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Judo Oympian Travis Stevens: ‘In An IBJJF Match I would Pull Guard’

Judo Oympian Travis Stevens: ‘In An IBJJF Match I would Pull Guard’

Pulling guard is a controversial topic in BJJ. Those that are in favour of it say that nowadays you can win BJJ tournaments without using takedowns. They are right in a sense because under IBJJF rules, a takedown is only worth 2 points which makes for a whole generation of guard pullers that don’t see the value of fighting for a takedown.

AMAs have long been the staple of reddit. Judo Olympic silver medalist and bjj black belt Travis Stevens was the latest to offer his insight and answer the questions of many jiu jiteiros eager to pose them.

Here is what Stevens had to say about guard pulling:

Stevens answered that in an IBJJF match, he would in fact pull guard:

I train 8 times a week I go to renzo’s when i can on weekends which since the olympic run has only been 1 every 3 months where as before it was every weekend Good is a relative term, I’m better than most but not as good as the Garry Gordon Eddie Depends on the rules rules dictate strategy but in an IBJJF match I would pull/Jump Guard.

When FloGrappling asked Travis Stevens, about how he looks at guard pulling he responded:

“I think it’s a must. I’m a big fan of guard pulling in jiu-jitsu. And I believe knowing where to put your hands and knowing how to grab the gi properly is an important part of being a guard puller. It’s an essential part. I would much rather see my players pulling guard rather than jumping guard.”

As a brown belt Travis Stevens competed in The BJJ invitational Copa Podio lightweight GP where he pulled guard various times.

Travis Stevens pulling guard TWICE in a Grappling match: