The Closed Guard
The closed guard is where jiu-jitsu turns being on the bottom into an advantage. Wrap your legs around your opponent, break their posture, and suddenly you are the one attacking. It is the foundational guard, and in the Rickson lineage it is about control and connection, not just holding on. Here is how to dominate from your back.
Where it leads: The closed guard is the launch pad for the triangle, the armbar, and taking the back — the roads to the most common finishes in the sport.
What is the closed guard?
The closed guard is a bottom position where you wrap your legs around your opponent's waist and cross your ankles behind their back, controlling their hips. Far from being defensive, it is a position of control: you can break their posture, manage their arms, and threaten sweeps and submissions while they can do almost nothing back.
How to control and attack from closed guard
- Break their posture. A posturing opponent passes; pull them down and forward so their head drops.
- Control an arm and the collar/head. Take away their base and their ability to posture back up.
- Create angles. Attacks come from cutting an angle off-center, not from flat on your back.
- Threaten two things at once. The triangle, armbar, and back-take all feed each other — when they defend one, take the next.
▶ “The Secret To Having A DOMINANT Closed Guard” — Henry Akins' Hidden Jiu-Jitsu (Rickson Gracie black belt).
Common mistakes
- Lying flat and letting them posture up — the first step to getting your guard passed.
- No arm or head control, so they stand and open you up at will.
- Holding without attacking. The closed guard is offense; if you are just squeezing your legs, you are waiting to lose it.
Frequently asked questions
What is closed guard in BJJ?
A bottom position where you wrap your legs around your opponent's waist and lock your ankles behind their back, controlling their hips and setting up sweeps and submissions.
How do you attack from closed guard?
Break their posture, control an arm and their head, cut an angle, and chain threats — the triangle, armbar, and back-take all set each other up.
How do you keep your guard from being passed?
Keep their posture broken and control their arms and hips. A passer needs posture and space; take both away and the pass never starts.
See it on The BJJ Project
Our primary video source for the encyclopedia is The BJJ Project — the channel of Rickson-lineage black belt Chris “Bones” Burns, a friend of the show. Here is the closed-guard attacking game — five submissions, the routes to the armbar, and the guillotine:
▶ “5 Submissions from Closed Guard” — Chris “Bones” Burns · The BJJ Project.
▶ “Routes to the Armbar from Closed Guard” — Chris “Bones” Burns · The BJJ Project.
▶ “How to Do a Guillotine from Closed Guard Correctly” — The BJJ Project.
Learn from the source: the Rickson lineage
This control-first approach to the guard comes from the Rickson-Gracie school of “invisible jiu-jitsu.” Go even deeper with Chris “Bones” Burns' The BJJ Project and Henry Akins' Hidden Jiu-Jitsu, and hear the philosophy on our podcast with Rickson-lineage black belts Scott Burr and James Driskill.
Part of the BJJ Encyclopedia. Videos are the property of their creators and are embedded from YouTube with credit — please support these instructors. Catch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify.