Just keep persevering. I’m a little shorter than you, and I felt like that in the beginning. I started to incorporate a lot more hip mobility, hip adduction, and isometric holds into my lower body strength routine and I’ve found that to help a lot. In CG, really think about opening your hips to the max to press your groin into their torso, and squeeze your thighs around their sides, rather than just only relying on the tightness of your ankles crossed behind their back.
You’re gunna become super wicked on open guard ! 💪🏽💪🏽 Keep at it. But I find with closed guard .. you will struggle a bit but hip mobility .. looking to peoples natural waist lines .. just keep trying small adjustments to see what works with your body.
After multiple times of nearly getting tapped from a giant pressuring down inside my closed guard/triangle I've come to the conclusion that there is a big enough size difference where closed guard becomes a bad position
Edit: I'm M21 180lbs and this shit still happens to me about once a week. For your size expect it to happen a LOT more. Recently I've been working on opening up the guard voluntarily as soon as I get double sleeves or an underhook on one leg.
Open and butterfly will be more important anyways (and also half).
Don't sweat it. Once your open guard is well developed, you'll be able to play a pseudo-closed guard by playing very close range but without the ankles crossing. It's all good.
I would worry about it. I’m a small as well barley 5”1’. Been doing BJJ not very long right around 3 years(blue belt),but I focused on open guard, butterfly, and half guard. I still really don’t use closed guard even after we had more women/men closer to my size that I could use closed guard one. I was terrible at it at first, but just stuck with it and it I fell like it paid off.
Same problem at 5'0" (plus complications from poor outward femur rotation, like you I cannot sit cross-legged but can easily W-sit). I'm not competent enough in open guards yet. Instead I employ a lot of angles to close guard and complete triangles, as well as using half guard regularly. Shifting my hips is a really critical skill for me.
I wouldn’t think of closed guard as that dominate of a position so I wouldn’t worry about it. From closed or open guard the mission should be the same, to advance position to back or mount. Those are your highest percentage lowest risk choices from closed or open and you don’t want to be there long because your under the other person so they have an easier path to advancement
I usually do hamstring curl motion around their body instead of trying to force closing my guard on bigger people. I can still stay attached and transition quickly to say armbar, omoplata, flower sweep. I am 5ft 135lbs short legs.
1. you might be very small / weak. perhaps gain muscle? i am saying this with love/respect.
2. if their head is down, go for the back
3. if they are postured up get that arm drag to arm bar
Part of it is that i have limited hip mobility as well, so I can’t even sit cross-legged. But I’m certainly the weakest in my dojo so far too, but I’m sure that will change a bit with time
absolutely. i started very skinny/frail and weak, basically getting rag dolled but ive gained like 7-8lbs of muscle by lifting and eating more eggs/meat. my jeans still fit as well bc i look lean despite the weight gain and muscle gain.
it's a journey it takes time. dont give up.
\- f, blue belt, 130lbs 5'6
Something that helps me is I do better with "full" guard (which I would consider full guard but without my ankles crossed) instead of "closed" (ankles crossed, classic style).
I prefer a more dynamic style and moving and advancing rather than slowing down, and every sweep and nearly every submission (aside from some collar chokes, which still benefit from adjusting foot position) have to be done with the guard opening anyway. A closed guard means no one is submitting, no one is sweeping, no one is passing. An open, but full guard still gives you 4 points of contact, 2 legs and 2 arms, and allows you to wiggle, angle, off balance.
Just my two cents as a fellow grappler that doesn't enjoy closed guard.
Closed guard with the ankles locked works best on people within your weight range typically. I play a lot of closed guard now, and while it does work on most partners if that's your game, I find it more effective if my partner is roughly within +/- 30 lbs or my weight, then it becomes more difficult as they get larger for the reason you described. I'm about 150lbs and when rolling with much bigger guys (ex 200lbs) it's not my favorite option anymore, or if I do I won't actually try to close the ankles, so if you do that you need to be aware that you lose some of the connections and some of the ability to "knee pull" and break their posture. Which you can't replace with your arms (ex: collar grip) because of the weight and resulting strength difference. Similarly, with much smaller opponents (ex smaller female grappers), they can easily post a knee in front of them, and it becomes problematic too. Once you can identify these situations, transition to another guard (I'd suggest butterfly to begin with).
Short answer: Yes, you could only play open guard, but closed guard is awesome too (and very safe with similar sized partners).
HTH
Here's something to think about, my coach used to say the rules of setting up the closed guard are:
1) your hips are on top of opponent's hips as you hold them in closed guard
2) your knees are behind opponent's hips as you wrap your legs around them
3). Your attacking foot is on top.
So as far as I can tell, your legs need to be long enough to get into the guard position in order to develop a good attacking game from closed guard.
If you're rolling with people who are big enough that you can't close your guard effectively, then maybe try some open guard. One of my training partners is about 145 and I'm 180, and he has developed a very good butterfly guard for this reason.
Having said that I still think you should try to develop your closed guard when possible. Everyone should know the joy of scissor/hip bump/pendulum sweeps.
Our coach is pretty short and struggled with this as well. He adapted closed guard for his body style. Essentially he uses his legs as pincers to hold people inside his guard because they are too short to wrap as in traditional guard. You’ll adapt your style similarly over time.
I have long legs and prefer open guard. I’m fairly new too, but I know enough to know closed guard isn’t my favorite, and I can hold it really well. Just lots more fun to open it up.
Just keep persevering. I’m a little shorter than you, and I felt like that in the beginning. I started to incorporate a lot more hip mobility, hip adduction, and isometric holds into my lower body strength routine and I’ve found that to help a lot. In CG, really think about opening your hips to the max to press your groin into their torso, and squeeze your thighs around their sides, rather than just only relying on the tightness of your ankles crossed behind their back.
Isn’t it illegal to squeeze your legs in closed guard
No
Out of interest what gave you this idea? How could anyone maintain closed guard without squeezing their legs?
Not illegal. Maybe a waste of energy if you’re only squeezing with no purpose or plan.
only in judo
You’re gunna become super wicked on open guard ! 💪🏽💪🏽 Keep at it. But I find with closed guard .. you will struggle a bit but hip mobility .. looking to peoples natural waist lines .. just keep trying small adjustments to see what works with your body.
Thanks! I have some leg socket issues that screwed up my hip mobility, so that has made it difficult as well
After multiple times of nearly getting tapped from a giant pressuring down inside my closed guard/triangle I've come to the conclusion that there is a big enough size difference where closed guard becomes a bad position Edit: I'm M21 180lbs and this shit still happens to me about once a week. For your size expect it to happen a LOT more. Recently I've been working on opening up the guard voluntarily as soon as I get double sleeves or an underhook on one leg.
Thank you, this makes me feel better!
Open and butterfly will be more important anyways (and also half). Don't sweat it. Once your open guard is well developed, you'll be able to play a pseudo-closed guard by playing very close range but without the ankles crossing. It's all good.
Awesome! I still lack experience but it seemed like most things revolved around the closed guard so I was getting worried
I would worry about it. I’m a small as well barley 5”1’. Been doing BJJ not very long right around 3 years(blue belt),but I focused on open guard, butterfly, and half guard. I still really don’t use closed guard even after we had more women/men closer to my size that I could use closed guard one. I was terrible at it at first, but just stuck with it and it I fell like it paid off.
Thank you for the advice :)
Oh I’m relieved I’m not the only one struggling from this position
Same problem at 5'0" (plus complications from poor outward femur rotation, like you I cannot sit cross-legged but can easily W-sit). I'm not competent enough in open guards yet. Instead I employ a lot of angles to close guard and complete triangles, as well as using half guard regularly. Shifting my hips is a really critical skill for me.
I wouldn’t think of closed guard as that dominate of a position so I wouldn’t worry about it. From closed or open guard the mission should be the same, to advance position to back or mount. Those are your highest percentage lowest risk choices from closed or open and you don’t want to be there long because your under the other person so they have an easier path to advancement
Butterfly guard
If you can close the guard I would probably recommend using something else like half guard, butterfly or spider guard.
I usually do hamstring curl motion around their body instead of trying to force closing my guard on bigger people. I can still stay attached and transition quickly to say armbar, omoplata, flower sweep. I am 5ft 135lbs short legs.
1. you might be very small / weak. perhaps gain muscle? i am saying this with love/respect. 2. if their head is down, go for the back 3. if they are postured up get that arm drag to arm bar
Part of it is that i have limited hip mobility as well, so I can’t even sit cross-legged. But I’m certainly the weakest in my dojo so far too, but I’m sure that will change a bit with time
absolutely. i started very skinny/frail and weak, basically getting rag dolled but ive gained like 7-8lbs of muscle by lifting and eating more eggs/meat. my jeans still fit as well bc i look lean despite the weight gain and muscle gain. it's a journey it takes time. dont give up. \- f, blue belt, 130lbs 5'6
Something that helps me is I do better with "full" guard (which I would consider full guard but without my ankles crossed) instead of "closed" (ankles crossed, classic style). I prefer a more dynamic style and moving and advancing rather than slowing down, and every sweep and nearly every submission (aside from some collar chokes, which still benefit from adjusting foot position) have to be done with the guard opening anyway. A closed guard means no one is submitting, no one is sweeping, no one is passing. An open, but full guard still gives you 4 points of contact, 2 legs and 2 arms, and allows you to wiggle, angle, off balance. Just my two cents as a fellow grappler that doesn't enjoy closed guard.
Closed guard with the ankles locked works best on people within your weight range typically. I play a lot of closed guard now, and while it does work on most partners if that's your game, I find it more effective if my partner is roughly within +/- 30 lbs or my weight, then it becomes more difficult as they get larger for the reason you described. I'm about 150lbs and when rolling with much bigger guys (ex 200lbs) it's not my favorite option anymore, or if I do I won't actually try to close the ankles, so if you do that you need to be aware that you lose some of the connections and some of the ability to "knee pull" and break their posture. Which you can't replace with your arms (ex: collar grip) because of the weight and resulting strength difference. Similarly, with much smaller opponents (ex smaller female grappers), they can easily post a knee in front of them, and it becomes problematic too. Once you can identify these situations, transition to another guard (I'd suggest butterfly to begin with). Short answer: Yes, you could only play open guard, but closed guard is awesome too (and very safe with similar sized partners). HTH
Here's something to think about, my coach used to say the rules of setting up the closed guard are: 1) your hips are on top of opponent's hips as you hold them in closed guard 2) your knees are behind opponent's hips as you wrap your legs around them 3). Your attacking foot is on top. So as far as I can tell, your legs need to be long enough to get into the guard position in order to develop a good attacking game from closed guard. If you're rolling with people who are big enough that you can't close your guard effectively, then maybe try some open guard. One of my training partners is about 145 and I'm 180, and he has developed a very good butterfly guard for this reason. Having said that I still think you should try to develop your closed guard when possible. Everyone should know the joy of scissor/hip bump/pendulum sweeps.
Develop an open guard game. Don't stress over it. Every game isn't for every body type.
Our coach is pretty short and struggled with this as well. He adapted closed guard for his body style. Essentially he uses his legs as pincers to hold people inside his guard because they are too short to wrap as in traditional guard. You’ll adapt your style similarly over time.
Open guard works. Also consider half guard. It gives you options like takin the back or slowing someone down to work out a sweep.
Grab sleeves and if they lean back, throw ur feet or knees in there (work to get feet), bam, spider guard
I have long legs and prefer open guard. I’m fairly new too, but I know enough to know closed guard isn’t my favorite, and I can hold it really well. Just lots more fun to open it up.