Quote:
Originally Posted by Aesopian
For future reference and easy access, I'm posting a transition into deep half guard I want to work
When they go for the crossface, duck your head and swim your right hand under their armpit.
Shove their armpit and ribs to send their upper body away.[/indent]
The key is getting my hips underneath their hips. From there I can lift them and break their base. I really need to commit to the movement of switching and throwing my hips under them. Keep scooting, shrimping, bumping under like I want to go out the back door.]
. |
I'm hitting this transition all day now. The key for me is actually to control the crossfacing arm and drive it over you (you can use both hands, as if you were going for a kimura -- in fact the kimura attempt helps set this up). Then you switch to pushing against the armpit, so that he is sprawled over your body. You will get the leg easy if that happens. I "hoist" the guy up with my legs, pulling them towards me as I push the armpit. Even if you don't have the leg, the guy's hips are raised up. It's exactly like pulling x guard. In fact you can pull x guard, if you so choose, but it's not necessary. I just scoot out the back door mostly, with the guy pushed into "wheelbarrow" mode.
Like in that picture, if Leo just pulls his knees to his chest as he pulls on the leg and pushes the armpit, it will elevate the guy and make it very easy to slip under him. You can actually sweep the guy over your head from there, but I've been unable to hit that sweep as of yet. The point is to get the guy's hips raised high up, then he's doomed.
I am starting out my half guard with a DLR/Reverse DLR type position, what I think of as "open half guard." As the half guard gets tighter, I use Z guard to freeze the opponent with space. I use that space to work around for an attack, either arm dragging the near arm, kimuraing the far arm, grabbing the foot, or taking an underhook and "kicking" through. There is so much to do ... the point is that the z guard gives you time and space to set it all up and launch into it.
I'm also playing a lot of "shin" guard by passing the lapel and trapping the guy's shin against my own. Have not had great success with finishing from that position, but still fun.
A key thing for my z guard is to point the trapping foot *down*, just as gustavo machado shows for the quarter guard. The principles are quite similar.
So much fun with the half guard these days. It's ridiculous how many variations and sweeps you can play. It's finally getting some teeth to it.