I am at the stage of my jiu jitsu development where I find the majority of my improvement comes from being very specific in terms of what I am trying to achieve in my sparring rounds. With this approach, I can measure my progress based on the degree in which I was able to execute the particular goals I had specified under the realistic pressures of sparring.
Lately, my focus has been on developing a complete half guard game, having primarily been influenced by Paul Schreiner’s fantastic Half Guard instructional. I’ve been drilling and attempting in sparring the first 3 basic sweep techniques he shows- the Bridge, Twist, and Matheus Diniz sweeps. What makes the instruction so beneficial is that he isn’t just showing these techniques in isolation. Instead, he is giving you a series of tools to be used depending on the opponent’s position, with the ultimate goal of either sweeping immediately with that technique or, as is necessary against good opponents, to off-balance and create openings such as a deep underhook- the primary goal of most half guard games.
This has been the missing link for me. Most practitioners are aware of the value of obtaining the underhook from the very first time they are shown a half guard. However, despite being shown half guard almost 7 years ago, I have until now never really had a good idea of what to do against opponents unwilling to concede a good underhook. Thus, not knowing what else to do, I would throw up a middling weak underhook, inevitably gifting my opponent a violent Darce choke from the top. No more!
I’ve found that having even just those first 3 sweeps in my toolbox has led to immediate results in my rolls. It has given me an option/counter for 3 particular positions/reactions my opponent may have while on top. The Bridge and Matheus Diniz sweeps are quite simple, so I have seen quick and consistent results against the white/blue belts, despite having not once drilled the latter.
I’ve also had a degree of success with at least one of the three sweeps against my fellow purple belts and the brown/black belts. I am getting quicker at recognising the opportunities given by their defensive reactions and getting more proper underhooks. Going forwards I need more work on refining the deep underhook options, as tonight my sweeps from there were defended against. I will study Paul’s materials on this, as well as the king of this position, Lucas Leite.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of the gold contained in this instructional! There’s a whole underhook sweeping section, recounters when they counter the deep underhook…. you can see it all connects into a complete game.
Further notes…
- The twist sweep has been a fantastic counter to guillotine/Darce choke attempts from the top player, as it takes full advantage of the forward weight of the opponent as they lean in to attack my neck.
- In saying that, tonight I was tapped by a guillotine from the sprawl (off a half guard dogfight) as I tried and failed to drive a double leg to top side. Next time I will handfight the choke, reestablish the half guard, and twist sweep.
- My Matheus Diniz sweep is always putting me in my opponent’s closed guard, which isn’t ideal. I need to refine the movement to ensure I end up at least in my opponent’s half guard.
- Craig Jones’ technique on baiting opponents into half guard works very well, which has not only given me more of my rolls playing half guard, but also a link between half guard and RDLR!
To be completely honest, after coming home I was feeling a little bummed by some of tonight’s rolls(I gassed out, got my guard passed more than usual, got tapped a few times), but taking the time to reflect and write on the above has redirected my perspective to where it should be. On reflection, even in my worst rolls there were moments – however small- that contributed to the specific half guard goals I had in mind. So in that way, my half guard got a little bit better tonight. And that’s good.
Yoshi's BJJ Journal 