The Hilo Guard

These days, I've got a name for everything: Rodeo, Super Freak, Watch Dog, King Crimson ... Sure, in some ways, it's a page out of the Eddie Bravo playbook to come up with crazy names for different positions and situations. But there's a mnemonic aspect that I've already started to appreciate. Finding myself in a situation and thinking "okay, he's standing in my closed guard. Underhook him at the ankles and push my hips out and then, if I get the sweep, remember to bring my legs inside his and grab his ankle and use a shin sweep to get to the top" is one thing ...

Being able to say "Super Freak to The Fugitive" is another.

So we'll see how that goes. At any rate, the "hilo guard" is the newest addition to my little jiu jitsu nomenclature. Basically, all the hilo guard is about is putting both feet on the hips when in the otherwise "closed" guard.

Stephan made an interesting point the other night--a point I've heard more than once from other higher belts. For a lot of advanced jiu jitsu guys, the point isn't so much "closed guard" versus "open guard". It's just "guard." You want to have some measure of control over the hips and some measure of control over the hands/upper body. But you can get that control based on locking your legs around a guy's waist, or putting a foot in the hip, or putting in one or double butterfly hooks or, as in the case of the "hilo guard", both feet in the hips.

It's a good example of what I wrote in an e-mail to Rebecca earlier today: jiu jitsu isn't a set of techniques, some sack of clever movements. It's a philosophy of engagement. And understanding what the purpose of the guard is, is probably more important in the long run than knowing a specific set of techniques from the guard.

So I'm thinking about this "hilo guard" as a way of helping me do something that my guard game has seriously lacked: control over the hips. I've gotten better about fighting for the grips, especially the collar and the sleeve. But my legwork remains lacking. I'm thinking that maybe "pre-heating" my legwork from the guard by putting both feet in the hips from time to time, will help me focus on using my legs more to create space and control the guy on top.