Octopus Guard
The octopus guard is a bottom position where you sit up beside the top player and reach an arm over their back instead of keeping them in front of you. From there, the passer's forward pressure feeds you toward their back rather than flattening you. Eduardo Telles popularized it, and Craig Jones rebuilt it for modern no-gi as Octopus Guard 2.0.
Why it works
Most guards fight to keep the passer square in front of you. The octopus guard gives up that fight: you come up to the passer's side, wrap an arm over the back, and stay attached. Each thing they do to escape, flattening you, squaring up, or circling away, opens the back or a sweep, so it is learned as a set of reactions rather than a position to hold.
Getting there
The usual ways in are from half guard when the top player's head drops low, from losing the underhook battle, or from turtle when you can sit out to their side. Once the arm is over the back, the main branches are taking the back, sweeping to come up on top, and re-guarding when the passer backs out.
Octopus Guard 2.0
Craig Jones' Octopus Guard 2.0 frames the position as a decision tree: read what the passer does with their base, their hips, and their direction, then follow that branch. That structure is why it maps cleanly into a flowchart, with one node per reaction.
Community flows for Octopus Guard
- Octopus Guard 2.0 — From Craig Jones' Octopus Guard 2.0. A no-gi system for handling standing pressure passers: get a deep reverse underhook (attach), bridge hips to off-balance…
- How Lachlan Caught Marcelo with the Lachy Lock — This flow chart breaks down the key moments of how Lachlan Giles defeated Marcelo Garcia at ONE Fight Night 38. Marcelo brought his signature forward-pressure…
- Armbars: Deep Dive Study Guide — Armbars are the second most common submission in high-level competition. The main idea: closed guard and mount are the same position flipped. The chart covers…
- Open Guard Retention with Elbow Frames — A system for maintaining open guard by using elbow frames and leg connections to prevent the opponent from passing around the legs.
- Bitner Guard Chaining — .
- Complete Butterfly Guard: Full System Map — Navigate the four-volume system. One cover posture, branching by what the opponent does: under-hook (Vol 1), denied arms (Vol 2), no-gi and stallers (Vol 3)…
- Complete Butterfly Guard, Vol 3: No-Gi & the Abu Dhabi Sweep — How Marcelo closes distance when the opponent refuses to engage: a grip hierarchy down to a low hip grab, the push-pattern disruption for stallers, and the…
- Complete Butterfly Guard, Vol 2: When They Deny the Under-Hook — Marcelo's jab-mentality answers when the under-hook isn't available: collar-tie and triceps cups as one-beat sweeps, the straight armbar when they post to…
- Complete Butterfly Guard, Vol 1: Fundamentals & the Classic Sweep — Marcelo's three cover rules (hands before feet, shoulder pointed, elbows tucked) and the sweep every other attack in the series branches from: under-hook to…
- Modern Back Attack System, Vol 3: Entries from Everywhere Else — Standing, 50-50, K-guard, half guard, deep half. Four families of entries that all converge on one structure: the crab ride, where the back exposes once you've…
- K-Guard from Closed Guard: Entries and Upper Body Submissions — A system for entering K-Guard from closed guard, establishing control, and transitioning to triangles, armbars, and leg entries based on opponent reactions.
- Half Guard Kimura Attack System — using kimura attacks from bottom half guard when opponents defend leg locks
Frequently asked questions
What is the octopus guard in BJJ?
A bottom position where you sit up beside your opponent and wrap an arm over their back instead of keeping them in front of you. It turns their passing pressure into back takes and sweeps.
Who created the octopus guard?
Eduardo Telles is credited with popularizing it. Craig Jones later rebuilt it for no-gi in his Octopus Guard 2.0 instructional.
Does the octopus guard work in no-gi?
Yes. It depends on an arm over the back and body position rather than gi grips, so it works with or without the gi, and Octopus Guard 2.0 is built around no-gi.
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