I spent a little time on the carpet this afternoon, trying to breakdown the mechanics of why I'm having such a hard time coming up to the elbow, then up to the knee in half guard. It's a critical part of the main half guard sweep, the one Eddie Bravo calls "Old School."
Like a lot of problems in jiu jitsu, the problem here was not where I thought it was. I thought the problem was in my upper body. And I was trying to figure out how to rock my upperbody up in order to create space to come up on the elbow.
The problem is there's no leverage to do that. And if you've got your underhook up high under the armpit, you've got a harder time moving your upper body off the mat in order to create space.
Once again, when it comes to the half guard, the solution is to get small. The reason is because half guard is really all about attacking the hips. Look at the Minotauro/Monson half guard sweep. Look at Jeff Glover's half-guard game.
It's easy to get caught up in dealing with the guy's upperbody with your underhook and sticky paw grip. And then to get caught up dealing with the guy's legs with your legs. No attention at all to where the center of gravity, the center of action, really is: the hips.
What I need to do is lower my underhook so that I'm attacking the hips, not the side of his chest. Since I've got his legs, that's where he's most vulnerable. Get small.
The sticky paw grip shouldn't last forever. It should only be a tool to keep from getting crossfaced. My goal with my attacking hand should be the guy's free leg. I'm either looking to pull at the knee or scoop the knee.
It's really a lot like Rap Star: Get the lock on the one side (underhook for half guard, arm wrap for closed guard). Get on the lock side hip. Attack the free side (sticky paw grip to knee for half guard, the free arm for closed guard).
2008 may be the year of the butterfly/Cobra guard. But it should be no less the year that I get my half guard back to where I want it to be. At this point, it's pretty clear that my bottom game will be built around the half guard more than anything else. So I might as well get around to mastering it: one sweep at a time.
