4 Guard Survival Strategies For Small Players

There are a few uncomfortable realities in Jiu-Jitsu. Such as, Size does matter!

Smaller, lighter Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu students will immediately relate, having the uncomfortable and direct experience of being smashed under a bigger opponent. The game is simply different when you are the much lighter person in the roll, and your training partners outweigh you by 10 to 50 lbs!

That said, there are advantages that a lighter BJJ practitioner enjoys over their heavier, slower, and longer-limbed training partners. A smaller Jiu-Jitsu fighter most often enjoys a speed advantage. With shorter limbs, they can more easily find space to slip a hook in and start an escape, and many develop superior technique out of the necessity to survive.

If you observe the more skilled, lighter students in your GB Jiu-Jitsu school, there are a few guard survival strategies that they all seem to have in common, and they demonstrate the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu for smaller people.

We are focusing on the guard bottom position as that is where smaller students will most often end up in rolling. Sometimes, you don't have any choice but to play bottom against a heavier training partner. By spending so much time at the bottom, they become very effective at defending and winning from the guard.

The GB Online video catalogue features different guard series that show specific aspects of the bottom game that can help smaller BJJ students do like Grandmaster Helio Gracie famously said: "Survive..then win!"

Here are the 4 most important guard survival strategies for smaller, lighter Jiu-Jitsu students.

1- Great Hooks and defensive guard to stop the opponent from quickly throwing the legs aside and passing. You are going to need some strong hooks to be able to control your opponent from passing. The ideal guard game will also prevent the bigger opponent from applying their weight and smashing you.

The strong hooks of the Spider guard and Lasso Guard have helped countless smaller Bjj fighters in keeping the pressure off and controlling the guard passer. Check out these excellent video resources.

1A- Gracie Barra Lasso Guard

The Lasso Guard System with Professor Thiago Aso

1B- Gracie Barra Spider Guard
Keeping the Pressure Off: Spider & Lasso Guard by Professor Ana Laura Cordeiro

2- Using Leg Entanglements. Leg entanglements come in several different forms - Outside Hook guard or De la Riva guard, X-Guard, Single Leg X-Guard, 50-50 guard, and so on. These guards are great for slowing down standing guard passers. These leg entanglements are especially great for No-Gi, where the sleeve and collar grips have disappeared. 

The Single Leg X-Guard might be the most powerful tool for No-Gi guards for lighter players. This series, 12 Ways to Help You Win with Single Leg X-Guard by World BJJ Champion Professor Ana Laura Cordeiro, teaches you how to control and then attack much bigger opponents using and connecting the different leg entanglements.

3- Have a major submission threat from the bottom

Out of all of the possible submission attacks from the guard, there is one attack that is most successful for smaller students (who may have shorter legs and not as effective with triangles) - the Armbar from the guard. The female Jiu-Jitsu students who tap bigger training partners tend to be really skilled at the straight armlock from the guard.

When you develop a dangerous submission threat from the bottom, your opponents won't be so confident and fearless to take chances to try to pass your guard. 

The Armbar Arsenal by Fabiana Borges features multiple strategies and techniques for setting up and attacking the Armbar from the bottom.

4- Guard retention and replacement skills

Many Gracie Barra students ask about how to escape the dreaded stuck in the bottom-of-side control position. But if we rewind the tape, we see the problems started earlier, when their guard was passed. Preventing the pass in the first place and avoiding getting pinned under heavy side control is an overlooked guard skill. And learning how to recover your guard is one of the most important - if underrated - skills in Jiu-Jitsu.

Professor Ian Cardoso goes into depth on how lighter students can retain and recover the guard in the GB Online instructional series Your Guard Will Never Be The Same. Check it out.

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