BJJ Lesson 9: Guard Retention Overview and Tips - Foundations Of Guard Retention
Summary
TLDRThis instructional video script focuses on guard retention in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a crucial skill for beginners often overlooked in training. It emphasizes proactive defense, maintaining alignment, and managing distance with frames. The script distinguishes between guard retention and recovery, highlighting the importance of 'headlights' positioning and knee-elbow connection for effective defense. It also touches on transitioning from defense to offense and the concept of the leading edge in guard retention techniques, promising a detailed exploration of these techniques in a follow-up video.
Takeaways
- đ€Œââïž Guard retention is crucial for beginners in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and involves keeping an opponent in front of you with your guard, preventing them from passing to a more dominant position.
- đïžââïž Guard retention techniques are proactive, requiring alignment, distance management, and understanding of reactionary movements to maintain defensive positioning.
- đ There's a distinction between guard retention and guard recovery. Retention is about keeping the opponent in front of you, while recovery is about regaining guard after the opponent has almost passed.
- đ In competition, guard retention can lead to point scoring. If an opponent passes your guard, they earn points, but if you can regain your guard before they settle, you may only concede an advantage.
- đ„ The concept of 'headlights' is introduced, which refers to keeping the opponent's legs on either side of your centerline to maintain control and prevent them from passing.
- đĄïž Multiple frames are essential for guard retention, providing redundancy and layers of defense. The goal is to replace any frame that is removed to maintain control.
- đ Knee-elbow connection is a key element in guard retention, creating a barrier that prevents the opponent from controlling the space between your hips and armpits.
- đ§ââïž Posture is important; a slight concave in the spine and lifting the tailbone off the mat can improve mobility and knee-elbow connection, facilitating better guard retention.
- đ« Avoid creating a lever with your hand under the opponent's hip, which can lead to wrist injuries. Instead, use your forearm or the heel of your palm for framing.
- đ The leading edge of the body is pivotal in guard retention. It's the part of the opponent's body that leads pressure or attempts to pin you, and recognizing it correctly is vital for effective guard retention.
Q & A
What is guard retention in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Guard retention in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu refers to the techniques and strategies used by a practitioner to maintain their guard position against an opponent attempting to pass or disrupt it.
Why is guard retention important for beginners in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Guard retention is crucial for beginners as it is a fundamental defensive skill. It helps them manage distance, maintain alignment, and prevent their opponent from achieving a dominant position from which they could submit them.
What is the difference between guard retention and guard recovery?
-Guard retention is about keeping an opponent in front of you with your guard, preventing them from passing to a more advantageous position. Guard recovery, on the other hand, occurs when an opponent has almost passed your guard and you need to regain it.
How can understanding the 'headlights' concept help with guard retention?
-The 'headlights' concept refers to maintaining your legs in a position that blocks the opponent's movement, similar to how headlights illuminate the road. Keeping your opponent within your 'headlights' helps control their movement and maintain your guard.
What is the significance of knee-elbow connection in guard retention?
-Knee-elbow connection is essential for creating a strong defensive structure. It prevents the opponent from controlling the space between your hips and armpits, which is critical for maintaining guard and preventing passes.
Why is it important to have multiple frames in guard retention?
-Having multiple frames provides redundancy and makes it harder for the opponent to pass your guard. If one frame is disrupted, having others in place allows you to quickly reestablish control and maintain your defensive position.
What is the leading edge of the body in the context of guard retention?
-The leading edge of the body is the part that leads the pressure or movement when an opponent attempts a guard pass. Recognizing and controlling the leading edge is key to preventing the pass and retaining the guard.
How does posture affect guard retention?
-Posture plays a significant role in guard retention by affecting mobility and the ability to create and maintain frames. A slightly concave spine and lifted shoulders facilitate better knee-elbow connection and overall guard retention.
What is the high leg or high pummel technique in guard retention?
-The high leg, also known as the high pummel or crossover, is a fundamental guard retention technique. It involves using one leg to control the opponent's movement and maintain the guard, often by placing the leg over the opponent's back or shoulder.
Why is it advised against placing the palm of your hand under an opponent's hip during guard retention?
-Placing the palm of your hand under an opponent's hip can create a lever that, if the opponent cuts their hips, can trap your wrist and potentially lead to injury. It's safer to use the heel of the palm or the web of the hand for framing.
Outlines
đ€Œââïž Guard Retention in Jiu-Jitsu
The paragraph discusses the importance of guard retention in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), especially for beginners. It notes that guard retention is often overlooked in training, but has gained more attention recently. The speaker emphasizes the proactive nature of guard retention, which involves maintaining alignment and managing distance. The paragraph introduces the concept of 'headlights', a term borrowed from Grappler's Guide, which refers to keeping the opponent's legs within the range of one's own legs to prevent them from passing. The difference between guard retention and guard recovery is explained, with retention being about keeping the opponent from passing and recovery being about regaining guard after it's almost been passed. The speaker also warns against using the palm of the hand to block the opponent's hips due to the risk of injury.
đ Guard Retention Techniques and Posture
This paragraph delves into the mechanics of guard retention, focusing on creating multiple layers of frames to prevent the opponent from passing. It discusses the concept of redundancy in guard retention, where having multiple frames provides a safety net if one is compromised. The importance of knee-elbow connection is highlighted as a way to control the space between the hips and armpits, which is crucial for maintaining a strong guard. The paragraph also touches on the idea of posture in guard retention, suggesting a slight concave in the spine to facilitate better mobility and knee-elbow connection. The speaker advises against completely laying flat on the mat, as it reduces mobility and increases the surface area, making it easier for the opponent to move the defender.
đïžââïž Body Mechanics for Effective Guard Retention
The paragraph continues the discussion on body mechanics in guard retention, emphasizing the importance of reducing contact with the mat to increase mobility. It explains how lifting the shoulders and tailbone off the mat creates a more mobile base, allowing the defender to pivot and maintain control over their hips. The concept of using the opponent as a base for movement is introduced, illustrating how the defender can use the opponent's body to generate momentum and change angles. The paragraph also addresses the exceptions to the general rule of being curled up, such as when facing a double under pass, where a heavier and more grounded posture is required. The speaker reiterates the importance of maintaining knee-elbow connection and minimizing the space between the defender's hip and armpit.
đ Guard Retention Strategy and Leading Edge
In this paragraph, the speaker focuses on the strategy of guard retention, particularly the concept of the 'leading edge' of the body. This refers to the part of the opponent's body that is leading the pressure when attempting a guard pass. The formula for guard retention is outlined as blocking the leading edge, mobilizing the hips, and re-composing the hip angle. The paragraph also discusses the appropriate and inappropriate use of framing the opponent's hips, warning against using the palm of the hand due to the risk of injury. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing the leading edge accurately, as guessing wrong can lead to a passed guard. The paragraph concludes with aéąć of the next video, which will cover specific guard retention techniques, such as the high leg or high pummel.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄGuard Retention
đĄDefensive Loop
đĄFrames
đĄHeadlights
đĄRetention vs. Recovery
đĄKnee Elbow Connection
đĄLeading Edge
đĄOff Balancing
đĄHigh Pummel
đĄBase
Highlights
Guard retention is crucial for beginners in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and may not be emphasized enough in training.
Retention involves maintaining a defensive position, while recovery is regaining guard after it's been compromised.
The distinction between retention and recovery can affect scoring in competitions.
The 'headlights' concept, borrowed from Grappler's Guide, refers to keeping the opponent within the range of your legs.
Frames are essential for managing distance and preventing the opponent from advancing.
Knee-elbow connection is vital for maintaining a strong defensive structure.
Guard is primarily a defensive tool for managing range and safety.
Offensive opportunities arise from proficient guard retention and off-balancing the opponent.
Minimizing contact with the ground can increase mobility and responsiveness during guard retention.
The leading edge of the body is the part that applies pressure or pins during a guard pass attempt.
Blocking the hip with the palm of the hand can be dangerous and is not recommended.
The formula for guard retention includes blocking the leading edge, mobilizing the hips, and re-composing hip angle.
The high leg or high pummel is a fundamental technique for guard retention.
Guard retention techniques will be further explored in the next video, focusing on the high leg or high pummel.
Transcripts
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all right uh we're gonna talk about
guard retention now
uh guard retention is where we retain
our guard yeah uh yeah
this is a big deal as a beginner in jiu
jitsu this is gonna be something that
depending on where you train you may get
very little or even no
training on this it's just something
that you're supposed to get good at
at some point although luckily over the
last let's say
year or two a lot more attention is
being paid to this in general in the
community so there's some excellent
instructionals
uh that you can get uh that will help
you learn this i always want to give you
an overview of what the stuff
sort of yeah so we're talking about
retaining guard we're talking about
being in a defensive loop or cycle or
defensive movements however you want to
define it so
you have to be very very
proactive in the sense of making sure
that you're keeping yourself in
alignment managing the distance better
you can
but understanding as well there's going
to be a lot of reactionary movements
here and so we got
like when we start getting into sweeps
and stuff we'll show you guys how you
can actually start to transition into
turning
the into offensive movements where
you're going to be able to actually
start attacking
but right now rob's going to keep
himself in good alignment
using frames to manage the distance
depending on the guard that he's using
but usually within like garb retention
if we're talking about trying to
drill and spread specifically you're
actually going to be playing more of an
open style and not trying
yeah so let's let's talk specifically
about
retention versus recovery because that's
an important distinction
it's honestly not a very important
distinction for let's say the vast
majority of you who are not going to
compete
but for those that are interested in
competing and those that are just
interested in being a little bit more
knowledgeable
retention is when i'm keeping somebody
like in front of me with my guard and
not letting him get
to a passing position whereas recovery
is where somebody's
almost gotten past my guard and i have
to get my
guard back at that point the the
distinction between the two
is one that can score points or
advantages
in competition if somebody gets past my
legs
and settles the position they have
passed my guard they will earn
usually three points depending on the
rule set but if they just kind of get to
here
momentarily and i manage to get my guard
back
they will still score what's called an
advantage which if you're not sure what
that is it's kind of like
getting a half point for hitting the rim
in basketball which doesn't exist
which goes to show you how stupid they
are but anyway that's another story
uh so yeah the important distinction
between retention
and recovery retention assumes that i'm
still
let's say doing fine like i don't have
any real problems if i'm just doing
guard retention if you never get
outside of what we like to call
headlights which is something we stole
from jason scully who runs grappler's
guide which is an awesome resource
um headlights is if you were to just
draw a line throughout like from your
hips out your knees out your legs
as long as rory is rob's on his back
here
you can see how by the position of his
legs even if he extended his legs out
quite far here
i am in the headlights of his legs here
there's a leg on either side so
especially if we go like say just feet
on the hips
if i move around to my right rod's left
he tracks me and if i move to my left
his right he tracks me if he has both
his legs
on one side of my center line well we
can see that there's not really much of
a guard
if i was an idiot and drove into lakes
you're great but i'm going to be going
around this direction where his legs
aren't able to stop me
where he's not using his legs properly
his friends to block like the leading
edge of my body that's moving around the
pinum
and it's going to be very easy and
that's going to be my goal as the
passengers to try and redirect the legs
off this side is one of the methods to
try and pass guard here
yeah so as long as i'm able to keep rory
within my headlights
and while i've got him within my
headlights as long as i've got
frames on him that prevent him from
coming forward because for instance like
rory could be
in my headlights but if he pins one of
my legs
okay this is no girl oh damn ah that's
not great so it's not as simple as just
keep someone in your headlights we're
talking about hip positioning in that
instance where if you're keeping your
hips facing your opponent so yeah you
have all your weapons your waist
basically yeah so this that's kind of
the first thing is i want somebody
in front of my hips in front of my
frames and then i want as many frames as
possible throughout the process so like
if i've got
one foot on rory right now this is not
great if he
gets rid of it he's immediately able to
get to my hips
if i've got two feet on rory that's
better
but there's still things he can do if he
gets rid of this one and then it starts
to knee cut maybe or
leg drag whatever he's going to be able
to get directly to a passive position
so if i now have a frame over here if
i've got a frame over here
now if he goes to move she goes to do
anything it becomes really difficult for
him to get anywhere if he gets past
one of my frames i've still got three
left if he gets past
two of my frames i've still got one left
etc etc so
when we're talking about guard retention
we want as much redundancy built into
the system as possible
yes there are some people who are highly
flexible
or very good at the the recovery part
getting back to guard
and they still make it work but unless
you're very athletic
very flexible et cetera et cetera not
something you want to rely on you want
to have as many frames
in the way and then when we get into the
guard retention movements which we'll
teach them specifically um at least you
know it's the
the couple best ones that you want to
rely on you want to have
multiple layers of frames and then you
want to have multiple movements that you
can go to
depending on the situation to keep the
other person in front of you or to get
your hips back
in front of that yeah and so we keep
talking about your alignment that you're
wanting within guard retention
knee over connection is super important
as the pastor my goal is to beat the
legs control the hips
and specifically control the space
between the hips and the armpits so
we're talking when we say knee elbow
connection i don't literally mean
like take your elbow and put it on top
of your kneecap what we mean is there's
a
an unbroken wall keeping rory
out of this space if i can occupy the
space like side control
rob tries to close that neon connection
i have blocked this i have really strong
rotational control
if rob kept this knee elbow connection
and i try to drop into that space right
now
it's very difficult now if rob
completely gives up the elbow connection
on this side
i'm going to be able to make good things
happen so it's going to be on
rob to try to do the best that he can
certain movements will create
certain vulnerabilities but if rock can
keep knee open connection on both sides
you can see how there's just a strong
position that i just kind of the
scaffolding that i just end up resting
on top of and i
while i can still i'm still winning a
certain range battle i'm keeping rob
defensive
there's still a lot of options that rob
has rather than me being able to control
the inside space and it's important to
note you know since we were
talking about headlights earlier rory is
still in my headlights it might not seem
like it because like
normally if i was playing guard i'd
prefer to have rory in front of me
but rory being beside me as long as i
maintain this structure
my hips are still facing him he's not
able to occupy the space between my hip
and my armpit
and i've got a series of frames so i've
got my shin i've got my forearm i've got
my shin i've got my forearm
rory is past my feet so like this would
be my longest
range frames but he's not past my
and he's past you know let's say most of
my shin but he's not past my knees yet
he's not past my elbows
i'm very safe here i'm not necessarily
offensively a threat but i'm quite safe
and as long as you
recognize what the guard is meant to be
first which is
a defensive tool a range management tool
something that keeps you safe whether
it's
from a jiu jitsu perspective purely no
strikes not letting someone get to a
dominant position so they can submit you
or from a self-defense
mma context not getting knocked out with
strikes because you're able to keep
somebody in a distance either way
it's first primarily a defensive tool
then it becomes offensive if you're good
enough at keeping somebody in your guard
and off balancing them as we talked
about
with some of the goals on bottom
primarily kuzushi are off balancing
to get somebody into a vulnerable
position so once you achieve this
parameter of keeping somebody
you know in front of you or you know in
front of your your defensive tools
then you can employ your offensive tools
yeah and so like rob said it's not
necessarily having like that
direct connection of your elbow to your
knee there'll be times where you
actually will be extending your arms out
and it'll be just
contact to the inside or the outside or
even a little bit of space created but
the most important thing is that we're
minimizing that when we kind of went to
like that half guard situation or like
with the across
rob here is connecting out towards my
bicep you can see how he's still trying
to maintain that
uh kneel connection the best he can as
this arm comes across here
there might be a tiny little bit of
space there for a moment that's okay
as long as he's not opening this up or
going into like a hip escape that he
holds for a long period of time
then this is obviously going to create
vulnerability
rob might choose to have complete in the
elbow connection which is going to be
the most secure
but if there's a slight little gap at
certain points when he's performing
movements
it's always going to be like there's a
timing thing there's human error that
can be taken advantage of
we're just trying to minimize that as
much as possible yeah the important
thing
that like the overarching thing is that
we know that we need to have
layers of frames anytime a frame is
removed we want to replace it as soon as
possible
and we want to keep somebody out of this
space someone starts to get into this
space
we need to keep them in place so that we
can move away and that's what all of the
guard retention and recovery movements
are going to be based around and so when
we're looking at posture when we're
looking at knee elbow connection it
usually ties in quite well that
we don't usually want to have an actual
straight back and we don't want our head
just laying lazily on the floor so
what i'm actually looking at doing is
creating a slight concave to my spine
here
as i'm just performing a bit of a crunch
to kind of lift my shoulders and my
health and mat this is going to make it
easier to bring my elbows down to my
knees as i bring my knees up to my
elbows
and i lift my tailbone slightly off the
mat here i'm reducing my surface area
which is going to make it easier for me
to be more mobile
if i'm just completely flat like this
one my knee elbow connection will
probably be shittier
and then when rob starts to move me
there it's harder for me to be
mobile now it seems counterintuitive
that i want
to be more mobile in the sense that with
uh
less contact to the ground it's going to
make it easier for you to move me
but because i have less contact with the
mat it's also easier for me
to be following you and when rob starts
looking at redirecting this stuff my
hips are already engaged
i'm able to start to be very mobile just
off my back because my back is my base
here
which is obviously going to be when rob
drives down into me like in a leg press
fashion
i'm brace against the mat but i also
need to be able to generate bass off of
rob so that i can start to pivot so you
can see here i'm using
rob as base so i can actually start to
move myself
and if rob started to move around to my
side here just with my hand
even without contact here i'm able to
use that as base
to see how i can start to mobilize my
hips and so by reducing
my contact with the ground i can start
to spin faster like a top
back and forth to change the angles i
need to make sure that my hips stay
facing rob
and i'm able to use my frames
effectively yeah and there will be
exceptions to that for example
uh if you go double unders so this is
the type of pass that i'm going to want
to
like make my body really heavy and plank
out so that rory can't lift my legs and
throw them by
all right uh so we're not saying you
know always
yep but as a general rule you're going
to want to be fairly curled up
knees to your chest and you're going to
want to
either eliminate or at the very least
minimize the amount of times that you
do this because your knee is coming away
from your chest
which is creating the space that you're
trying to hide from your opponent
so yeah so uh in the next
video we're gonna actually get
specifically into some guard retention
techniques the high leg or also known as
the high pummel
is the staple of guard retention it's
also called a crossover sometimes
there's a few different names for it
um and again as far as overarching
like concepts you mentioned it briefly
but i think it's probably good if we
just
spend a little bit of time talking about
the idea of the leading edge of the body
the the formula that we use for guard
retention is
block the leading edge mobilize the hips
and then recompose your hip angle
the leading edge of the body is whatever
part of the body is going to
pin you uh or is leading the way with
pressure when somebody
attempts a guard pass if rory is on his
knees most of the time the leading edge
will be his shoulder
if rory is on his feet most of the time
the leading edge will be
his inside shin although occasionally
it'll be his outside shin
that doesn't mean always again it's just
the majority of the time
in those situations that will be the
leading edge it's almost never the hip
exactly so as far as again what you may
or may not be taught
blocking the hip as a guard retention
maneuver
is not it's not the be on end all it's
not wrong there are times when it's
appropriate
particularly in guard recovery and
particularly like if i'm at range yeah
like this is this is totally fine
but if somebody has beat my guard
putting my knee down
and blocking the hips so that i can hip
escape is
not very useful not only that and this
is a safety thing that i
take everybody through if i make this
shape where
rory's hip is at the end of my hand like
where my fingers start at the end of the
palm of my hand
what i've effectively done is created a
lever and put
most of rory's center of gravity over
top of it if he
were to cut his hips and my elbow were
to hit the ground my wrist is now
trapped
and i have seen people explode their
wrists for this this is something i warn
everybody
when they're rolling to never do this is
not a shape that you want to make
with all the weight at the end here it's
not wrong to do it with the heel of my
palm
if i have the heel of my palm here if he
turns his hips the worst that'll happen
is my hand will slip it's not wrong to
do it with the web of your hand
again if he turns his hips my hand will
just slip through that's fine
so if you have to frame the hip first of
all it's usually better to do it with
your elbow but if you have to frame the
hip
just please don't stick the palm of your
hand
underneath someone's hip that's a
generally terrible idea
it doesn't lead to anything other than
hospital visits so
avoid that if possible but again the
leading edge will usually be
you know the top of the shin or the knee
or the sort of chest shoulder area you
know occasionally it'll be
the ribs it'll be the hip once in a
while so we're not saying never
but the trick in getting good at guard
retention
is and and guard recovery in particular
as well because guard retention
is really more just about keeping rory
in front of me as long as i just
kind of stay here and just highlight if
he redirects me i'm just getting
i'm keeping my feet in front of them so
i don't have to be
as let's say precise
about the leading edge because rory is
so far away that there could be multiple
leading edges and as long as i have
multiple layers of frames
i'm okay it's when he starts to get past
my legs that now oh there's the leading
edge
that's when recognizing precisely what
the leading edge is becomes very
important
and that takes the longest amount of
time and training just the amount of mat
time to
know okay that's the leading edge okay
that's the leading edge until you know
specifically if you guess wrong
you get your guard passed yeah it takes
a long time yeah
so enough of these broad overviews of
subjects bringing it into the actual
techniques now in the next video we'll
be talking about the highlight or the
high pumble and guard retention
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