In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), developing effective habits during guard passing and guard retention can significantly elevate your game. In a recent video featuring renowned grapplers Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon, they discussed key habits for these areas.

Gordon Ryan focused on essential habits for guard passing, while Garry Tonon delved into techniques for guard retention. Their insights highlight the intricacies of positioning, timing, and technique required to succeed at the highest levels.

Gordon Ryan emphasizes that one of the fundamental aspects of passing guard is avoiding leg entanglement. A guard player’s objective is to create meaningful connections between their legs and your body. Once they establish this connection, their offensive potential increases, making it difficult to pass. Therefore, the habit of avoiding these entanglements is paramount.

The first habit Gordon mentions is approaching the guard from an angle. Instead of charging directly into your opponent’s guard, which makes it easy for them to entangle your legs, shifting to a flanking position makes it harder for them to engage.

This slight shift in positioning forces the opponent to work harder to reconnect their legs with your body. They may need to adjust their angle, invert, or create space, which gives the guard passer an advantage in dictating the pace and position of the match.

For example, when approaching an opponent’s guard, many practitioners make the mistake of aligning their centerline with their opponent’s, allowing the guard player to easily engage with their legs.

Gordon advises that instead of aligning yourself directly in front of them, you should immediately move to an angle. Whether it’s a slight step to the side or a larger movement, this change in angle limits the guard player’s ability to control your legs.

By consistently moving to an angle, Gordon explains, you prevent your opponent from entangling you in guards such as De La Riva or Ashi Garami. If your opponent attempts to square up and reestablish a guard, you can quickly transition to the opposite side, creating constant pressure and keeping them on the defensive.

The second habit Gordon emphasizes is breaking grips and freeing your legs from any attempts at entanglement. As soon as the opponent gains a grip or connection to your legs, your immediate focus should be on disengaging.

Once you free a leg, the next step is to immediately move to an angle, preventing the opponent from reestablishing any guard. This continual angle-shifting keeps your opponent reacting and struggling to keep up, which over time wears them down and opens opportunities for passing.

This movement-based approach of constantly outflanking the guard player, coupled with effective grip breaking, creates an exhausting situation for the person playing guard. According to Gordon, this not only allows you to stay safe from offensive attacks but also puts you in a position to apply pressure from advantageous angles, leading to a more successful guard pass.

In contrast to Gordon’s approach to guard passing, Garry Tonon shares key habits for effective guard retention. Garry’s focus is more on late-stage guard retention, where the opponent has already made progress in passing and is threatening to solidify their position.

One of Garry’s primary habits is using shoulder posting and back exposure as a method of recovering guard when the opponent closes in. He notes that when an opponent like Gordon manages to flank and gain a dominant angle, you need to respond before they fully secure the pass. As the passer approaches for chest-to-chest contact, the guard player must initiate a guard recovery technique.

Garry explains that when the opponent is closing in and it becomes clear that they are attempting to pass, you can post on their shoulders, turn slightly, and create enough space to invert.

This inversion, where you briefly expose your back but immediately recover by rolling onto your shoulders, is key to preventing a complete pass. By rotating over the shoulders and tucking the hips, the guard player can roll into a new position, either reestablishing the guard or coming up to a more defensive position.

The idea here is not to remain static when the opponent is threatening to pass but to actively move and create opportunities to recover. Garry notes that this habit can also lead to offensive opportunities, particularly in situations where the passer’s arms are still engaged.

As you invert, you may find chances to catch submissions like triangles or omoplatas, turning a defensive recovery into an offensive attack.

Moreover, Garry highlights that this shoulder roll technique can transition into a wrestling scenario. After the roll, you may find yourself in a position to engage your opponent in a scramble or attack their legs for a takedown. The key, he mentions, is recognizing the openings that present themselves as you recover guard and transitioning smoothly between defense and offense.

Both Gordon and Garry stress the importance of not only focusing on singular habits but also combining these habits to create a fluid, dynamic game.

For example, while Gordon emphasizes moving to an angle during guard passing to prevent entanglement, Garry’s response from the guard perspective is to recognize this flanking movement and initiate a recovery before the passer can solidify their position.

This push-and-pull dynamic between the guard passer and the guard player demonstrates the importance of anticipation and reaction. A guard passer who fails to create angles or break grips will struggle against a player like Garry, who excels at late-stage recoveries and turning bad positions into offensive opportunities.

Conversely, a guard player who relies solely on static guard retention without active movement will be outflanked and passed by a passer like Gordon, who constantly shifts angles and keeps the pressure on.

Ultimately, the habits that both athletes discuss highlight the importance of proactive movement and awareness. Whether you are passing the guard or retaining it, the ability to adapt, adjust angles, and capitalize on your opponent’s movements will determine success.

Building effective habits in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, whether for guard passing or guard retention, is essential for success. Gordon Ryan’s approach to guard passing focuses on angle-based movement and disengagement, making it difficult for the opponent to establish a guard. On the other hand, Garry Tonon’s guard retention habits focus on late-stage recoveries, using inversions and shoulder rolls to create space and counterattack.

By combining these habits and maintaining a proactive mindset, practitioners can elevate their game, whether they’re trying to pass or retain the guard. These habits serve as the foundation for advanced techniques and strategies, enabling athletes to stay ahead of their opponents in dynamic and high-pressure situations.

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