Evolution of the Half Guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Evolution of the Half Guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu there are many positions such as the mount, rear mount, side control, guard, and the half guard. The half guard is when the top person's leg is captured between the person's legs on bottom. The half guard game has changed dramatically since the first UFC in 1993 when Royce Gracie introduced the world to the infamous Gracie Family. In the mid 90's this position was a bit of a stale mate with both people trying not to loose position. The person on top was simply trying to escape the half guard and move to the mount or to side control position. The person on bottom was trying to keep the persons leg trapped in half guard or try to recover full guard. Full Guard is when the person on the bottom holds the person on top between his legs looking for a sweep or submission.
One person who has had the biggest impact on the half guard game and bjj world is Eddie Bravo and his 10th planet system. Part of Eddie Bravo's system is centered on a position called the "lockdown". The lockdown is a way to inter-lock the top person's leg between the bottom person's two legs. From the lock down position Eddie Bravo's two most popular moves are a reversal he calls old school and a submission/ sweep called the "Electric Chair".
Another person with a popular and effective system is Jeff Glover, Jeff Glover calls his style the "Deep half Guard" This style repositions the person on bottom with his head in the top fighters lap and his arms and legs securing the top fighters leg. The most popular reversal from this position is called the "Homer Simpson" it's named the "Homer Simpson" because of how the bottom person has to use his legs and run in a circle while on his back similar to Homer during a popular Simpson's episode.
Every Brazilian jiu-jitsu school now has their own half guard game for both top and bottom. Not only has this part of the jiu jitsu game evolved from a stale mate but the introduction of new sweeps and strategies has changed jiu-jitsu forever.