Chris Haueter: Closed Guard, Less Grips, More Hips

Chris Haueter (@chrishaueter96), Dirty Dozen 6th degree black belt, maps an old school closed guard: own the hips, control hands and head, then triangle, armbar, back take, cross collar choke and kimura. From the video: https://youtu.be/EDnr6NYImck

Flow outline

  1. Closed Guard Definition

    • When the opponent's hips are inside your knees, whether your ankles are crossed or not, he is in a closed guard.
    • From Chris Haueter (@chrishaueter96), Dirty Dozen 6th degree black belt and head coach at Combat Base, in the video "BJJ Fundamentals: The Closed Guard, Less Grips, More Hips."
    • Checkpoint: his hips inside your knees means closed guard
    • Checkpoint: hips out of your knees means open guard

  2. Hip Core Control

    • The key to closed guard is having a core and owning the opponent's hips with your hips, not your hands.
    • Anchor: you have to have a core
    • Hip Line: you have to move his body and own his hips
    • Mistake: being all hands means you have no base

  3. Grab And Rock

    • First grab your opponent, lock your legs, and rock them around to remind yourself to use your hips.
    • Entry: grab your opponent and lock your legs
    • Mistake: as a primate you get into your hands and grips and forget your hips

  4. Control Hands And Head

    • Your legs control his hips while your grips control his hands and head so he cannot punch or headbutt you.
    • The idea In posture they can hit you and you can't hit them, so in the pure art you watch their hands and head at all times.
    • Checkpoint: legs control his hips, grips control his hands and head
    • Reaction: if he wants a headbutt you can feel it coming and redirect his head
    • Anchor: hold his hands and redirect his body while moving out of the way

  5. Old School Attacks

    • From closed guard the classic old-school attacks are the triangle, armbar, and arm over the back to take the back.
    • Checkpoint: his hips are still in your knees for the triangle
    • Entry: armbar
    • Entry: arm over the back to the back, pop around

  6. Cross Collar Choke

    • Grab the hands, rock them, control the head, enter the collar grip, and finish the choke by turning your body.
    • Grip: grab the lapel with a cross grip and reach up deep
    • Pressure: elbow goes into his chest as you use your legs
    • Finish: you choke with your legs and movement, not by squeezing your arms
    • Hip Line: turn your body and shift to finish the choke
    • Grip: put your other hand in to hold the head so they can't headbutt
    • Finish: lift them off their base and spin a little as you lock it in
    • Avoid Squeezing with your arms. If you just squeeze, you forgot your hips and legs.

  7. Shift Over The Arm

    • Shift your body over his arm so you can feel the punch coming and catch it as you enter the choke.
    • Checkpoint: when you shift you stay over his arm
    • Reaction: even with eyes closed you can feel the punch
    • Entry: reach across while controlling his arms and using your legs

  8. Move Out Of Strikes

    • If he has great posture, move out of the way of the strikes while keeping him between your legs.
    • Checkpoint: don't leave them up in posture, they win the striking battle there
    • Hip Line: shift your legs and move out of the way of the strikes
    • Anchor: maintain him in between your legs and know where his hands and head are

  9. Nutcracker

    • When his head comes down, do the nutcracker.

  10. Kimura And Americana

    • As they punch, lift the chin and move them over your body. That makes them post, and the kimura and Americana come from that post.
    • Reaction: lift the chin and move them over your body as they punch, which makes them post
    • Entry: the kimura and Americana evolved from that post

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