Half guard (or half mount) is a defensive ground grappling position where one combatant is lying on the other, with the bottom combatant having one leg entangled. Sometimes the bottom combatant is said to be in half guard, while the top combatant is in a half mount. In

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

half mount is called Turk ride. The half guard is the position that is in between a full guard and

side control In grappling, side control (often also called side mount, cross mount, 100 kilos) is a dominant ground grappling position where the top combatant is lying perpendicularly over the face-up bottom combatant in such a way that the legs are free an ...

full mount The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants torso (usually lower) with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is a favorable position for the top combata ...

. The combatant on top will try to untangle the leg and pass to obtain

or mount, while the bottom combatant will try to transition into a full guard or alternatively attempt a sweep or submission. The half guard may favour the combatant on top or the guard player, depending on the many details of the position such as body positioning and grips.

Variations

The lockdown (known in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

as niju garami) is a variant of half guard where the defending practitioner further intertwines the legs to achieve a figure four. Using the more extended of their legs, the practitioner traps and drives the foot of the opponent upward; thereby attempting to limit the ability of the opponent to pass to full mount or side control. This

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

offers a slightly higher likelihood of executing successful sweeps, or reversals, while also offering limited

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

options. Z guard - also known as the 93 guard is a position where the practitioner locks his feet together and clamps down on the opponents thigh while using their top leg knee to exert pressure into the opponents hip. The position is very effective due to the biomechanics involved. The more the top player is pressuring into the top leg the tighter they lock the guard onto themselves while exerting more energy than the bottom player. Z-guard has many defensive characteristics as well as many offensive. It is a solid foundation providing entries into "deep half" and or "half single" as well as traditional half guard techniques. The Z-guard is a must for any practitioner as it creates a strong barrier between you and your opponent with the top knee controlling that distance while there is a push pull effect happening with the bottom leg. Deep Half guard is when the practitioner uses half guard to get underneath the body of the opponent. Whilst underneath the opponents legs, this position is primarily used for sweeping as it has less submission options but can also be used to enter other positions such as the X-Guard.

References

* Kesting, Stephan
The X guard position
''www.grapplearts.com''. URL last accessed March 7, 2006. * Løvstad, Jakob
The Mixed Martial Arts Primer
''www.idi.ntnu.no''. URL last accessed March 6, 2006. (DOC format) * Page, Nicky

. ''homepage.ntlworld.com''. URL last accessed March 4, 2006.

Notes

External links

The Five Commandments of the Underhook Half Guard

Tutorials of BJJ techniques from half guard

{{grappling Grappling positions Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques

Variations

See also

References

Notes

External links