Using Lockdown – Opponent in Half Guard

In the early days of your Grappling & Ground Fight game, having an opponent in your half guard can be quite an overwhelming experience… especially if your training partner or opponent has a good ‘Ground and Pound’ game.

It can be very hard to control your opponent if you’re only able to use your upper body to get the job done.

That’s why it’s essential to train in a manner that incorporates both upper and lower body control simultaneously.

Of course, in the early days it can be hard to focus on both your upper and lower body at the same time but with enough practice and ensuring you use the principles we teach in our Wing Chun and JKD Systems (Economy of Motion, Directness of Action, Sensitivity and Control to name a few) it will make things much easier once the fight goes to the ground.

The idea is to use the principles learned in your stand up arts and wherever possible, directly apply them in your Grappling and Ground Fight training. That way you can maintain one fluid, undiluted mindset.

This week we show you how controlling both the upper and lower body of your opponent simultaneously whilst they are in your Half Guard can allow you to either maintain positional control or transition to a more dominant position in the fight.

Just making subtle changes to the way your try to control your opponent can make massive differences to the potential outcome of the fight.

Training hard is very important but what a lot of people fail to remember is that it’s also very important to train equally as smart!

Now, in the comments below I’d like to hear from you. What aspects of your Grappling and Ground Fight game do you struggle with the most? What positions do you feel the most vulnerable in and why?

Let me know below and I’ll answer you guys as soon as I can.

Take it easy folks.

Your friend in health and performance,