Defending Knee Cut Forcing Side Guard

Part of the course: The Lord of the Guards: Guard Retention by Jon Calestine

Defending Knee Cut Forcing Side Guard
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Jon Calestine
Jon Calestine

About this video

Defending against a knee cut and forcing a side guard involves several steps:
  1. When your opponent drives their knee down to the floor, it's crucial not to let their knee cover the inside space of your hip. If they do, they can start to pass and track your hips away.
  2. Create space for your hips immediately by pummeling your elbow inside. Prepare to frame with your hands.
  3. As your opponent attempts to knee cut, push off your bottom foot off the pinky toe. Frame at the hip and create space, bringing your knee back inside.
  4. Track your elbow on your opponent's hip as they try to finish their pass. Once your knee comes in, secure it to the floor.
  5. Expect your opponent to go completely perpendicular and square up. At this point, pummel your foot in as a hook.
  6. If you're able to bring your knee in first, you can go across. If they're a little bit tight, pummel your foot right underneath, framing, and then recover back to your butterfly guard.
  7. It's important to track your opponent's hip to create space for your knee to come in. If there's space and you're framing, put your hook in and use it to recover.
  8. Recover to supine butterfly guard, denying the top player the ability to control your inside bottom hip.

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