Every month at Lake Effect Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, we have a topic or theme for the entire month. For February 2024, we are reviewing Half Guard.
Half Guard: Moving Forward
Half-guard is the next major position beginners must learn from top and bottom positions. The half-guard is technically a step towards superior position for the passing player. However, the bottom player has many sweeps and submission options from the bottom as well.
At the beginning of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, most of the people considered the half guard only as a transitional position. It was really underrated. Nobody even considered it as a valuable guard method. However, as BJJ grew and progressed, people started to pay more attention to this position, improve and innovate it. Thanks to that we can now confidently say half guard is one of the most fundamental positions in BJJ. Therefore, it is good to have some knowledge about it.
What is the half guard?
Half guard is a ground position where the bottom grappler (person with the back towards the mat) by using both his legs controls only one of his opponent’s legs. Thanks to doing that he can control the distance between himself and the person on top. In this position, the grappler on top will try to untangle the leg and obtain side control or mount, while the half guard player will try to transition into a closed guard or try a sweep or some attacking technique.
HistorY
The half guard is a position of unknown origin. Who or how started it exactly cannot be accurately indicated. This does not mean, however, that nothing can be said about this position. The half guard called niju garami was used by Judo practitioners such as Tsunetane Oda (the creator of the triangle choke) back in the 1940s. At that time it was a holding position only used to prevent the opponent from obtaining side control. Half guard in this form traveled from Japan to Brazil in the early 20th century. This concept of this position lasted until the 1990s.
It all changed thanks to Roberto “Gordo” Correa. As only an 18-year-old purple belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, he revolutionized the half guard position. In 1989 he suffered a serious injury to the knee, which prevented him from using his leg to its full extent for a long time. Instead of quitting training he decided to adapt. Gordo started using more half guard to stop his sparring partners from passing. It was simply one of the few moves he could use at that time. Therefore, he used this position so often he started thinking about how to improve it. Roberto wanted to be more offensive from there, so he came up with the idea of the underhook. This move revolutionized the half guard game and set a much-needed bridge between defense and offense in the position. Correa is responsible also for other half guard variations, including the deep half guard.
With time the half guard evolved into one of the most complex and utilized positions in BJJ, both in gi and no gi. Soon many others, not only Gordo, have adopted this intricate position to their extensive grappling game.
Different versions of half guard
There are many different versions of half guard. They differ in how far you are from your opponent, how exactly your arms and legs are arranged, etc. Below you will find what exactly are these different types of half guard.
Standard half guard
This is a position where you are on your side using your inside leg to hook one of your opponent’s legs and have some sort of underhook with your top arm. In this position you can have your legs triangled, gripping his gi or his belt, etc. From standard half guard, you got several options of what to do. You can try to get the back, sweep your opponent by getting under his hips, etc.
Deep half guard
In this type of half guard, where you must dive deep under your opponent’s legs to establish this position. It is the closest range of the half guard because you’re directly under your opponent’s hips. There are various ways you can position your arms and legs depending on the grips and hooks you’re going for, but typically you’re going to be threatening the other person with either rolling him backward or tipping him forwards and then taking his back. This position is more used for sweeping and got only a few submissions possible from it.
Knee shield
It is a common position to be in, especially if an opponent just broke down your full guard. The knee shield is effective for keeping other person’s weight off of your body. It also allows you to control the space between you and your opponent. Think of the knee shield like a seat belt going across your opponent’s chest from the hip to his shoulder. It is important to remember to use your foot to hook your partner’s ribs. This helps you control where your opponent can move. While having the knee shield most of the time you use a cross collar grip and control other person’s sleeve or wrist to start setting up sweeps, transitions, and some attacks.
Knee shield also got its low version. In that version of this position you just need to place your outside knee on or across your opponent’s hip instead of at his shoulder. Most of the time in this position it is better to have an overhook rather than a frame or an underhook.
The double triangle also called the “Lockdown”
In contrast to other half guard forms, in the double triangle position, you enter your outside leg over the top of your opponent’s entangled leg instead of your inside leg. From here you lock your legs into the lockdown. Most of the time you will need at least one, if not two underhooks here. The fact you control the other person’s leg like that makes your half guard difficult to pass. Also, it allows you to attack your opponent’s posture by stretching out his body. Once his posture is gone you have a variety of sweeps, and even a few submissions, available to you. If you get comfortable doing the lockdown, don’t stay there or else you’ll be labeled a staller.