Half Guard (Top)

Question 1

[HALF GUARD - TOP]
[TRANSITION]
Use cross-face & lapel grip (from inside half guard) to transition into mount

Answer 1

1. From inside half guard, press your outer knee tight against your opponent’s hips while you use your opposite forearm to grab their opposite hip’s and press your body weight into them to trap their hips and prevent them from escaping.
2. Hand-fight (counter spin to get your hand under their framing hand) to get your free hand under their neck and grab under their opposite arm pit while dropping your shoulder into their neck/face to cross-face.
3. With your forearm that was trapping their opposite hips, free their lapel on the same side and pass it up under their armpit to your waiting hand. Get a tight grip to prevent them from reaching for the underhook.
4. Switch your base to put the hip of your untrapped leg on the ground.
5. Plant your trapped foot on the ground and push while simultaneously pushing down on their knee with your free hand until your knee pops out.
6. 90% of the time your opponent will reach down to try and push your knee back into half guard. Take this moment to thread your hand under their arm and ‘walk’ your hand up the mat until your shoulder hits their bicep. Then using your hips and shoulder, drive their arm above their head while climbing their body so you are crushing their face with your chest and trying to wrap your arms around theirs for control. Your leg in half guard should move upward as well until your knee hits the ground.
7. If your foot is still trapped in half guard then use your opposite foot to hook their hip and create tension to pull your foot free so you are in full mount. If they are resisting, press your chest harder into their face and try to smother them to force them to let your foot go.
8. Climb up their body until your knees are in their arm pits. Keep their arms controlled by ‘hugging’ them in yours and keep your shins squeezed tight to prevent them from escaping.

Question 2

[HALF GUARD - TOP]
[TRANSITION]
Use cross-face, lapel grip, and knee slicer (from inside half guard) to transition into side control

Answer 2

1. From inside half guard, press your outer knee tight against your opponent’s hips while you use your opposite forearm to grab their opposite hip and press your body weight into them to trap their hips and prevent them from escaping.
2. Hand-fight (counter spin to get your hand under their framing hand) to get your free hand under their neck and grab under their opposite arm pit while dropping your shoulder into their neck/face to cross-face.
3. With your forearm that was trapping their opposite hips, free their lapel on the same side and pass it up under their armpit to your waiting hand. Get a tight grip to prevent them from reaching for the underhook.
4. Plant your leg closest to your opponent on the floor, post your free hand on your opponent’s knee and press down with your hand while pulling your leg to come free. At this point your opponent will be aggressively defending and may get off their back or block your leg to prevent you from mounting them. In that case, abandon the plan to go to mount and instead switch the direction of your hips and go for a knee slicer instead to pass their half guard and get into side control.
5. Keep your cross face grip and keep HEAVY pressure on their face while you go for the knee slice. If they still have a tight grip on your leg, hook the top of your free foot over their bottom thigh to keep it against the ground and allow you to complete the knee slicer and slide your hips out to the floor. This should be very uncomfortable for your opponent because you will have heavy cross-face pressure while also opening their leg and applying heavy pressure on the inner thigh from your knee slice and this dual action will twist them apart in opposite directions.

Question 3

[HALF GUARD - TOP]
[SUBMISSION]
Knee slice to ‘bravo’ (?) choke using lapel (if opponent catches you in their half guard)

Answer 3

1. When attempting a knee slice to pass guard and your opponent shrimps away and catches you in half guard, pivot to press your knee into their belly to pin them to the ground while using your hand closest to their head and grab the back of their head/shoulder to prevent them from putting their back on the ground.
2. Once you have control, use your hand closest to their far hip to open their lapel and pass it under their arm pit to your waiting hand (only pass the tip of the lapel, no need to get a deep grip).
3. Twist your upper body (your head should face the same way your opponent is facing) and shoot your free hand behind their head to get a DEEP grip on their lapel. Make sure you get UNDER their arms so they can’t defend the choke later.
4. Once you have a deep grip on their lapel, drop your elbow into their chest to create the angle and press the blade of your forearm into the side of their neck.
5. With your free hand reach over your opponent’s head to grab their shoulder and hug it close, using it to create the other pincer of your choke. Press down with heavy pressure to force the tap. You do not need to even remove your leg from half guard, pressure from here should be enough.