Active Guard

Last night someone said "You have a real active guard." They were referring to, I think, the way I stay busy on the bottom. I never really thought of my guard as "busy." I simply thought of it as a GUARD. Let me explain. To me, an inactive guard isn't a guard at all. It's simply "on the bottom." The only type of guard, in my opinion, IS an active guard. Or else I call it "losing."

The first thing everyone needs to learn, if he's going to have a good guard, is how to replace guard. (I've spoken about that at length before so I won't go into it here). The second most important thing is breaking your opponent down while in the guard. I see a lot of guys lock their legs and call that a guard. I call that "the missionary position." (People, we're not having sex, so if you're going to call it a guard, do more than have someone between your thighs). You have to know how to use your hips, legs, arms and even your head to keep him off balance and always in a state of reaction. And since a real guard is a fighting guard, and not a grappling guard, it has to have strikes that cycle well and set up sweeps and subs.

I was recently reading something called the MMA Encyclopedia, trying to catch up on some of the big names in the sport. Since it's an encyclopedia, it contains definitions for all sorts of things. Defining the mount, they call it a FIGHTING position. Defining back control, they also call it a fighting position. But how do they define the guard position? They call it a GRAPPLING position. I think this is part of the reason we see so many poor guards in MMA. I think the sport still views the guard as a grappling technique from jiu jitsu. And what's even worse, I think people still think of jiu jitsu as grappling, when in fact it's fighting, not just rolling around in pajamas.

I mention this because I think how we look at the guard is how we will use it. Thinking of it as a grappling tactic, we forget to strike. I can see why some people say fighting from the guard is a losing battle. The way people tend to use the guard, they're right. But to me, the guard is the single most important position in all of fighting. If you sink all your time into it, and really think of it as an all out active fighting position, the rest of your game would seem somewhat superfluous. Hell, I PULL guard any chance I get. But then again, what I pull is active. Maybe that's why I have the confidence to pull it when others are hesitant to be on bottom. (In fact, if I ever find myself on top, I know I must have done something wrong. You won't have to sweep me. I'll do it for you).

So, if you're going to use the guard, use the guard. Locking your legs isn't the guard. You have to have a good tie up clinch to go with it, as well as a consistent barrage of strikes. If your guard is inactive, you don't have a guard. Period.