With all the new “fancy” guards out there, a lot of enthusiastic jiu-jitsu athletes who are eager to try out the next big thing might start to ignore the tried-and-true techniques you can execute from the more standard guards you learn as a white belt.
According to ADCC veteran Lachlan Giles, that’s a huge mistake, and to illustrate his point, he put together a compilation of some of the best half-guard underhook sweeps he’s executed in competition. “In my opinion half guard is the first guard you should get proficient at when learning jiu-jitsu,” he said in a post that accompanied the video. “Mainly because its usually the first guard you end up in when you recover from a bad position. Although it may be considered old school, it’s very (shockingly) effective.”
Whether you’re already a half-guard connoisseur or you haven’t yet opened your eyes to how effective this position can be, check out the video below and get inspired:
