Deep Half Guard from Half Guard

Deep Half Guard from Half Guard is a transition between related positions built around a handful of repeatable controls. The bottom player is in half butterfly with the opponent posturing forward and pressuring down through the chest. Another common starting shape: on top with one leg captured between the bottom player's legs and the bottom player burrowed under the hips in deep half guard with their head on the far side. The ideas that hold it together are head must travel to the far side of the trapped leg, both arms hug the thigh to deny the opponent's posts, and underhook supremacy.

The deep half guard chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Use the butterfly hook to bump the opponent forward and create a tunnel under the hip. Drive the inside shoulder under the opponent's far thigh and swim the far arm around to hug the leg. Settle the head on the far side of the trapped leg and bring the knees in tight. Diving the near hand under the bottom player's exposed armpit to take a tight underhook before they can hide the arm. Pressuring the underhooked shoulder downward to flatten the bottom player and prevent them from coming up to the knees. Driving forward weight slightly to make any sweep entry feel uphill, eliminating their momentum. Using the underhook as a steering wheel: if they try to come up, ride the shoulder down and threaten back exposure. Bring the opponent's hips up to head level, not down at the legs. The bottom player has slid under the opponent's hips into deep half guard, hugging the far thigh with both arms while their head is on the far side of the opponent's leg.

Later in the deep half guard, preventing the come-up, deep half defense, and upper body control is what enables passing — deep half removes the angle for it tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Leaving the head on the near side of the leg, which exposes back takes. Failing to clamp the trapped knee with the top knee, letting the opponent free the leg. Sitting back and basing instead of attacking the underhook, which lets the bottom player frame and elevate. Taking a shallow underhook on the wrist or sleeve that the opponent can pull free. The high-percentage version of deep half guard from half guard is the one you can still chain when the next position is contested.