Open guard – so many possibilities – don't restrict yourself: So many people start their open guard play with the idea that as the guard player, they have to stay on the back or buttocks until they get a sweep or submission. This is absolutely not the case. You will never maximize your potential in bottom position open guard until you get comfortable with the idea of getting up from your back or buttocks and coming up into reversals. This is even more so when training no gi. In live sparring against someone your own size and skill level it is very difficult to sweep cleanly or submit decisively. Most attempts fail. It is crucial that you be able to follow a failed sweep or submission with a reversal where you scrimmage up from bottom and come to your knees and/or feet and finish by taking your opponent down and taking top position. The same is true in situations where you have an opponent who stays out of range of your primary guard attacks. You need to threaten coming up from bottom into takedowns to cover distance and force the pace from bottom position. In response your opponent will have to stuff the takedowns – this gives you the perfect opportunity to gain the connection you need for more conventional guard sweeps and submissions. In this way you can create a dynamic and attacking open guard game that can threaten opponents at every range and where you control engagement from bottom position. Remember, just because you START on you back or buttocks doesn't mean you have to STAY there. Play with a wider array of body postures and you'll be rewarded with a wider array of attacks across a wider array of scenarios
