guard
HALF GUARD
Meia Guarda
Half guard is the position created when the bottom player has trapped one of the top player's legs between their own, leaving the opponent in a half-passed state. For decades the position was considered a defeat-in-progress — a half-failed guard recovery on the way to side control — until the Roberto Gordo Correa generation in the early 1990s and the Eddie Bravo / 10th Planet system in the early 2000s rebuilt it into one of the most aggressive guards in the modern game.
The central insight of modern half guard is that the underhook decides the position. The bottom player with the underhook is on offense and threatens sweeps, back takes, and submissions; the bottom player without the underhook is on defense and at risk of being passed. Every serious half-guard system therefore revolves around establishing, maintaining, and using the underhook on the trapped leg's far side, with the head buried into the opponent's chest and the trapped leg actively framing rather than passively held.
From this position the bottom player threatens the dogfight sweep, the old-school sweep (Roberto Gordo's namesake), the lockdown and electric chair system from 10th Planet, the deep half guard reversal made famous by Gordo and later refined by Bernardo Faria, and a host of back takes that exploit the natural pivot point the position creates. The top player's defensive options are correspondingly limited: cross-face hard, control the underhook side, walk to the back, or commit to the knee cut pass. Half guard is therefore one of the most strategically rich positions in the modern game, with entire careers built around mastery of either side.
KEY PRINCIPLES
- 01The underhook is the most important grip in half guard — its presence determines whether the position is offensive or defensive.
- 02The trapped leg should actively frame the opponent's leg, not passively hold it.
- 03The bottom player must stay on their side, never flat — flat half guard is a passed guard.
- 04The head should be buried into the opponent's chest to prevent the cross-face.
- 05Chain the sweeps: dogfight, old-school, deep half, and back take all flow from the same underhook foundation.
COMMON ATTACKS
- →Old-school sweep with underhook and far-foot hook
- →Dogfight to back take when the opponent kicks free of the trap
- →Deep half guard reversal underneath the opponent
- →Lockdown and electric chair from 10th Planet system
- →Kimura from a posted opponent in dogfight
COMMON DEFENSES
- →Establish the cross-face immediately to prevent the bottom player from sitting up.
- →Control the underhook side and never give up the underhook battle.
- →Walk laterally to the back rather than fighting the trapped leg free in place.
- →Drop hip pressure on the bottom player's ribcage to flatten them.
- →Commit to the knee cut pass when the inside leg has cleared the opponent's frame.
NOTABLE PRACTITIONERS
Roberto Gordo Correa · Eddie Bravo · Bernardo Faria · Lucas Leite