Half guard (or half mount) is a ground grappling position where one combatant is lying on the other, with the bottom combatant having one leg entangled. Sometimes the bottom combatant is said to be in half guard, while the top combatant is in a half mount. In

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and

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission h ...

half mount is called Turk ride. The half guard is the position that is in between a

full guard The guard is a ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs. In pure grappling combat sports, the guard is considered an advantageous position, b ...

and

side control In grappling, side control (often also called side mount, cross mount, 100 kilos) is a dominant ground grappling position where the top combatant is lying perpendicularly over the face-up bottom combatant in such a way that the legs are free and ...

full mount The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants torso with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is a favorable position for the top combatant in several wa ...

. The combatant on top will try to untangle the leg and pass to obtain

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, while the bottom combatant will try to transition into a

or alternatively attempt a sweep or submission. The half guard may favour the combatant on top or the guard player, depending on the many details of the position such as body positioning and grips.

Variations

The lockdown (known in

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as niju garami) is a variant of half guard where the defending practitioner further intertwines the legs to achieve a

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. Using the more extended of their legs, the practitioner traps and drives the foot of the opponent upward; thereby attempting to limit the ability of the opponent to pass to full mount or side control. This

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

offers a slightly higher likelihood of executing successful

sweeps Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, or reversals, while also offering limited

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

options. Z guard - also known as the 93 guard is a position where the practitioner locks his feet together and clamps down on the opponents thigh while using their top leg knee to exert pressure into the opponents hip. The position is very effective due to the biomechanics involved. The more the top player is pressuring into the top leg the tighter they lock the guard onto themselves while exerting more energy than the bottom player. Z-guard has many defensive characteristics as well as many offensive. It is a solid foundation providing entries into "deep half" and or "half single" as well as traditional half guard techniques. The Z-guard is a must for any practitioner as it creates a strong barrier between you and your opponent with the top knee controlling that distance while there is a push pull effect happening with the bottom leg. Deep Half guard is when the practitioner uses half guard to get underneath the body of the opponent. Whilst underneath the opponents legs, this position is primarily used for sweeping as it has less submission options but can also be used to enter other positions such as the X-Guard.

References

* Kesting, Stephan
The X guard position
''www.grapplearts.com''. URL last accessed March 7, 2006. * Løvstad, Jakob
The Mixed Martial Arts Primer
''www.idi.ntnu.no''. URL last accessed March 6, 2006. (DOC format) * Page, Nicky

. ''homepage.ntlworld.com''. URL last accessed March 4, 2006.

External links

The Five Commandments of the Underhook Half Guard

Tutorials of BJJ techniques from half guard

{{grappling Grappling positions Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques

Variations

See also

References

External links