Sunday, June 13, 2010

Pass the Guard

One thing guys have been doing against my standing guard pass is hipscaping hard. Typically, they are hipscaping to the left (hips to the right), which is the weak side for most people. But it does effectively block my standard attempt to get inside control with the forearm/elbow and knee on my left side.

If the hipscape is shallow, then I need to scoop pass to the left - making sure my right elbow is not exposed to a triangle choke. If the hipscape is aggressive, then I'm probably not going to be able to scoop the leg and instead need to get inside grip control beneath the knees and look for the A-Frame Sprawl.

By going sideways against my standing, the guy on bottom/in guard is more vulnerable to vertical pressure than horizontal pressure. The sideways/scissor sweep position negates my initial grips. But it is a bad choice if I am standing because the biggest vulnerability of that position from the bottom is in-line with my greatest asset from the top.