jitseasy https://www.jitseasy.com The Best Jiu-Jitsu Search Engine in the World Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:27:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 https://www.jitseasy.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-jits-logo-100x100.png jitseasy https://www.jitseasy.com 32 32 143216789 Is Half Guard a Bad Position You Should Avoid in BJJ? https://www.jitseasy.com/is-half-guard-a-bad-position-you-should-avoid-in-bjj/ Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:27:33 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/is-half-guard-a-bad-position-you-should-avoid-in-bjj/ Today, we have a question from a BJJ student of mine. He sent me a video from Henry Atkins, who said Half Guard is not a good position and spoke negatively about it overall. So in the video I talk about my ideas regarding half guard. But I also share the idea that I believe […]

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Today, we have a question from a BJJ student of mine.

He sent me a video from Henry Atkins, who said Half Guard is not a good position and spoke negatively about it overall.

So in the video I talk about my ideas regarding half guard. But I also share the idea that I believe you should always beware of people’s BJJ commandments. As I share in the video I’ve been told all sorts of things regarding BJJ that proved not be true, or at least not true for everyone.

Hope you enjoyed the video.

Thanks for watching!

– Chewy
—————–
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]]> 254487 8 Reasons Why Your BJJ Guard Retention Sucks (And How to Fix It) https://www.jitseasy.com/8-reasons-why-your-bjj-guard-retention-sucks-and-how-to-fix-it/ Fri, 29 Mar 2024 16:35:09 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/8-reasons-why-your-bjj-guard-retention-sucks-and-how-to-fix-it/ Today’s video is going to be a little bit longer, but it’ll be worth it if you’re struggling with your Guard Retention. A message came in from a viewer named Collin who says his guard retention sucks, it gets shredded, and he wants some tips to get better at this area of his BJJ. With […]

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Today’s video is going to be a little bit longer, but it’ll be worth it if you’re struggling with your Guard Retention.

A message came in from a viewer named Collin who says his guard retention sucks, it gets shredded, and he wants some tips to get better at this area of his BJJ.

With that being said, as a guy who came to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Wrestling, I’ll give you a couple reason my guard retention sucked at first and then give you some of the solutions I’ve found in my Jiu-Jitsu journey.

I’ll give you 8 different tips in this video, in no order of importance.

Hopefully, if you’re struggling with your guard retention like Collin, then you found this video helpful.

Thanks for watching.

– Chewy
—————–
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]]> 243405 How To Use Reverse Half Guard for Subs and Guard Passing in BJJ https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-use-reverse-half-guard-for-subs-and-guard-passing-in-bjj/ Mon, 15 May 2023 19:00:12 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-use-reverse-half-guard-for-subs-and-guard-passing-in-bjj/ Got a question about how to play Reverse Half Guard (top), so today’s video will show you how and why I use the position in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. These ideas are fairly basic and fundamental BJJ. So, if you’re a white belt, no worries, this should be pretty easy to understand. That said, I’ve used these […]

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Got a question about how to play Reverse Half Guard (top), so today’s video will show you how and why I use the position in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

These ideas are fairly basic and fundamental BJJ. So, if you’re a white belt, no worries, this should be pretty easy to understand. That said, I’ve used these techniques against some super tough Black Belts in competition and training.

When showing the Reverse Half Guard position I’ll show the arm in & arm out variations since they’re similar but slightly different.

Also on a side note, this is a position that high school & college wrestlers coming into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu seem to adept to very quickly. So, if you wrestled, maybe this is good position for you to try.

I hope a couple of these ideas are useful ones that you can chew on!
-Chewy
—————–
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]]> 238032 How to NOT Get Flattened, Cross-faced and Smashed in Half Guard https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-not-get-flattened-cross-faced-and-smashed-in-half-guard/ Wed, 11 May 2022 17:42:42 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-not-get-flattened-cross-faced-and-smashed-in-half-guard/ If you’re playing half guard and your opponent gets chest to chest on you, especially if he also gets a crossface and an underhook, then you’re in a LOT of trouble. He’s going to put a TON of pressure on you and make your life absolutely miserable. In this section from the BJJ for Old […]

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If you’re playing half guard and your opponent gets chest to chest on you, especially if he also gets a crossface and an underhook, then you’re in a LOT of trouble. He’s going to put a TON of pressure on you and make your life absolutely miserable. In this section from the BJJ for Old F***s instructional (https://www.grapplearts.com/oldguard) Rob Biernacki shows you exactly how you can use a series of upper body frames including your hands, your elbows, your wrists, and even your torso itself to keep his weight off of you.

Framing like this gives you the space you need to move into an underhook and work towards his back, or bring your legs back into play to achieve a knee shield guard or some variation of an open guard.

If you found this useful then here are a couple more videos on Youtube that might be of some use as well…

BJJ for Old F***s , How to Keep Training Safely and Effectively After Age 40

Key Tips for Older Grapplers to Stay Effective in BJJ

Why Older Grapplers Should Play Seated Guard.

Good luck with your training!

Stephan Kesting
Grapplearts.com

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]]> 223087 How To Use Lockdown to Escape a Tight Half Guard Smasher in BJJ https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-use-lockdown-to-escape-a-tight-half-guard-smasher-in-bjj/ Fri, 25 Feb 2022 19:42:04 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-use-lockdown-to-escape-a-tight-half-guard-smasher-in-bjj/ If you’ve played Half Guard long enough then I’m sure you’ve experienced the situation where you get smashed by the person on top squeezing you. It happens to all of us. Well, in today’s BJJ technique video I’m going to show you how to escape a tight half guard position and get unstuck by using […]

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If you’ve played Half Guard long enough then I’m sure you’ve experienced the situation where you get smashed by the person on top squeezing you. It happens to all of us.

Well, in today’s BJJ technique video I’m going to show you how to escape a tight half guard position and get unstuck by using the Lockdown position (most commonly known from 10th Planet) to get the person off balance.

I’m also sharing this position in part because I know a lot of beginners in BJJ (White and Blue Belts) find themselves in this position naturally and don’t know how to use it.

Hopefully the off-balancing technique is useful to you and helps you be more effective from Half Guard with your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

Thanks for watching the video.
-Chewy

P.S if you’re into lockdown or 10th Planet stuff check out my buddy BMac’s channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/brandonmcninja
—————–
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]]> 216304 7 BJJ Half Guard Sweep Drills & Techniques https://www.jitseasy.com/7-bjj-half-guard-sweep-drills-techniques/ Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:00:01 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/7-bjj-half-guard-sweep-drills-techniques/ Today’s video is a Half Guard sweeps drilling video. This is some of the things I’m working on with my classes and I figured I’d share them with you as well. In the video you’ll see 7 different Half Guard sweeps or techniques used. And the way we do it is after the sweep or […]

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Today’s video is a Half Guard sweeps drilling video. This is some of the things I’m working on with my classes and I figured I’d share them with you as well.

In the video you’ll see 7 different Half Guard sweeps or techniques used. And the way we do it is after the sweep or technique is used the other person will regain their half guard and then the sequence restarts. This keeps the action moving and keeps it more engaging for both people.

If you’re a Half Guard player or trying to get better at the position, I hope the sweeping drills help.
-Chewy
—————–
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If you’d ever like to train with the team and I. Check out my gym Derby City MMA in Louisville,KY.

JHACXJ3B3KQHTBDL

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]]> 231458 Half Guard Sweep & Back Take Against Switch Base (No Gi BJJ) https://www.jitseasy.com/half-guard-sweep-back-take-against-switch-base-no-gi-bjj/ Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:17:23 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/half-guard-sweep-back-take-against-switch-base-no-gi-bjj/ Here are 2 great options to deal with the top Half Guard Switch Base (when your opponent is facing your legs). You can either sweep him or take his back, depending on how he distributes his body weight. Getting your butterfly hook is gonna be crucial to execute both techniques, the back take and the […]

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Here are 2 great options to deal with the top Half Guard Switch Base (when your opponent is facing your legs). You can either sweep him or take his back, depending on how he distributes his body weight.
Getting your butterfly hook is gonna be crucial to execute both techniques, the back take and the half guard sweep.

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]]> 214058 3 Ways to Recover from Smashed Half Guard when Your Opponent Has the Crossface and Underhook https://www.jitseasy.com/3-ways-to-recover-from-smashed-half-guard-when-your-opponent-has-the-crossface-and-underhook/ Wed, 20 Nov 2019 21:55:32 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/3-ways-to-recover-from-smashed-half-guard-when-your-opponent-has-the-crossface-and-underhook/ Getting smashed in half guard when your opponent has the cross face and underhook sucks! Here are 3 of my favorite responses to this situation, including 1) the Kamikaze Sweep, 2) the Butterfly Lift, and 3) the Twist Sweep. Each of these techniques has an aggressive option ending in a sweep where you get to […]

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Getting smashed in half guard when your opponent has the cross face and underhook sucks! Here are 3 of my favorite responses to this situation, including 1) the Kamikaze Sweep, 2) the Butterfly Lift, and 3) the Twist Sweep.

Each of these techniques has an aggressive option ending in a sweep where you get to the top, and a less aggressive option where you use the threat of the sweep to re-establish a good guard position. You can also chain these threats together making it extremely difficult for your opponent to hold you down.

Check out my rants and interviews on The Strenuous Life Podcast at the following links:

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And, most importantly, good luck with your training!

Stephan

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]]> 216983 How To Stop Getting Smashed in Half Guard Bottom https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-stop-getting-smashed-in-half-guard-bottom/ Wed, 30 Oct 2019 21:24:32 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/how-to-stop-getting-smashed-in-half-guard-bottom/ Half Guard is one of my favorite Brazilian Jiujitsu positions to play from on the bottom. I love the ability to get sweeps even against bigger stronger opponents. But one of the most frustrating problems with Half Guard (at least early on) is getting flattened out on your back when someone is passing. When you’re […]

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Half Guard is one of my favorite Brazilian Jiujitsu positions to play from on the bottom. I love the ability to get sweeps even against bigger stronger opponents. But one of the most frustrating problems with Half Guard (at least early on) is getting flattened out on your back when someone is passing.

When you’re flat on your back you Half Guard is useless and is more of an offensive position for the BJJ practitioner on top.

In this video I’ll show some basic grip fighting options that will prevent your Half Guard from being wrecked in BJJ. Along with the grips I’ll also show you how to go with the power to escape a strong squeeze on top when you’re flat in Half Guard.

If you’re struggling with Half Guard in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu because you get stuck flat on your back then I hope this video is useful to you!

Thanks for watching the video!
-Chewy

—————–
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]]> 173108 Knee Shield to Knee Bar Entry (Quick Tutorial) https://www.jitseasy.com/knee-shield-to-knee-bar-entry-quick-tutorial/ Thu, 23 May 2019 11:42:55 +0000 https://www.jitseasy.com/knee-shield-to-knee-bar-entry-quick-tutorial/ Knee Shield to Knee Bar Entry (Quick Tutorial) Please use the code “JITSEASY10” for all your DVD & Digital Download orders at Digitsu bit.ly/2S9kMg4 to get 10% off (and help my channel out)! Thanks for the support ? Join our Private Facebook Group

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Knee Shield to Knee Bar Entry (Quick Tutorial)

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