Half Guard Basics

After a brief description and some examples of Hierarchy of Positions, we should come to understand that in grappling, fighters will fight for positions, and this will look like a tug-of-war over the Hierarchy of Positions. That is, both players will try to cross the “neutrality line” throughout the game to a more dominant side of the spectrum in order to win the match and submit their opponent.

Having said that, I find that one of the most common positions grapplers will encounter is half guard, as they often act as the “pit stop” before crossing the neutrality line. For instance, mount escapes to establishing a guard will have a stage where the bottom will be in half guard; or one form of escape from side control is to half guard.

Being one of the most commonly encountered positions in grappling, I’d like to highlight a number of key points required to establish a sound half guard from the bottom, which in reverse, points out what to defend for the person on the top. Note that these movements are to be done sequentially, which I will explain later:

1.) Leg hooks
2.) Outside underhook
3.) Getting to your side

Firstly, getting the leg hooks is the first and important thing in establishing your half guard. This is one key element of the position which will make the top player “stuck” inside a half guard. Without it, top player will be free to advance to side control or even back to mount. The bottom player can halt, or at least delay, the top player’s advance to a better position without the underhook, but not without the leg hooks. There are different leg hooks (outside, inside, single leg, double leg, and so on), each with their own uses, but I will not go into details on this article but will cover them on a later stage.

Next, the outside underhook. While the leg hook is meant to halt the opponent’s advances, by itself it will not grant you much control nor offensive options. In order to obtain this, you will need to pair it up with the outside underhook. This will be the true tug of war between both players, as both require this hook to improve each of their positions. For the top player, this is what they require to pass the half guard. For the bottom player, the underhook is an essential element in getting to the side and go for the offensive.

The third element, getting to the side, is the crucial element in going offensive from the bottom of the half guard. Moving to the side achieves 2 things: taking the weight of the top player off and create space, both allowing more movement for the bottom player, thus allowing them to be on the offensive. In the process of moving to the side, remember to move yourself against your opponent, as opposed to moving your opponent against you. Shifting your own body is easier than moving the top player’s body (plus gravity), and you can feel the difference when making the shift against a much heavier opponent (which is what BJJ is designed for – overcoming bigger and stronger adversaries). The top player’s objective at this stage is to get the bottom player’s back flat to the ground, thus pushing the bottom player one step back.

Note that these elements need to be done sequentially. i.e.: get leg hooks first, then the underhook, then get to your side. You cannot get a half guard with only underhook and getting to your side. The same goes for the top player – with the bottom player attaching the underhook, top player must flatten the shoulder to the ground first before attempting to get the underhook or even to escape the leg hooks.

Of course, half guard game is not limited into these three elements. In fact, there are tons of variations and combination on half guard game, and renowned instructors like Eddie Bravo and Stephan Kesting has put a chapter or even a book specifically discussing the half guard. However, regardless of the variations people made on the half guard, these basic elements will remain intact on the variations, therefore having solid proficiency on these basics will help practitioners on their current game as well as future developments of their game.

Hierarchy of Positions - Video Examples

The Hierarchy of positions may seem very subtle, if not unseen, for the common eye or some of us who just started our journey in BJJ especially given that what we see on the internet or TV tend to be quick submissions where the concept is even more subtle. Nevertheless, the importance of this concept is nothing less than crucial.

To look at this concept a bit more thoroughly, here are some of the videos of matches where the concept of securing positions and moving up the hierarchy are prioritized over a submission attempt shown more clearly:

Bramono vs ? - Pan Pacific 2006, white belt match

The easiest one to pick on is my own match, since I knew what was going through my mind at that moment. The video shows very well on working toward a more dominant position, from neutral position to side control to backmount, then back to mount. Other than moving up the hierarchy, also take a close look on these items on the match:
1.) Submission attempt only made after securing a dominant position
2.) Submission attempt from a bad position (in this case, bottom of mount), VERY LIKELY results in creating an opening for the person in a more dominant position to advance to better a position or a counter-submission.

Nicolai Holt (therealgeeza) vs Jason Sargeant

Grapplers Quest, Las Vegas, USA, December 6th 2008

On this match, you can see geeza worked on his position after getting passed. He worked his way all the way from the bottom of the side control all the way to side control while working on a side choke. Note that the submission attempt was only made after he swept his opponent’s half guard and got on top of him.

Note however, that submission from a disadvantaged position is not all impossible, as shown on the following video:

Nicolai Holt (therealgeeza) vs Vincent “Wagyu” Majid

Djarum Indonesian Submission Wrestling Championship. Any and all no-gi submissions allowed. Senayan National Sports Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia, November 24, 2007.

Notice that although geeza attempted submission without moving up the hierarchy, he had secured a very solid turtle position when he attempted the submission – up to the point which Vincent cannot get through and even left an opening when he tried to get through the turtle position.

So, remember, secure your position, move up the hierarchy whenever you can, as they will provide more offensive option, then attempt the submission. Rule number one is "Position over Submission". Even if the Indonesian Grappling Championship motto says “The Mission is Submission”, you still cannot get a submission without securing your position.

To close the note, allow me to quote a Gracie family member, something which I got from our Jedi Master Niko Han (even say it with a Brazilian accent):

"If you get in a street fight, never attempt a submission when you first land in any position. Focus entirely on establishing control and exhausting your opponent's energy and only once they are totally drained should you shoot for the submission."

-R. Gracie

(Bram’s note: I don’t know which Gracie is this –Rorion, Relson, Rickson, Rolker, Royler, Royce, Roger, and so on….. they all start with “R”!)

Hierarchy of Positions

One of the most common questions from beginners after a few classes is, "when do we learn the (cool) submissions?" I find more and more of such questions, especially given the plethora of resources, on and off the net.

While the amount of resources can be very useful if used correctly, people often forget one of the most basic rules in BJJ: Position Over Submission. Why is this rule so important in BJJ? Because (1) we will not be able to secure a submission if we cannot maintain our position, and more importantly, (2) we cannot even attempt a submission if we are in a disadvantageous position.

The first point is very straightforward. The second point, however, I find it to be a little more complex. To elaborate on the second point, we must understand the hierarchy of positions, as listed below, from the more advantageous to the least:


Taking Back
Mount – top
Knee on belly – top
Side control – top
Establishing guard
Half Guard – top
*Neutral
Half Guard – bottom
Inside guard
Side Control – bottom
Mount – bottom
Back taken


Rules to remember on the hierarchy of positions:

1. The higher the position in the hierarchy, the more dominant you are, and the least dominant is your opponent
2. The more dominant you are, the more offensive options you have.
3. The least dominant you are, the more defensive you have to be (as you'll face more submission attempts from your opponent)

To further clarify this point, let's look at a few examples: On the bottom of a mount, a person cannot do a submission, have few sweeps & reversals, and a number of escapes (eg: ankle pick, bench press, to name a few). Let's move it up the hierarchy a bit - bottom of half guard: some submissions (eg: electric chair), tons of sweeps & reversals (eg: ankle pick / old school, backmount pass), and an elbow escape to full guard. Move it up even more to mount, you have tons of submissions (eg: armbar, slow triangle, ezekiel choke, kimura, etc.), no need for sweeps and reversals.

From these examples, you can see the importance of improving position before attempting a submission, and where to improve your position in order to give you more and better opportunity for pulling off a submission successfully.

Therefore, the next time you end up in a bad position, escape and try to improve your position; if you are unable to pull off a submission from a position, look for a better position and make another attempt after improving your position; and finally, don’t move down the hierarchy for a submission attempt. If a submission’s not going to work, in the exact words of our Synergy Jedi Master Niko Han, “ABORT!, ABORT!, ABORT!”.