Jumping guard
Automatic translation via AI from authentic version at "In de guard springen."I wrote this article back in 2006, but it's just as relevant today as it was almost two decades ago. Also check out Mikey's recent Instagram about jumping on someone's butt (opens in a new tab).
You increasingly hear people debate whether it's better to jump into guard during a ground fight, or not. Last week the topic came up again on a Dutch mixed martial arts forum. So I figured I'd sort out my thoughts on it and share my opinion with you.
What is jumping into guard? Most people would say it's when one fighter jumps up and closes their legs around the opponent's torso. Here we're talking about closed guard specifically, the most dominant version of guard (assuming you're fighting someone in the same weight class). Plenty of fighters run different variations of this move. Some put a foot on the hip and grab an arm to sit down and pull the opponent in, moving to open guard. Others immediately shift around one leg to take half-guard or baby-hug guard. A lot depends on the rules, the clothing, and the size difference between the fighters. So really you could call it pulling, jumping, sitting, shifting, or running to guard.
Why do fighters jump into guard? Because they don't know any better? Because they can't fight standing? In theory that's possible, but usually it happens because they're confident their opponent won't be able to deal with their guard. So it's more of a strategic move than a lack of skill. Most often it's BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) practitioners doing this, since they tend to have a much better guard than fighters from other ground-fighting styles. I'd say guard is one of the reasons BJJ does so well on the ground. In short: if you're not focusing on guard in your training, you're not really doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
Is jumping into guard "a sign of cowardice"? Not necessarily. As long as it's within the rules of the fight, everyone has the right to do whatever it takes to win. The difference is that when you pull guard, everyone can see you're making a deliberate choice. There are plenty of other strategies we see all the time that nobody bats an eye at. Some fighters attack from side control and never move to mount. Does that mean they're avoiding mount? Some, once they get to half-mount or guard, shut the game down, stay defensive, pop back up and try to score standing. Others jump straight into an armbar, a triangle, or a leglock the second the fight starts. And somehow, nobody complains...
When I started competing, I always tried to stay on top. As a result I'd already be exhausted early in the fight, and getting taken down often left me in a bad spot right from the start. In short, it was rough. Only once I realized I was better at guard than most people did I start taking that position from the very beginning. I wasn't tired, and I found myself in a better position than my opponent right away. Now, a few years later, when winning isn't as important to me anymore, I'm starting to fight standing more again. Not because I think it's strategically better, and not because I think it'll make me a more "complete" fighter, but simply because I enjoy it.
And that's what matters most: getting enjoyment out of the fight. Let them talk, no ego, no problem...
