Movement Drills to Improve Your Guard Play

Good guard play is a hallmark of good Jiu Jitsu. On some very real level it should actually be offensive if someone can pass your guard. If they can pass your guard, they can beat you up. It is like takedowns with wrestling. Someone shouldn’t be able to just put you on the ground against your will. It is considered offensive in wrestling. You shouldn’t be able to take me down.

Likewise, you shouldn’t be able to pass my guard. After all, that is one of the reasons you are training right? Someone being able to take you down and pass your guard are steps on the path to you getting beaten up. The more of those steps you can interrupt, the better you will fare.

There is a reason that Jiu Jitsu pride kind of begins with people not being able to pass your guard. If someone can’t pass your guard, it is pretty hard for them to finish you. If they can’t finish you, and they can’t pass your guard then at somepoint, somehow, you will finish them. That is the time tested Jiu Jitsu strategy. Your game can benefit a lot from the swagger of that old school style. Good movement fluency is the bridge to opening that capacity in your game.

When your movement fluency in a position like guard is high, you can reposition over and over again without fear of your guard being passed. If you aren’t afraid of your guard being passed, then you tend to be able to open up and relax a bit. That leads to being able to play guard even better. Just like all Jiu Jitsu, if I am not afraid of losing the position I will be much more effective in controlling what happens there.

With the case of guard play we have an interesting dynamic. In a position like back control or mount it is easy to see how a crushing game that takes away a lot of space is a good approach. Immobility and stability is of benefit to the guard passer. When we look to increase attacking opportunities from the guard, by necessity, we are inviting movement opportunities to the passer. Our gamble, is that we will be able to play better than they can pass.

Here are a number of solo and partner drills you can do to help you move more fluidly in the guard. Make the movements second nature and finding the techniques that accompany them will be much easier to find. Don’t only try to do techniques well - Move well and find the technique that follows.

See you on the mat!