Half Guard
Controlling one of opponent's legs. Named from either side, following the same top/bottom naming pattern as Quarter Guard/Quarter Mount and Three-Quarter Guard/Three-Quarter Mount: the bottom player is described as being in "Half Guard," while the top player controlling from the same position is described as being in "Half Mount" (per Wikipedia's Half Guard article). Anchors the broader progression as a pass advances: Half Guard → Quarter Guard/Quarter Mount → Three-Quarter Guard/Three-Quarter Mount → Mount.
Alternative Names
- BJJ: Half Guard, Half Mount
Techniques (17)
Ashi Garami
Ashi Garami is a leg entanglement technique in Judo that targets the knee joint by entangling the o…
View DetailsBackstep Pass
A modern guard pass built specifically to defeat half-guard-family defenses (including Quarter Guar…
View DetailsBaseball Bat Choke
Named for the grip resembling a baseball bat. Both hands grip the same side of the collar with thum…
View DetailsCanto Choke
A gi choke, named for Brazilian judoka and BJJ black belt Flavio Canto, distinguished by threading …
View DetailsDagestani Handcuff
A dominant control technique popularized by Dagestani wrestlers, particularly Khabib Nurmagomedov, …
View DetailsD'Arce Choke
A no-gi arm-triangle blood choke. The choking arm threads under the opponent's near arm, across the…
View DetailsDeep Half Guard
A variation of half guard where you position yourself underneath your opponent's center of gravity
View DetailsHip Switch Half Guard Pass
A half guard pass built on the wrestling sit-through movement, so named because of the complete pos…
View DetailsJohn Wayne Sweep
The John Wayne is a half-guard sweep where the bottom player traps one of the opponent's legs (typi…
View DetailsKimura
A fundamental shoulder lock submission that targets the shoulder joint through rotational pressure …
View DetailsKnee Cut Pass
A pressure pass where the passer establishes an underhook or collar grip to control the opponent's …
View DetailsLong Step Pass
A pass from half guard where the passer takes a long step with their trapped leg
View DetailsCommon Transitions
From here, you can go to
- Knee-on-Belly suggested Gi & No-Gi
- North South suggested Top Top Gi & No-Gi
- Open Guard suggested Top Top Gi & No-Gi
- Side Control suggested Gi & No-Gi
- Turtle suggested Gi & No-Gi
You can arrive here from
- Closed Guard suggested Gi & No-Gi
- Crucifix suggested Gi & No-Gi
- Scramble suggested Gi & No-Gi
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