Butterfly guard
Learn how to play butterfly guard: hooks in, chest close, elbows inside. You will learn the butterfly sweep, the arm drag and the attacks from the hooks.
Hooks and chest
Butterfly guard: you sit up with both feet hooked inside their thighs. Your chest stays close to theirs.
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You sit up with both feet hooked inside their thighs. Butterfly Guard in the library ›
A hook alone lifts only a leg. Keep your chest close and win an underhook: your arm under their arm, elbow past their hip. Then the hook lifts the whole person.
The butterfly sweep
- Scoot in, hooks under their thighs, chest to chest.
- Win the underhook, with your elbow past their hip.
- Control their other arm at the elbow or wrist.
- Fall to the shoulder on the controlled-arm side, head to the mat.
- Lift the hook on the underhook side and come up on top.
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Chest to chest with the underhook, ready to fall to the side. Butterfly Sweep in the library ›
Your right arm has the underhook. Your left hand controls their right arm. You fall to your left shoulder and lift with your right hook.
Read their weight
| What they do | Your move |
|---|---|
| Lean in, chest forward | Butterfly sweep |
| Sit back and reach with a straight arm | Arm drag |
| Stand up and stay away | Technical stand-up: stand up safely, one hand posted |
| Push your chest with a straight arm | Straight armlock |
| Stay low, hands busy with your hooks | Collar choke (gi) |
They sit back on their heels, far from you, and do not reach for you. What is the best plan?
The arm drag
Use it when they reach for you with a straight arm.
- Catch the reaching wrist with your same-side hand.
- Grab behind the triceps with your other hand.
- Pull the arm across your body and scoot your hips out the other way.
- Climb onto their back and put your hooks in.
The scoot matters as much as the pull. Your hips leave the line of their arm, and their back is in front of you.
Chokes and the armlock
In the gi, use the palm up, palm down choke. First hand deep in the collar, palm up. Second hand on the other collar, palm down.
Straight armlock: wrap their pushing arm above the elbow and pin the wrist to your body. Lean back and lift your hips.
Their hands are busy fighting your hooks. You put your first hand deep in their collar. If they posture up to escape, their weight goes over your hooks for the sweep.
When the sweep fails
- No underhook: they post and flatten you.
- Falling straight back: there is no angle, so they land on you.
- Hips far back with straight arms: they get double underhooks.
- Hooks in the air when they stand: they pass your legs.
If they post a hand wide to stop the sweep, overhook that arm against your ribs and lift again. This is the wing sweep.
Train it on the Path
Reading is the first step. The Butterfly guard unit has 5 short lessons: you see a position and pick the best move.
Butterfly guard is part of the Purple belt, included in Rolla Plus. Start free with Foundations and the white belt.