When you look at people training at a BJJ academy, you will notice that younger, explosive BJJ practitioners typically tend to play an open guard and favor distance, as it allows them to take advantage of their physical attributes. They often use the Spider guard as their primary option for their open guard.

How do you deal with this type of guard?

Traditionally, you do so by moving away, and bringing the opponent’s feet to the floor, pining them, and creating an angle which will eventually give you the guard pass.

A better option

Rather than moving away from the opponent and creating space, which is what they want in order to use their physical advantage, a different approach which requires minimal effort with maximum efficiency, is to keep them pinned down and deny them any space. Basically suffocating them. When you do this, you not only make them carry your weight, causing them to fatigue and making it more difficult for them to move but also limit their offensive options and make the game slower and easier to predict. You are basically overwhelming them and not giving them any space to move.

The strategy

You will be pressuring and controlling their foot frames (Which your opponent use to create space – by pushing or framing + walking away). Now you can progress in your guard pass by applying constant forward pressure against their weak frames until you progress past their guard lines of defense.

You can see the process in action see the video below from Wim Deputter:

Learn These Old School Hidden Concepts That Can Make Any Fighter Have Ultra Heavyweight Top Pressure.

• Pin, pressure, and pass through the guard with old school concepts, as black belt Wim Deputter teaches his unique system for using fundamental positioning to get as much squeeze as possible out of your top game.
• With solid positioning and step-by-step instruction, Wim shows every detail in dealing with the common problems and counters you’ll see, and how to impose your top game on tricky guard players trying to keep you away.