Double Sleeve Guard

Position Gi only

Double Sleeve Guard is an open guard position where the bottom player grips both of the opponent's sleeves at the wrists while using feet on the hips, biceps, or in the hip creases to control distance and posture. It is a highly offensive gi-based guard that neutralizes the top player's ability to grip, post, or pass, creating numerous sweep and submission opportunities.

Quick Reference

Key principles

  • · Controlling both wrists removes the opponent's ability to post, grip, or base effectively, making them vulnerable to off-balancing.
  • · Feet must stay active on hips or biceps to manage distance—they serve as the primary frame and steering mechanism.
  • · Hip angle and off-center positioning create leverage for sweeps; never stay flat and squared up.
  • · Grip strength must be maintained through wrist-level control, not deep in the sleeve, to allow quick directional pulling.
  • · Anticipate the opponent pulling hands back by extending your legs to maintain tension and re-breaking posture immediately.

Execution

  1. 1 From closed or open guard, fight to secure pistol grips on both sleeve cuffs at the wrist, stripping any grips your opponent establishes.
  2. 2 Place both feet on the opponent's hips or biceps, extending your legs to create tension and prevent them from closing distance.
  3. 3 Angle your hips off to one side while pulling one sleeve across your centerline and pushing with the opposite foot to break their balance.
  4. 4 Use the controlled imbalance to transition into sweeps by loading their weight onto one side, or create submission angles by isolating an arm.
  5. 5 Continuously adjust foot placement between hips, biceps, and hip creases to counter the opponent's passing attempts and maintain offensive pressure.

Common mistakes

  • × Gripping the middle of the sleeve instead of the wrist cuff, which allows the opponent to rotate their hands free and establish their own grips.
  • × Keeping hips flat and squared with the opponent, which eliminates sweep angles and makes it easy for them to pin your legs and initiate passes.
  • × Extending arms fully without corresponding leg frames, which lets the opponent collapse forward into smash-style passing positions.

Attacks & transitions

Offense available from Double Sleeve Guard.

Triangle Setup transition
12 less common
Butterfly Sweep sweep De La Riva Sweep sweep Flower Sweep sweep Knee Cut Pass pass Leg Drag Pass pass Long Step Pass pass Omoplata Sweep sweep Pendulum Sweep sweep Scissor Sweep sweep Stack Pass pass Toreando Pass pass X-Pass pass