When most people approach the closed guard for mixed martial arts, they think of 2 primary options.
- Submission hold such as a choke or an armlock
- Sweep or reversal to attain the top position
There is actually a 3rd option that is especially useful for mixed martial arts.
- Standing Up
In mixed martial arts there is less of an incentive to pass the guard, as one can just stay in the guard position and throw strikes and possibly win a judges decision. This can often make sweep and submission attempts more difficult, as a lot of opportunities to attack an opponent are created when they try to pass the guard and provide forward pressure.
Fortunately standing up can often remedy this in mixed martial arts. Often when they are not creating any forward pressure they have little or no control of your upper body or hips. Without controling this part of your body you will have a lot more movement available to you.
The traditional mixed martial arts method of standing up, involves kicking them away to create space, then getting up to your feet before they can close the distance again. This can be effective, but in modern mixed martial arts your opponent will often be ready for this.
They may respond by catching their footing quickly, or maintain control of one of your ankles, and then attack agressively as you try to stand up.
One solution to this problem is to attack their balance as you create space. The above mixed martial arts video technique outlines one method for accomplishing this. By controling their head as you kick their hips away, you will disrupt their ability to catch their footing and re-establish their attack.
Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your skill preferences as you get better at escaping to your feet or knees, you will find your opponents trying harder to keep you on your back. In doing so they will create more opportunities for you to attack with sweeps and submissions, and they will spend less time hitting you, as their arms will be busy holding your hips. This is a great strategy for mixed martial arts as they won’t be able to use smaller strikes to chip their way to a judges decision, and you will have more time to attack for a sweep or submission.
Good luck and good training.
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Richard Martens Head Instructor Nomad Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |