If you are a smaller grappler in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you will be aware that weight and strength can often play into an advantage during competition or a live roll. To counter that, having precision technique is paramount to the survival of anyone smaller in stature. Luckily, by being small comes advantages such as being quicker, more agile and flexible. This opens up realms of grappling that a bigger guy may never have access too.

There are two guard positions in particular that work well for smaller grapplers; the Spider Guard and the De La Riva Guard.

The Spider Guard is perhaps the best guard for small BJJ players as it helps managing the distance of your opponent by using your legs and grips to control them. This guards allows you to be aggressive and dynamic in your movement with arm bars, triangles, omoplatas all available as submissions depending on the situation. Pressure plays a key role in executing this guard; pushing with your legs combined with pulling on the gi sleeve decides what distance you keep your opponent at. Utilizing drills such as those from Rehan Muttalib and Bernardo Faria can help master this guard technique if needed.

The De La Riva guard is also great for small grapplers as it does not allow opponents to put all their weight on them. Once set up correctly, this position provides plenty of sweeping and submission opportunities whilst allowing control of both distance and their entire body once grips are set correctly. Taking a look at back take from De La Riva by Felipe Preguica Pena can provide useful insights into understanding how to execute this guard effectively.

Ultimately, no matter how small you might be there are numerous guards available for effective use in Jiu Jitsu for all body types – explore them all but focus on mastering those that work well for your game!

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