The closed guard is one of BJJ’s most effective positions you must know to call yourself a grappler. There’s no alternative to learning it—as it will give you control over your opponent and, thus, allow you to win more often.
You want to lay on your back and wrap your legs around the opponent’s lower back to be in the closed guard position. Your primary goal should be to keep your legs wrapped throughout the fight. That will allow you to go for countless submissions, such as the Triangle and Guillotine Chokes.
Remember, you must learn this technique to call yourself a grappler. There’s a good chance that you’ll learn the closed guard position in your first BJJ class. So, keep your mind open.
My aim with this article is to help you in mastering the closed guard position. You want to become as comfortable with it as possible. And you can do that by learning outside your regular BJJ gym. That will also assist you in progressing faster.
So, I’ll be mentioning these minor details throughout this article. I recommend reading every word in this article to ensure you’ll be capable of mastering the closed guard position. You’ll be able to catch many of your training partners using it, even if you’re still a beginner!
Alright, let’s first dive into its basics.
Closed Guard basics
You want to pay attention to this section, whether you’re a white or a black belt. Even if you’re an advanced grappler, you want to return to basics often to improve your grappling skills consistently.
Now, let’s review some of the basics you must know to use this position effectively and correctly. Of course, you’ll understand this position well if you follow the basics I present here. But, then, practicing is the only piece left in the puzzle.
Enough introduction! Let’s dive into the fun part.
Keep your legs wrapped
The first thing you want to keep in mind is to keep your legs wrapped and not open them. This is because your opponent will aim to open your guard, perhaps by standing up. We’ll see how to deal with it in the following few sections.
Remember, you’re in the dominant position. You’ve worked hard to get into the closed guard position. So now, keep that the way it is by doing everything you can—not to open your guard.
That’s the primary guideline you must follow to start becoming a better closed-guard user. It’s a fight for dominance. Make sure not to lose it without putting up a fight.
You can also watch the video below to learn how to keep your legs wrapped in a BJJ fight.
Block your chest
The second guideline you must follow is to block your chest. Your opponent will try to place his hands on your chest (No-Gi) or grab your Gi in the chest area if you’re wearing one.
That’s the best grip he can have when you’re in closed guard. You want not to allow him to grip your chest or at least fight for it.
The best way to do that is by placing both hands on your chest in an X shape. That’ll prevent the opponent from simply grabbing your chest area and gaining the advantage.
But, if he manages to do that, you want to react quickly. The best reaction you can have in this specific situation is leaning forward and grabbing his collar. Then, you want to wrap your arm around his head and pull him down if you’re not wearing a Gi.
The following section will discuss why pulling your opponent is highly effective.
Pull the opponent toward you (using your legs)
The following closed guard basic is to pull the opponent toward you with your legs. That’ll break his posture and allow you to go for an attack, such as the Armbar.
Now, what you want to avoid is constantly applying pressure using your legs. Although you want to break his posture and go for an attack, you also want to avoid tiring yourself early in the fight. And guess what? Using your legs without breaks will have that effect precisely.
So, make sure to pull the opponent toward you whenever you want to go for a submission. But more on that later.
React to the opponent
The 4th basic guideline is to reach your opponent’s moves. It’ll be best to keep your mind open to new techniques and moves; the last thing you want is to be squared on one attack or on one sweep. But, on the other hand, your opponent might be ready for that.
However, if you really look at your opponent, you’ll start seeing his pain points. Regardless of skill level, your opponent has vulnerable positions you can enter through. But you have to spot them first before reacting.
Imagine playing chess and performing random moves. That’ll be the most unpractical thing you can do in the history of chess. The entire point is to react to your opponent’s moves. That’s what BJJ is about; unfortunately, many grapplers understand it late in their journey.
If the opponent tries to stand up, pull him toward you when he lifts his second leg. That’s when he’s most vulnerable. That’s the best move you can perform in that position.
Keep your eyes open and your mind sharp.
Break the opponent’s posture to perform a submission
Although I’ve previously mentioned this detail, we must discuss it separately. The entire point of being in this dominant position is eventually submitting to the opponent.
We have many options we can go for, such as sweeping and going for the Kimura or breaking the opponent’s posture and executing the Guillotine choke. Indeed, both options are suitable.
Nonetheless, we should aim to break the opponent’s posture. If we do that, we can efficiently perform any submission we want. The opponent has no defenses when his posture is broken.
We can do that best by pulling him toward us with our hands and legs. We can even pull the opponent with our hands and legs to generate more pulling power and go for a submission more effectively.
Take a look at the video below to see an example of that.
How to enter the Closed Guard position
Many BJJ gyms never tell you how to set up the closed guard. But, you will learn how to submit the opponent from this position in your first week of training, so you must learn to get into the closed guard position to become capable of using the submission you learn.
Controlling both of the opponent’s arms is the best way to set up the closed guard position. The most suitable way to do that is by gripping his sleeves and pulling him toward you. You then want to shoot your legs up while maintaining a pulling force. The last step is to wrap your legs, and you’re in closed guard.
This is the most attractive way I’ve found (especially for beginners) to enter the closed guard position. Once you get that, you can go for any submission you want.
I want you to start practicing this setup in your next BJJ class. Of course, only if you’re fighting against someone else. Try to find a training partner about the same level as yours and try to control his sleeves.
You can either stand up or sit; it doesn’t matter. You want to emphasize the pulling motion; you won’t be able to wrap your legs around your opponent if you don’t pull him with enough force since he’s likely to resist it.
Closed guard history
Contrary to most peoples’ belief, the closed guard doesn’t originate from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Instead, it was used in grappling-based martial arts back in history.
BJJ has adopted the closed guard—dominant position and made it one of the cornerstone techniques. Today, all BJJ trainees know how to set up, use, and finish—with this position.
It’s interesting to see how it’s developed and grown over time. Even non-martial arts trainees are familiar with the effectiveness of this position. As a result, you’ll see street fights where one of the fighters uses this position, regardless if he’s even a grappler! That’s an insane level of popularity.
The history of the closed guard position began with a grappler named Osvaldo Alves. While his background is in Judo, he brought this position to life by understanding its effectiveness. With time, it became increasingly popular as more people understood how effective it could be.
Best Closed Guard grapplers
Many grapplers are excellent users of the closed guard. They use this essential position to win fights against the best grapplers in the world.
While many think such an important position can never be effective in the more advanced leagues, they’re mistaken. You can be extremely successful using the moves you learn in your first week of BJJ training.
Let’s review some of the best grapplers worldwide that use the closed guard often:
- Roger Gracie
- Kron Gracie
- Eduardo Santoro
- Demian Maia
- Sergio Penha
- Rudson Mateus
- Neil Melanson
Closed Guard Tips
Alright, this section will review some general tips you want to know to increase your chances of finishing more fights using the closed guard position. While we reviewed the basics already, this will be more of a general section, suitable for everyone in all skill levels.
Let’s dive into some of the important things you want to know.
Tip #1 – Break his posture with your feet
Although we’ve reviewed this guideline before, I want to offer you another way to do so. Sweeping the opponent’s arms outward and pulling him toward you are excellent ways to break his posture and go for a submission. However, there’s one more neat way you can do so.
You want to place your feet below the opponent’s shin to break his posture easily. The next step is to extend your legs. Inevitably, that will break the opponent’s posture and force him to lean forward on you; this gives you much more control to go for any move you want.
Tip #2 – Basic is not easy
Many grapplers believe that the most basic moves are straightforward and uncomplicated. Thus, they’re not effective at the more advanced levels. I suggest watching a grappler named Roger Gracie fight to the people who think that.
He uses the closed guard together with the most basic submissions in high BJJ leagues. And guess what? He’s able to win using what you learn in the first week.
It’ll be best not to underestimate the power of basic BJJ techniques.
Tip #3 – Keep your closed guard for longer
Many grapplers think that BJJ fights are supposed to be quick. However, that’s not the case. It really is like a game of chess. You want to have everything in your favor to ensure you come out victorious.
Keeping your closed guard for longer will be one of the things that favor you in all your BJJ fights. When you’re in that position, the opponent has nothing to do except strike your face. And you can avoid that by breaking his posture to ensure he has no way of generating a lot of force.
But on the other hand, you have many options to go for. The opponent has to first force your closed guard open by passing you (which we’ll see how to do that in the next section.) And you have everything in the world to go for.
So, keeping your closed guard for longer isn’t a bad thing. It’ll tire out your opponent and ensure you have the advantage.
Tip #4 – The opponent’s purpose is to pass your guard
Your opponent’s goal is to pass your guard. You want to remember that when you’re in that dominant position. Know that you hold the advantage until your opponent successfully opens your legs and passes you. From there, he can gain side control smoothly and finish the fight.
Know that this is everything he wants. So, you can start preparing for that mentally and plan how to keep your legs wrapped. Indeed, a solid way to do that is by breaking his posture and controlling his lapel.
That’s everything the opponent wants. Finishing the fight without first breaking your wrapped legs is unlikely. So, know how to defend against the opponent’s offensive means when fighting him.
How to pass the Closed Guard
This section will discuss the other side of the coin; breaking the opponent’s closed guard and attaining a dominant position yourself.
When you’re fighting to keep your legs wrapped, you want to use the tips we’ve discussed in this article. However, it is really a game of chess. You always want to be one step ahead. These techniques and guard passes will help you do that.
Here are 3 guard passes you want to use, which are highly effective in breaking the opponent’s closed guard. Let’s see what they offer.
Stack Pass
The Stack Pass is perhaps BJJ’s most effective closed guard pass you’ll stumble upon. However, it isn’t very easy to learn and execute. But, if you can master it, you’ll be on your way to attaining a more dominant position against your opponent’s guard.
This is how you perform it:
- Start with a balanced posture
- Grab the opponent’s hips
- Stand up while creating downward pressure
- Switch your hip positioning to the side
- Put your elbows on your knees
- Wrap your hand around the opponent’s leg
- Put your elbows on your quads
- Lean forward and grab his lower back
- Flex his legs upward
- Turn the opponent to the side, using your belly
- Gain side control
And I have a complete breakdown of the Stack Pass on this website; follow this link to learn everything about it.
Knee Slice Pass
The Knee Slice Pass is exceptionally effective because it utilizes forward motion rather than passing the opponent’s guard from the side.
When you’re in the closed guard position, the last thing you expect is for the opponent to drive himself forward rather than breaking your guard and going from the side.
It can effectively surprise the opponent and gain a more dominant position.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Start standing up
- Push the opponent’s leg away from his other leg
- Place your hand on his ribs
- Create pressure with your elbow to separate the legs
- Cut through the guard with your knee
- Maintain control over his upper body and hips
- Gain side control
Follow this link to read a complete guide I wrote on the Knee Slice Pass and how to perform it flawlessly.
X Pass
The last closed guard pass we’ll review is the X Pass. I’m a massive fan of this pass because of its simplicity and effectiveness. It won’t be long until you can use it flawlessly and break your opponents’ guard easily and effectively.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Gain inside control
- Wait for the opponent to sit up and push him backward
- Grab his hip and knee
- Kick your foot back, breaking his guard
- Step forward
- Go to the Knee on Belly
- Finish the move (side control)
And if you want to read a complete breakdown of the X Pass I wrote, follow the link.
Final words
People underestimate basic moves. While the closed guard position is one of the first things you’ll learn in BJJ, it can be extremely effective in the right hands.
If you implement all the tips and guidelines mentioned in this article, you’ll be unstoppable with this dominant position. You can control your opponent and gain the advantage every time if you follow the guidelines I’ve offered in this article.
For instance, breaking the opponent’s guard is an excellent way of gaining more control over the opponent. And there are countless ways you can do that.
Start experimenting with the closed guard. Although using it without as much knowledge can be scary, you’ll gain more experience and become a better grappler after every fight.
However, the closed guard isn’t close to being the only dominant position you want to utilize in BJJ. If you want to learn about the 7 best positions in BJJ you must know, follow this link!
So, what are you waiting for? Go and practice what you have just learned!
And you’ll also enjoy reading these articles if you’re interested in this topic:
10 Best BJJ Guards You Want to Learn (With Great Tips)
BJJ 101: Reverse De La Riva Guard
X-Guard – BJJ 101 (How to Use and Finish)
BJJ 101: Spider Guard (The Proper Way)
BJJ 101: De La Riva Guard (Sweeps & Submissions)
BJJ 101: Butterfly Guard (Lots of Sweeps & Submissions)
Pull Guard BJJ – Everything You Need to Know
13 Best Submissions From Closed & Open Guard (BJJ)
11 Best Half Guard Submissions From Top and Bottom
BJJ 101: Half-Guard (And How to Finish From It)