Closed Guard Break

What it is

A closed guard break is how you open your opponent's locked ankles from inside their closed guard, so that you can start a pass. Every closed guard pass begins here. You build posture and grips first, then open the legs either on your knees, by stretching the ankles apart, or by standing up and letting the legs slide down your hips.

When to use it

• You are inside their closed guard and have just rebuilt your posture.
• Your kneeling break keeps failing, or they are much smaller than you, and you want to stand.
• You need to get out of closed guard before they break your posture and attack.

How to do it

1. Posture up: hips forward, back straight, head above your hips, knees wide. Pin both lapels or their chest with one hand and grip their hip or belt with the other.
2. Kneeling: keep one knee tight under their tailbone and step the other knee back and out at an angle, so the angle stretches their legs and the ankles start to open.
3. If the ankles open, put your elbow or hand on the inside of their thigh and push that knee down to the mat.
4. Standing: if they hold the lock, keep the posture grip, step one foot up beside their hip, then the other, and stand tall with your hips forward and knees bent.
5. Let their weight pull their ankles down your hips, then step one foot back and push a knee down with your hand until the legs open.
6. As soon as the guard opens, control one leg and go straight into a pass such as the knee cut, the toreando or the double under.

Key details

• Posture before anything. Trying to open the legs while bent forward is how you get armbarred and triangled.
• Hands on the body, never on the mat. A posted hand inside the guard is an arm offered to them.
• Elbows inside your knees, so they have no sleeve or arm to pull across.
• Standing, keep one hand pinning them to the mat so they cannot sit up into you or climb your body.
• Never lift and slam them out of the guard. Slams are illegal for everyone and they cause serious injuries; step back and work the knee instead.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: reaching for their collar with your head forward. They break your posture and the attacks from the bottom begin.
• Mistake: standing straight up with your hips back. They pull you down or hit a sweep as you rise.
• Mistake: opening the guard and then pausing. They re-lock the ankles or switch to open guard and you start again.
• Mistake: lifting them high to shake the legs loose. It is a slam waiting to happen and it puts both your backs at risk.

What they will try

• They break your posture as you shift your knee back and pull you down onto their chest.
• As you stand, they grab your ankles or sleeves and sweep you backward.
• When the legs open, they move to open guard and use their feet on your hips to keep distance.

Gi and no-gi

Without lapels, pin their chest or belly with one hand and control a hip or a wrist with the other. Everyone is more slippery, so keep your hips forward and your elbows tight even more.