A side guard is a position where your opponent has almost passed your guard, and the only thing between the two of you is your bottom knee. Although this is primarily a defensive position, there are still some offensive moves you can do. For example, you can attack your opponent with a clamp-style armbar, also known as te gatame.

Te gatame is an armlock that is done from the bottom position. The key element is to control your opponent’s elbow with your hand and have his hand below your armpit. Additionally, you want to pinch your knees together around his shoulder, so he cannot move away from you or into you. This armbar variation is very surprising, and the tap comes very fast. Because of this, please be careful with this move and try not to injure your training partners.

Another great setup from this armbar can be when you have a triangle on your opponent and can’t finish it. In this case, instead of pinching your knees around the shoulder, you will pinch them around the head and shoulder.

Gordon Ryan goes over this technique in one of his instructionals, “The Pillars Of Defense: Pin Escapes – Defensive To Offensive Cycles By Gordon Ryan.” This instructional covers how to go from a defensive cycle straight into an offensive cycle and counter your opponent’s passing with various submission attacks such as this te gatame. 

Invest some time into learning this technique, and I am sure you will have great results with it. My name is Milos; I am the owner and head coach of Fort Jiu-Jitsu! Be sure to check us out!

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.