Open Guard

Guards where the legs are unlocked and control is rebuilt continuously from grips, frames and angle.

Foundational · No-gi first
Connection in open guard
Open guard works when the legs and hands are attached to the opponent in a way that transmits their movement back to you, and it collapses the moment that attachment becomes a series of separate pushes.

Reading connected to this area

Journal

Guard retention as a system
Retention is usually taught as a list of recoveries, which describes what a held guard looks like from outside without saying what is being held.
Seated guard and supine guard are two different jobs
Sitting up and lying back are usually taught as preferences. Treat them as two different control problems with different failure modes and the choice between them stops being a matter of taste.

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