I was talking to a friend of mine at the gym about the inverted guard, aka the upside down guard, and how some guys use it in jujitsu to stuff guard pass attempts.  It works more or less like this : from regular closed guard, a guy breaks the connection between your legs (unlocks your ankles) and starts to pass to one side, controlling a leg. If he’s passing to the right side, you dive into him and roll to your right and get upside down, making an new connection with your legs.  Then, you can pull off a few forms of triangle chokes via inverted guard.

Anyway, I was wondering about the validity of inverted guard in MMA.  On one hand, punching someone’s face from this position seems devastating.  On the other hand, the inverted guard is a legitimate branch of the jujitsu tree and perhaps can still be used effectively. (You can see MMA fighter Nick Diaz move in and out of the inverted guard in the fight video above).

In a way, I see the rules of the MMA match playing a big part. Is the guy on bottom allowed to up-kick a downed opponent? Is the guy on top allowed kicks to a downed opponent? What about knees to a downed opponent?

The thing is, I can’t fully recall a fight where a guy has utilized the upside-down guard in MMA.  You see it in flashes, when guys drop and roll for knee-bars, roll out to escape the turtle position, etc.  If you can remember a fight where the inverted guard was used (or abused),  please let me know!

Here are a few matches that showcase the inverted guard, and again,  you tell me what you think.

“Cyborg” vs Bill Cooper (thanks Eric!)
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Ryan Hall at NAGA
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Rolleta Vs Wallid
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JR Santos VS Alvin Ramierez
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Margarida vs Pe de Pano
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Cobrinha Vs Ryan Hall
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Auckland BJJ Open: Purple Belt Semi-finals
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Nick Diaz inverted guard kneebar
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30 minutes is quite a long time (for web surfers anyway), so I’ve listed the techniques in the video below. The video has nice technique recaps, so it’s easy to navigate to any distinct part of the video.

1. Omoplata to foot lock.
2. Omoplata attempt, transition to back control, and finish via armbar from the back.
3. Armbar finish when opponent is resisting. This is a really slick move; he switches the arm he attacks.
4. Standard Kimura arm lock.
5. Sweep from blocked kimura.  Look how he bases strongly and really pushes off that back leg.
6. Kimura attempt to back control, finishing with a rear naked choke.
7. Open guard ground and pound defense, up-kicking into a triangle.
8. Closed guard ground and pound defense, transition to a belly down armbar.
9. Half guard G&P defense, sweep into side control, finish via headlock.
10. Attacking within the G&P, then defending the calf crusher.
11. Sprawl counter to a low single-leg take down, finish via a gator roll/anaconda choke.

I’ve seen Big Nog use almost all of these moves in MMA fights.  Watch one of his highlight vids and you probably can check off more than half of the above list.  (There is even an amusing compelation named after the anaconda choke he uses).

If enjoyed that kind of material, I hear that Big Nog’s book, “Mastering Mixed Marital Arts: The Guard” is excellent.  After reading the amazon reviews, I’m saving my extra pennies to buy it.

The foot/ankle lock

This is a great submission to try when you’re attempting to break your opponents guard.

Now watch a slightly different variation, from standing position. This video is of Jean-Jacques Machado at ADCC (the toughest no-gi submission tournament in the world) slapping an ankle lock on his opponent within the first few seconds of the match. JJ Machado is awesome!

Sambo Leg Manipulation

The position in this video is a little bit different than the guard, but you can wind up there in several ways. You could have just gone from single/double leg takedown and had difficulty in going to side control or may have just thwarted a sweep attempt from your opponent. You may have also just transitioned into the leg lock position if the guard you’re in is open or loose.

Bruce Foster goes through a bunch of different submissions in a short time – so watch out. Notice how his hips are swiveled all the way to the side. If you aren’t sideways, on hip on the floor the submissions won’t work well, as his leg isn’t trapped very well.

A couple of tips:

• Remember – when locking in the submission, squeeze your knees together.
• Get those hips sideways.
• Get the other leg out of the way – you don’t want it interfering, be careful not to overextend it. At very least, your overextended leg will keep you from getting sideways. Worse yet, your opponent may grab your leg and try something.
• Use your radial bone (thumb-side forearm bone) to dig into his tissue.
• Get your radial bone under his Achilles tendon, close to his foot. Don’t choke up onto the leg – you have the most leverage and damage dealing potential at the end of his leg.

1. Striking the face: This often gets the opponent to unlock the ankles either to free up the legs to go for arm submissions/defense or the guard pops open just because he is distracted by the pain. From here, the guard is open and the double underpass, knee through thigh lock-down, etc, become available.
2. Bicep control/Stack attack: Guard escapee holds down biceps as the first step, and from there he can pop up, weight forward stacking the opponent in the guard. The guard is broken by simply shaking his legs to the ground and pushing (simple shake) and executing a knee through or throw the legs to the side standing pass. If the guard remains tight, he can crab walk over the opponent or flip him on his front by to stepping over to one side using knee-lock pressure.
3. Wedging and Grinding: After posturing up, escapee wedges out with one knee behind him – stretching out opponents legs, and grinds down on a leg with an elbow.

Below are several of the more common MMA guard passes, with videos and written tips on how to pull them off.

The knee through / Thigh lockdown Pass

The cool thing about this pass is that is so versitile. You can thread your knee through either side without too much modification. You can pass this way from wedging (vid 1) or via a guard stack (vid 2). One key is to keep your shin on his thigh, pressing it down hard. Make sure your knee is on the ground so the leg can’t escape up, and your foot is on the ground below trapping his leg in the crook of the ankle, keeping the leg from going down. As an added benefit, this will cause your opponent pain. If you don’t control that leg until you’re fully free, expect to be sucked back into half-guard.

Another key to remember is to grip the head and arm tightly and not leg go until both legs are free and clear. Weighting your opponent down will help assure you go into side control without a scramble.

Knee through from stack attack

Knee through via wedge

The under pass

The under pass is a MMA staple. You can do it double or single legged – my proffered is the double, as the single leg under pass works a lot better with a gi.

Stack attack: Crab Walk

Although not as common, there are a couple more attacks after stacking. After stacking an opponent in his guard, you can walk right over him and go for a knee/ankle lock. Another option after stacking him is to hold his right leg under your right armpit and step over his body with your right leg – rolling him over sideways onto his front.

Putting it all together

Here’s a 6 minitue vid showing a lot of what we’ve gone over above, with some added advice on striking. This vid really helps you see the transition of the pass all put it all together, flowing well.