To start with, I'd like to post a video from Nicolai Holt (my BJJ-junior-turned-instructor) from his competition in Japan in 2005. However, I will not try to inspire people with the perseverance and courage of this woman, which she clearly has shown by competing on the match. Instead, I decided to look at it from a more technical perspective - control on open guard. The match will give you a tremendous insight into guard passing.
For those with slower internet connection, please be patient and download the video till finish, as to you will need to observe the full match to give you the full insights.
On the first half of the match, you can see that the blue gi player keeps the white gi player at bay, recovering back to guard, and even the had her opponent on her mount for a short while until she was reversed and obtained kesa gatame at around 2:50 mark. After that point, the blue gi player was not able to recover guard
Now, what's the X-factor that made the white-gi player able to pass the guard? She passed from the side with the legs at the 2:50 mark.
Most beginners tend to try to pass on the weaker side of the guard (ie: the side with "no legs"), but as tempting and easy as it looks like, this will quickly prove to be counter-productive. Why? Maintaining control open guard is about keeping your opponent face to face against you through push, pull, and hooking actions as you react on which way your opponent will try to pass your guard. Control is maintained if the balance of force between left and right is about equal (ie: if opponent pushes on your left side, you push on your right side), and when this balance is not achieved, then either side is going for an attack (eg: sweeps, guard passes, etc.).
For the one-legged lady, which can only maintain control by pulling and pushing on one side, the concept of maintaining this balance of power is more obvious. She cannot get passed on the side with no legs, as she was able to maintain the lateral balance with her leg. However, as she get passed on her side with the legs, she can no longer maintain or recover this lateral balance, and therefore, got passed.
Therefore, as control is achieved by maintaining this balance of power, the general principle on maintaining the guard is to counter on the opponent's weaker side and never let your opponent get control over / around your stronger side. The same principle applies to guard passing as well - to spoil the balance of force, pass on the side that your opponent has greatest control over.
So, don't forget this when I scream "One-legged lady" during tourneys.
Note: Special thanks to Nicolai Holt for giving me great insights for this blog.
For those with slower internet connection, please be patient and download the video till finish, as to you will need to observe the full match to give you the full insights.
On the first half of the match, you can see that the blue gi player keeps the white gi player at bay, recovering back to guard, and even the had her opponent on her mount for a short while until she was reversed and obtained kesa gatame at around 2:50 mark. After that point, the blue gi player was not able to recover guard
Now, what's the X-factor that made the white-gi player able to pass the guard? She passed from the side with the legs at the 2:50 mark.
Most beginners tend to try to pass on the weaker side of the guard (ie: the side with "no legs"), but as tempting and easy as it looks like, this will quickly prove to be counter-productive. Why? Maintaining control open guard is about keeping your opponent face to face against you through push, pull, and hooking actions as you react on which way your opponent will try to pass your guard. Control is maintained if the balance of force between left and right is about equal (ie: if opponent pushes on your left side, you push on your right side), and when this balance is not achieved, then either side is going for an attack (eg: sweeps, guard passes, etc.).
For the one-legged lady, which can only maintain control by pulling and pushing on one side, the concept of maintaining this balance of power is more obvious. She cannot get passed on the side with no legs, as she was able to maintain the lateral balance with her leg. However, as she get passed on her side with the legs, she can no longer maintain or recover this lateral balance, and therefore, got passed.
Therefore, as control is achieved by maintaining this balance of power, the general principle on maintaining the guard is to counter on the opponent's weaker side and never let your opponent get control over / around your stronger side. The same principle applies to guard passing as well - to spoil the balance of force, pass on the side that your opponent has greatest control over.
So, don't forget this when I scream "One-legged lady" during tourneys.
Note: Special thanks to Nicolai Holt for giving me great insights for this blog.
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