Brazilian jiu jitsu has a variety of guards but one every beginner has heard of is open guard. Open guard is perhaps not the easiest to come into as a beginner as it doesn’t dictate certified points of contact by default. Still there are some concepts and ideas that could help shape your game on a whole new level.
In a new clip Jason Scully recommends A Very Useful Open Guard For Beginner and Advanced Players:
From there Scully recommends controlling the hip with your leg as a way to create distance. He emphasizes that he uses the left leg – on the same side as the controlled arm.
Three points of contact is the minimum you want.
Sleeve + Ankle + Foot on hip = 3 points.
Two sleeves + Foot on hip = 3 points.
Sleeve + Collar + DLR hook = 3 points.
That’s the idea. Get and maintain those points of contact. If one gets removed look to establish a new one so that you always have 3.
Other useful materials:
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.
