One of the first hard lessons that BJJ students have to learn is how to protect their guard. Guard passing is one of the ultimate goals of the discipline. Players spend countless hours honing their skills, learning different techniques, and adding their own flair to every technique and variation of a technique.
5 tips to improving guard retention are:
- Embrace conflict.
- Focus on the big picture.
- Use the element of surprise to your advantage.
- Use key performance indicators.
- Practice a lot.
That brings up the question, how do you improve guard retention. For every action there’s a reaction and if you want to progress and advance along the complex BJJ belt system, you will need not only to improve your offensive techniques but work on your defenses just as hard. So how would you go about improving guard retention and making it hard for your opponent to find an opening in your defenses? The following 5 tips are recommended by experts and advanced practitioners alike.
Embrace Conflict
Each sport and discipline has its core values and principles that define that sport. In Judo, grappling is by far the main concept around which the whole discipline was formed. In BJJ, it’s all about the guard. How to retain your guard while at the same time pass the opponent’s guard is by far the most important question that you need to find an answer to.
If you look closely you’ll notice that those are actually two questions not one. Each question carries about half of the BJJ discipline and defines its goals. We have talked about passing guard techniques before and covered them in great detail. Here we will talk about the other side of the equation. How to retain your guard and block the opponent’s attempts are passing it.
The first rule is never to shy away from conflict. As an MMA discipline, BJJ is all about facing the opponent, getting up close and personal to them, and engaging in various techniques to subdue and control the movement of that opponent. This in essence is the very definition of combat. In other words, it’s pure conflict. So if you somehow have a fear of facing an opponent whether on the mat or off the mat, you will have a huge problem learning how to retain your guard let alone pass that opponent’s guard.
Conflict here doesn’t mean you go about picking fights with strangers. It means to spar with your opponent on the mat. To learn how to size them up quickly, find their vulnerabilities and work out a strategy to take advantage of those weak points. In a battle where both opponents are equal in just about every skill, then the winner is the one who can strike a good balance between their defense and offensive approaches.
The more you spar, the more you’ll learn about your own abilities and flaws. Your teacher would help you find some of your vulnerabilities and how to work on them, but for the most part, only facing an opponent on the mat is the real test. This is where you find out if you got it or not.
It’s all about Perspective
Soul searching and introspection are important skills that you’ll need to develop and use to your advantage. After each class you go home thinking about what happened on the mat that day. Now there are two ways to go about this. Either focus on the small things and petty grievances or look at the big picture. So how do you go about doing that and how does it help you?
At class you’ll soon find that not all your classmates are as serious about the sport as you are. Some are there because they are curious. Others just want to let out steam. There are players who want to progress and got their eyes on the ultimate prize, the black belt. While many will not make it past the current belt. So where does that leave you?
Somewhere in the middle at best. Now each of those players have their own goals and perspectives. It’s easy to get lost. Especially if you allow the less serious players to interfere in your own game and goals. This is where being self-aware comes in. You use this valuable skill to stay on track. You don’t let distractions come in the way. You know what you want and you work hard to get there. And that’s what having a perspective means. To look at the big picture.
BJJ is a journey. It’s a long journey that takes on average about 10 years if you want to get to the top among the black belt champions. Along the way hurdles will come in your way. Either studies, work, relationships, family, or any other distractions. But as long as you know your goal and stay focused on the path ahead of you, you will not get lost.
The Element of Surprise
Whether you’re trying to pass guard or retain guard, the element of surprise should always work to your advantage. At the same time you need to be wary of the opponent’s moves and be prepared for whatever they spring on you. Now many novices and students early on the path think that when facing an opponent on the mat there’s no room for surprises. You’re both standing there looking at each other intently and charting your path to a submission. So where would a surprise or an unforeseen event come from?
Out of thin air, that’s where. Much like a poker player, you want to keep your hand well hidden and your intentions obscure. Your face should not betray what goes in your mind. Your eyes should focus on your opponent as you work how to fend off anything he throws at you. His goal is to pass the guard. Your goal is to retain the guard. You’re on the defensive, yes. And that gives you an advantage. What is that advantage?
For starters, you wait calmly for the opponent to make their move. In many cases, especially with not so killed opponents, it’s easy to read their plans. A slight jerk of their arm or the way their free leg is poised lets you know which direction he’s going to go and what plan he has in store for you. With practice and lots of sparring and competition, it will become easier for you to read your opponent and subconsciously interpret their moves and posture so that you will totally eliminate the element of surprise off the equation.
But that’s not the case with a more experienced opponent. One of the first things you’ll learn as an advanced player who has left the basics way behind is to hide your plants. You stare at the opponent with a stony face. Don’t give anything away. That way they won’t know what your next move will be. With so many techniques and thousands of variations on these techniques, your options are almost unlimited. But it’s the same for the opponent as well. So hiding your intentions while trying to read your opponent’s will give you the element of surprise and help you retain your guard.
Key Performance Indicators
As your teacher will undoubtedly tell you, you need to take a methodical approach to your training. Think of it this way, you have a huge discipline that is based on an even larger practice that goes back centuries ago. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Where do you start and how on earth are you expected to know all these techniques in one lifetime?
First off, you’re not expected to know every technique and master every variation out there. Not even the champs of the sport know all the techniques. But they cover as many as they can. Then they settle for a select group of techniques that they know inside out and add their personal touch to.
It’s all about getting the basics, then moving on to the more advanced skills. And the key here is to know your limits and abilities. Work on your flaws and enhance your strong points. And the way to go about it is to measure your performance indicators. How will that help you with guard retention? Well, a whole lot actually.
The more skilled and experienced you are, the more well-rounded player you become. Some players focus on the offensive side of the game and neglect the defenses. Big mistake. You have to strike a balance between those two. You can ace passing the guard but against a skilled player you might find yourself in an undesirable situation very quickly. This is why you need to know how you perform both on the offensive and when on the defense.
Practice, and Practice some more
All the books and videos in the world will not make you a good BJJ player. Not until you step on the mat, face an opponent and put all those theoretical skills to practice, only then will you become a good player, both at passing guard and retaining it. Some students practice 5 times a week, others only once every other week. It’s up to you how you to want to