how does one develop a good guard?

[al000]

guard

do you guys work your legs out alot. what are some good workouts to do for stronger legs. and i just ordered the grapplers toolbox. is this a good tape. will it help my grappling game??

[Mr. Miyagi]

I would say that for the legs that the inner thighs are the best thing to work out to help your guard. There is a machine that you sit on and have your legs spread out that is good for this. You put on a good amount of weight and bring your legs together and out again. This excercise has to be done on this machine, I think, I don't know of any other way to hit this muscle group. Most people probably have strong enough calfs, hamstrings, and thighs in the first place. Any other thoughts?

[Bahala Na]

Someone that helped me more than anyone else with my guard was Jean-Jacques Machado. I think anyone who's wrestled with him would agree he's got one of the best guards, open or closed, in the world. See if you can find him at a seminar, or go out and see him in LA.
Mike

[Lacrymosa]

Well, guy,

Having short legs, I had a difficult time with the guard as well. Even now, the closed guard isn't something that I can keep very well. I prefer an open guard, allowing my legs to weave in and out of pass attempts.

What I would recommend:

1. Learn and master the "scissor" sweep from a kneeling guard. Why? I've found that my shorter legs slip easier into position when I try this sweep. For some reason, I have a slight edge on other "long-legged" newbies in my guard because of this.

2. Learn and go for armbars and kimuras from the guard right away....rather than triangles. For a stumpy kind of guy, the triangle is a bitch to learn. I STILL have yet to tap someone with it in a legitimate sparring session. I'm not totally abandoning the technique, but sometimes you have to realize that some moves are better suited for certain body types.

Well, that's all I can pretty much contribute. We short guys have to stick together, but just keep working at it. For all practical purposes, I have stumps for legs. Nevertheless I do, however, noticed that occasionally, I can give a high blue or a purp a hard time in my guard.