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Opponents Keep Back-Stepping Your Half Guard? Try These 2 Counters

Opponents Keep Back-Stepping Your Half Guard? Try These 2 Counters

So you’ve finally started playing Half Guard. Fantastic! You’ve set out on the road with a lot of possibilities in training and competition. However, you’ve probably soon found out that your training partners can counter your Half Guard pretty easily. And they mainly do it with the simple Backstep – after which they either pass your guard or go for a Leg Lock.
This can be incredibly frustrating. However, there are counters that you can go for! Here are two highly efficient ones, as explained by Nick “Chewy” Albin.

 

2 COUNTERS TO THE BACKSTEP IN HALF GUARD

Chewy explains that you’ll have to learn how to feel the training partner’s movement. This isn’t just true for when you’re in Half Guard, but also for almost every other situation you find yourself in BJJ.
In this case, you’ll have to feel the training partner’s body shift. Most notably, their hips. So, when you feel their hips moving in a Backstep-fashion, your first option is to catch their upper leg as they do so. Catch it and then trap both of their legs, following through with their movement in order to sweep them into an even more disadvantageous position.

The second option is to catch their bottom leg and elevate it (while they’re in the middle of the movement). This will enable you to scoot them to the side yet again.
Watch how to do this in more detail on the video below: