Sit-up Guard

What it is

Sit-up guard is the seated open guard: you sit tall on one posted hand, hold the opponent with the other hand on a collar, wrist or the back of the neck, and hook a leg with your feet. Head above the hips and chest close, so they cannot push you flat. It is the door to the classic and reverse roll sweeps, to butterfly guard and to wrestling up, and against a standing opponent a shin to shin entry keeps you connected to their leg.

What you want from here

• They are kneeling in front of you and you want to attack, not lie back and wait.
• They stand up: put your shin against the inside of their lead shin (shin to shin) and hold the leg so you stay connected.
• They lean back or sit on their heels, which feeds the forward sweep.
• They drive into you, which feeds the reverse roll, or they back away, which is your time to stand up or wrestle up.

Key details

• The post stays on the mat. It is your base, and it lets your hips lift and drive forward.
• Head above the hips, chest close to theirs, hips slightly off the mat. A rounded back means you are already being flattened.
• Hold something with the free hand: a collar, a wrist, an underhook or the back of the neck.
• From shin to shin, hold the ankle or pant leg and come up toward the leg, not away from it.
• When they back off, post, plant a foot and come up. A seated guard is half a stand-up.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: lifting the post to grab something. They push your chest and you are flat with your guard open.
• Mistake: sitting heavy on the mat with a rounded back. They push you down and start passing.
• Mistake: waiting for them. They set grips and flatten you before you sweep.

How it is escaped or passed

• Pushing your head or chest back to flatten you onto the mat.
• Stepping back out of your hooks and passing once you lie down.
• Pinning or stepping on your post hand.

Gi and no-gi

In no-gi the collar grip becomes a collar tie, a wrist grip or an underhook, and wrestling up onto a single leg is even more common than the gi sweeps.