In BJJ, closed guard is a great place to be for the one on bottom as you have so many options whereas your opponent has much less.
The legendary Rickson Gracie likes to trap his opponent in the side closed guard and he has a game changing detail where he readjusts his hips making his victim vulnerable to sweeps and submissions.
Pedro Elias is the son coral belt Caique Elias, who was one of the instructors at the first Gracie Academy in Torrance. He learned the details of Rickson’s side closed guard from his father and from Rickson himself.
In this video, Pedro goes over some of Rickson Gracie’s strategies and concepts that he shared with him for the side closed guard. Getting an angle, your hip off the floor and preventing your opponent from getting their hands set on your torso. This will save you a lot of energy especially against a bigger and stronger opponent.
Use your guard skills to attack and catch your opponent on the blind side.
- World black belt absolute champion Xande Ribeiro shows you the closed guard system that made his guard one of the best
- The side closed guard is a closed guard variation that gives you a dominant angle to attack from off your back.
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