How Do I Break Someone's Closed Guard?

The Short Answer

Stand up in base, control their hips, and use your legs and posture to break their ankle lock. The key is patience and maintaining good posture throughout.

The Standing Guard Break

This is the most fundamental and high-percentage guard break. Here's the sequence:

Step 1: Establish Posture

Before standing, you need solid posture. Hands on their hips or belt, elbows tight, head up. If they break your posture, you'll get swept or submitted.

Step 2: Stand Up One Leg at a Time

Put one foot flat on the mat, then the other. Keep your hips back and chest up. You should feel like you're in a deep squat position.

Step 3: Control Their Hips

Maintain your grip on their hips. This prevents them from following you up or attacking sweeps.

Step 4: Create the Break

With good posture, their ankles will naturally start to open. You can assist by:

• Pushing down on one thigh
• Stepping one leg back to create an angle
• Using your elbow to pry against their ankle

The Kneeling Guard Break

If standing feels unstable, try breaking guard from your knees:

1. Get one knee up (combat base position)
2. Pin one of their hips to the mat with your hand
3. Slide your other knee back while maintaining pressure
4. Their guard will pop open as the angle changes

Common Mistakes

Hunching Forward

This kills your posture and invites armbars and triangles. Stay upright!

Rushing

Guard breaks work because of pressure over time, not explosive movement. Be patient.

Ignoring Grips

If they have strong collar or sleeve grips, address those before trying to stand. They'll use those grips to break your posture.

Celebrating Too Early

Breaking the guard is just step one. Immediately control their legs and begin your pass. Don't give them time to re-establish guard.

What Comes Next

Once the guard is open, you need to pass. Have a plan before you break:

• Knee slice pass
• Over-under pass
• Toreando pass

Breaking guard without a passing plan lets them recover and you're back to square one.

Drilling Tips

Practice the standing break slowly. Focus on:

1. Standing in base without wobbling
2. Keeping your hips back
3. The timing of when the ankles release

Speed comes later. Technique first.