Open guard from Henry Akins

Open guard from Henry Akins

Hey,

When talking and thinking about what to do from your open guard you must first think…

1. How did I get here…. You either chose the position OR your opponent PUT you there.
2. Why did I get here… probably because you are one of the following smaller, weaker and or have the inferior take down game

At the end of the day Open Guard is NOT

1. A place to camp out
2. A defensive position

Open Guard IS…

1. Where you set up to finish from the bottom
2. Where you finish from the bottom
3. Where you sweep to get on top and finish from there

If you’ll notice in my definition above… the open guard is ultimately for one reason and one reason only… TO FINISH!

All too often open guard players fail to realize they have 4 spears at their disposal. 2 arms and 2 legs.

Its actually the only position where all 4 limbs are simultaneously available to OPEN space between you and your opponent. Skillfully, strategically and systematically STAB your passing opponent with your spears or perish!

Your opponent is actively moving toward you, taking up space, trying to get closer, trying to pass your open guard. He mistakenly thinks this is in his favor. But its ONLY in his favor if you don’t know how to use your weapons. Truth be told every guard passer should be moving into a TRAP when trying to pass your guard.

In most conflicts the combatants try to AVOID each others weapons…

When a guard passer comes forward he’s purposely CONNECTING himself to YOUR weapons. YOUR spears.

If you do it right…

You “stab” your opponent with your spears and turn him in whatever direction you want, into whatever position you want. The sweep or the submission or the getting off the ground to take top position is IMMINENT for you.

But ONLY if you understand the strengths AND WEAKNESSES of the open guard position.

The “Tip Of The Spear” Open Guard:

– Who’s in charge? You or the passer? Who’s got grips? You or the passer? Is he stabbing you or are you stabbing him? The answers you give are critical and I’ll show you exactly how to make every exchange go YOUR way.

– Is your guard passer really really pressuring you hard with a “stack pass”… BITE HIM! No really.

– There is ONE principle above all that governs the success or failure of your open guard to keep you safe and advance your position. It’s the principle of SPACE. I’ll show you the most critical and essential thing you need to know about “space management”. Just this ONE concept will radically improve your open guard overnight. I promise.

– Should you stand up or should you stay in open guard? To be or not to be…. THAT is the question. (Answers inside)

– Do you lack flexibility? Do you lack strength? Do you lack athleticism? Then the “Tip Of The Spear” Open Guard is EXACTLY what you need because it requires NONE of those attributes.

If you like hearing training partners respond with ….

◦ -WTF?

◦ -How’d you do that?

◦ -Can you show me that?

• -Nobody’s EVER done that to me

Then this is the ONLY systematic approach to Open Guard you will ever need.