Feet On Hips Guard

Position

Feet On Hips Guard is an open guard position where the bottom player places both feet on the opponent's hip bones, creating a frame that controls distance and prevents the top player from closing the gap. It serves as a versatile launching pad for sweeps, submissions, and transitions to other guard systems, while the top player seeks to remove the feet to initiate passes.

Quick Reference

Key principles

  • · Both feet must be firmly planted on the hip bones, not the thighs or stomach, to maximize structural control.
  • · Grip fighting is essential — sleeve grips, collar grips, or wrist control dictate which attacks become available.
  • · Hips must stay off-center and mobile, not flat on the mat, to enable quick angle changes for sweeps and submissions.
  • · When the opponent tries to strip your feet, use that momentum to transition to De La Riva, X-guard, or single leg X.
  • · Core engagement and active pulling with grips multiplies the effectiveness of the hip frames.

Execution

  1. 1 From closed or seated guard, open your legs and place both feet firmly on your opponent's hip bones with toes pointed slightly outward.
  2. 2 Establish controlling grips — typically same-side sleeve grips or a collar and sleeve combination — while extending your legs to manage distance.
  3. 3 Keep your hips angled and shoulders off the mat, actively pulling with your grips to load your opponent's weight onto your feet.
  4. 4 React to your opponent's passing attempts by redirecting their momentum into sweeps, or create your own attacks by breaking their posture with grip pulls combined with leg extensions.
  5. 5 If the opponent stands or shifts weight, transition fluidly to De La Riva, X-guard, or single leg X by repositioning one foot as a hook.

Common mistakes

  • × Placing feet on the thighs or abdomen instead of directly on the hip bones, which allows the opponent to easily smash through or redirect around the legs.
  • × Keeping a flat back with no hip angle, making it impossible to generate sweep leverage and leaving you vulnerable to stacking passes.
  • × Relying solely on feet without maintaining active grips, which lets the top player freely strip the feet and initiate toreando or leg drag passes.

Attacks & transitions

Offense available from Feet On Hips Guard.

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