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When Should You Be Pulling Guard In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

When Should You Be Pulling Guard In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Pulling guard is such a common place in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that you see it in almost every competition video known to man.  We’ve seen with the high level grapplers like Rousimar Palhares all the way down to children in their first ever competition.

However, We’ve seen it time-and-time again where someone pulls guard and just doesn’t know what to do from there.  Willingly pulling guard means that you have to be aggressive enough to work from this position, and not just sit there like a fish out of water.

When to pull guard:

  • Your opponent is a high level wrestler, or a Judo black belt.
  • Your opponent is much bigger than you.
  • You’re injured and can’t fight on your feet.
  • Strategy: your guard is much better than your top game.

Yes, you should pull guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After all, it’s a legit technique – one you can use for a myriad of sweep and submission options.

However, when should you do it? There’s a lot of different scenarios for sure, but here is some general advice.
Valerio Mori Ubaldini explains:

Give Yourself Viable Options From Closed Guard With Valerio Mori Ubaldini’s Lessons On Fighting With A Plan – And A Backup Plan – From Your Back

  • Learn about when the optimal time to pull guard is so that you’re actually getting   into guard and not just falling on your back.
  • Enter attacks immediately off of pulling guard so that your opponent doesn’t have a chance to settle into the position.