Brazilian jiu-jitsu beginner positional course

The closed guard is what most people see as a guard position before starting brazilian jiu-jitsu, since its very unique to our sport. In this guard the legs are closed behind the back of the opponent, making it harder for them to stand up or move away. The opponent needs to open the legs up to be able to improve positioning. The bottom practitioner might transition between the open and closed guard, as the open guard allows for better movement, but also has a higher chance of the opponent passing the guard.

The open guard is normally used for setting up sweeps and submissions from bottom position. The legs can be used to move the opponent, and to create leverage which gives opportunity . The open guard allows the opponent to stand up or try to pass the guard. Open guard is used as a umbrella term for the large number of guard positions where the legs are used to push, pull, wrap or hook the opponent.

The half guard is the position that is in between a full guard and side control or full mount. The practitioner on top will try to untangle the leg and get to side control or mount, while the bottom practiotioner will try to move into a better guard position or attempt a sweep or submission. The practitioner on top is however in a better position, and can attempt submission holds or pass into a stronger position.

Side control is a dominant ground grappling position where the top practitioner is lying cross body bottom practitioner in such a way that the legs are free. The top practitioner is referred to as having side control, and is in a stable position, with the other practitioner pinned underneath. The top can attempt applying various submissions, or transition into a mounted position. For the bottom practitioner goal, it is to sweep the top combatant or escape the position, regaining halfguard or a better guard position such as closed guard.

The mount is one of the two most dominant ground positions you can get to. This is a strong position for the top pracititoner in several ways. The top practitioner can used gravitiy to apply pressure and create some very uncomfortable positions on the bottom pracitioner such as various chokeholds and joint locks that can be applied. The bottom practitioner will usually look to sweep the opponent or transition into a better position such as the guard, since its impossible to attack from the bottom of mount.

Back control is the dominant grappling position where the practitioner is on his opponent's back in such a way that he has control of his opponent. Many consider back control to be a very dominant, perhaps even the most dominantn position in grappling. This is due to the practitioner being able to attack with submissions with the opponent having a severely limited ability to see incoming attacks and defend against them.