The knee shield/Z-Guard is a conservative half guard game where you keep your shield up and never let your opponents come too close.
Bottom half guard players that like to either play knee shield or to drop their shield are Bernardo Faria, Xande Ribeiro or Lucas Leite.
When you play half guard, the worst thing you can do is letting your opponent get passed all of your line of defenses (feet, knees, arms) and start to pass your guard with a knee slice. It’s even worse if they add extra shoulder pressure.
In this video, Roger Gracie teaches his half guard game and favorite kimura lock set from the half guard knee shield:
More half guard tips from Roger Gracie:
Master the half guard system that Roger Gracie has developed to sweep, submit, and more with classic, efficient technique!
- Roger Gracie is one of the most respected and successful black belt competitors of all time, and dominated elite grapplers with precision technique.
- Sweep your way to top position with these moves that Roger has perfected over a lifetime of study, including Roger’s signature rolling sweep.
