps and back takes. Good luck on your journey!
Texto excelente meu irmão! Obrigado por compartilhar tua experiência
You did well. Very well stated.
cala boca
muito daora irmão, meia guarda é o caminho
I'm a black belt who has been doing jiu-jitsu for 20 years. Half guard is my game. This video is unreal and I'm going to use it to teach my son and add stuff to my game.
I have watched probably a thousand videos related to bjj. This is probably the most concise and informative ones I have ever seen on half guard. It wouldn’t have made as much sense to me as a white or even blue belt. A person needs to actually play and have been in these positions to really grasp the way they fit together. I have a whole new understanding of half guard. I ended up in a lot of these positions because I was reacting to my opponent now I feel like I’m putting myself into these positions for a reason and I’m being proactive. Please make more videos like this. You have a gift.
This is basically a free instructional. Thank you my friend
This video is a miracle. The technical walk through half guard as a system to other systems was spot and, somehow, you nailed a perfect aesthetic tone that I didn't know I needed. I am biased as a half guard player myself, but just wonderful.
Half guard won’t work in street fight
Please keep making these videos! They are the best summary of modern advancements in Jitz!!!
yeah... but make them private and just for me lol.
I didn’t think I’d sit here for the entire Video. You did a great Job and this was really informative. Thank you.
Legit one of the best BJJ videos I've ever seen, my man. I hope you do more of these, but I'm also aware of the effort these must take. Hope you can make it worthwhile for yourself somehow!
Wow dude this is a miracle. You sir are a genius.
I've been training for around a decade now and this clarifies so many things. The total breakdown of what you list as being about 50% of the system is really wonderful. It'll help me a lot with my game and with my teaching.
Incredible video. When I started bjj a little less than 2 years ago I favored half guard because I would often lose guard quickly during a roll and then I'd work to recover by getting into half guard. That happened so often that I based my game on getting into half guard and then working from there. This video is helping me understand details about half guard that I never thought of. Thanks!
This is a very special video in the world of RUclips jiu-jitsu, thanks man!
Man, what a wonderful video. Congratulations.
I don't know if it is only my view, but I mostly see people giving attention to half guard when they are way far in the road of bjj in the brown and black belts.
In my bjj school, the guard most valued is the closed guard. because I have short legs, it is a game that I can't play very well and in these last months, I have dedicated myself to developing my half-guard game. Right now. I am rustling with the concept of distance, but your video is so well explained that helped me to open my eyes to other scenarios.
One more time, congratulations!
Great summary of danahers half guard system! Lots of information i forgot was remebered.. cheers
Thanks for the free instructional! This is gold Jerry! gold!
Man i wish you made more videos i just LOVE your scientific approach. But i respect they need a lot of time to reach that level of quality
Watched it once, then drilled most of the tight waste series. Still need to drill the different reactions from far leg, and all versions wo kisoto.
I’m watching this again now, and I have even more appreciation for the level of detail. Please make more videos like this!!
The quality of this work is top notch. I enjoyed every second.
rixty i hope this message finds you well.
i've been anxious and waiting for this video since the last two half guard explanations that you've posted. congratulations for the great work. half guard is my preferred game and this serie is amazing.
I’ve been training for ten years and I have learned a lot from this video.
Great content!!
Great video, I've heard an instructor call half guard the most important position because you're in it "half" the time (top or bottom). and bonus points for using music from 'home'
i freaking documentaries bjj with tournament footage, thanks my dude keep up the good work
I would pay for these kind of instructionals. Looking forward to more!
Great video! One of the most impactful details that I can think of from half guard bottom that got overlooked in the video is that you can windshield wiper your high leg, and just drag your big toe on the mat circle just under their knee even when it’s on the mat. The opponent doesn’t need to stand up that late to transition to butterfly. If it’s too tight, just adjust your hip out at inch to seamlessly go to butterfly guard, all you need to get in is really your big toe and you’re in, with that foot under the knee you can clamp on their femur, you can lift, set them back and you can control their hip. I’ve been doing it so long I intuitively use it, you can easy take it in an out to go back to half guard. And it’s a movement that’s very difficult to prevent. It’s a game changer! Thanks for the great video!
By far one of the best videos I've ever seen. And I've been training +20 years.
Amazing stuff! Best video I've seen in a while.
This is a phenomenal video, as someone who just started bjj this video give me so much to learn from. Love the series it deserves way more views!
Awesome synthesis of HG techniques and concepts. Thanks!
Crazy... I was looking for a video exactly like this, and you just released it 12 hrs ago.... I subscribed, liked, and now commented... please keep them coming... amazing work...
Great way to recap the half guard topic, thank you guys!
The Thanksgiving treat we all needed
AMAZING CONTENET!
Love it!
My favourite thing about half guard is that its truly a homebase of guard work, like a headquarters position but on bottom.
You can transition to inside position full guards (butterfly, butterfly half) and hit sumi gaeshi or elevate to various x and ashi garami positions (usually the moment you transition to them), or transition to outside position guards like k guard, closed guard, dlr, clamp, even rubber guard.
And of course it has its own sweeps, submissions, and the wrestle up/backtake/standup trilema too.
And like closed guard, you can hold them close to you and lock them from backing out, but better than closed guard you can control distance, prevent getting smashed with knee shields, and maintain hip mobility by being on only one hip and shoulder instead of pinning yourself in closed guard against a guy with good top pressure or ground and pound in mma.
And to top it off, how many of our escapes from bottom pins put us in bottom side? How many good passers force flat half? I think if you can learn to recover to half and recover from flat half to an offensive half, youve got the start of a good bottom game.
I love it!
Your comment is very good! you expressed in a very technical way the same positive aspects that I think about the half guard, I even share the idea that the half guard can be seen as the "headquarters" of the guards, as it allows for pragmatic transitions between other guards, without generating unnecessary exposure and If an unforeseen event occurs, it allows you to return to a comfortable situation without greater effort
Not many videos covering the technical walkthru on RUclips. Moreover the collection of clips used is insane.
Incredible video! It is filled with information presented in a well-explained, organized manner. Thank you for all the work you put into this and for sharing. I will be referring to it a lot.
This is fantastic.
A great half guard and half guard passing game will take you a long way in mma and bjj
You are a legend!!! Your breakdowns are amazing!!! Can’t wait to watch your channel grow! Keep it up, and thank you!
This video is so fantastic and well organized. Thank you very much for putting this together.
Revisiting half guard after being out of training for a while. It was the first serious system that I had developed.
Best video about the best guard, great job!
Engrossed for the whole video. Excellent!!!
lol here before the channel blows up, i feel it was the introductory walk through that i needed before going into the details. thanks mate!
Well done and thank you!
Great video! It goes through all the "what ifs" that I think about but either never got the chance to ask or was never told
I love that we, the Jiu-Jitsu community are just a bunch of nerds ❤
This type of guard came to me when I had a rib injury on my right side and I couldn’t play closed guard, so I had to literally hide my ribs and play on my side - half guard. Changed everything, and this video has aided me so much granted I’m only a scrub blue belt. But it really helps my half guard game.
One more thing is I like something mentioned from the great Dean Lister about half guard. He said that one thing can change everything about half guard. As highlighted in this video.
This video deserves more views. Love John Danaher instructionals, but they can be too long and boring.
Really great video. Had a bunch of ah hah moments. Particularly taking the back from when the go reverse, i usually squid sweep, but now i can shoot for the back too
Brilliant video.
Part 2 please.
Deep half, quater guard and Ryan Halls modern half pleeeeeease
Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent video!
Great video, a breakdown like this for all major positions would be great !!
This video is so great. I would love to see more systematic breakdowns like this. I would like to know what more of you do when you can't get the underhook?
Awesome video dude thanks for taking the time to put it all together OSS
Long live half guard!!!!!
I consider half guard my A-game and you just showed me a weakness in my reverse half guard (offense) that I never experienced. Well played with this systematic approach to mapping out the position. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing future vids on all of the positions!
What a great video❤
Just amazing work👌
Thank you for the hard work 🙏
Thank you Rixty!!! Thank you so much for this video!!
This is absolute mustard. Take a bow sir 👏
Wow, amazing format
some quality stuff here
thanks for your work
This video is great. Thanks a lot for the work you've put in it
Excellent breakdown!
Thanks my man. Congrats on making content that gets 10k views in first day
Amazing
This is pretty awesome thank you for making it 😊
Goat
Incredible video, thank you!
phenomenal video
great video man, ive been diving deep into half guard lately so this vid is perfect timing. Thank you
This video is amazing the technicality, paired with the perfect video. Keep it up! I definitely subscribed and thumbed up!!
Blue belt here. I’ve had success in local tournaments where I live but one of the few times I lost is because there a huge gap in my half guard game. I will invest my time thoroughly studying and practicing the half guard. Thanks for this video.
Patiently waiting for Rixty’s next upload
This is an amazing video. So helpful for some problems im having lately. You distill information down really well!
amazing video
Golden content
Great food for thought ❤
Don't know what I liked more the info or the background music 😂
Excellent video, applause
Babe wake up! New Rixty garami guard vid dropped
Outstanding video
Impressive content. Subscribed. You have a future ahead of you with this content.
This is gold
Thank you for this video👌🏾
This is excellent! Keep the videos coming!
Excellent video!
Amazing vid, thank you
Such a great video, thanks for the upload! 🙏
Excellent video
It's a good idear to start with half-guard.
Thanks for this video
Great video. You have my sub sir ☯️
Iv been training ju jitsu for 5 months and I feel the safest in half guard, because I can shrimp to knee shield, sweep for a ashi to heel hook or I can transition to deep half guard. I’m small but strong, with a wrestler build. If I get underneath my opponent I can offset them, it’s difficult for an opponent to brute force me into a sub position. So even if I end up in a compromising position, I can wrestle/ wizzer/ dog fight/ explode out or frame.
My inversions suck, so my guard gets passed easily. So I look for takedowns instead of pulling full guard. I feel like ju jitsu is about learning your strengths and baiting people into your game just like chess.
When it comes to passing an opponents guard. I pressure pass, again because if my strength and small stature. I pin and explode my legs into side Mount and look for a bolo roll, leg over to Mount or Americana/ kimora.
epic video mate ,
Notes to self
1. Knee lever: if they keep inner leg on ground, wrap legs around knee and turn
2. Butterfly hook: if they keep knee up, put your legs in between in butterfly, off balance them and clamp on their calf or bridge them higher, throw them over
If they make a mistake and not keep their outer leg tight against you
1. Underhook: path to back take
2. Single elbow: path to guard
prevent them from getting back of your head or have their chest on your chest
1. Knee shield: use top knee as barrier. With gi, can do cross collar grip + elbow grip (on their side opposite of your knee)
1. Underhook and try to get a leg hook if you can
2. Can go for double leg takedown from side
3. Can go for headlock
4. Can go for outside roll through escape
Sick. Thank you
Great video! 👏
Great Video
Thanks for your work Ric! Is there a chance you'll do the next one from this series about the Closed Guard?
Glad you enjoyed it. Not the next one, but I may do a video on Closed Guard in the future. I have a lot of video ideas written down for my next project. I will probably spend the next couple of weeks deciding which one I will go with!
Cool, looking forward to it :)
Great new concept for making instructional videos, what might be called a meta-instructional. With a logic put out there of how things relate using schematics, and where many sources are put together. One suggestion: Rather than show many examples quickly that are sort of relevant, do one or two where there is more time to think through what is happening, and where the application is clearer. And when showing a clip of an instructional video, put it up longer.
Thank you