In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), few positions are as important as the closed guard. It’s one of the first techniques every beginner learns, but it’s also a powerful tool used by advanced athletes in competition. At Riot Sports, we see closed guard as the perfect example of foundational mastery — turning unpredictability into control, and control into victory.
Whether you’re new to the mats or chasing gold on the world stage, mastering the closed guard is essential to your Jiu Jitsu journey.
What Is Closed Guard in BJJ?
The closed guard occurs when the athlete on bottom wraps their legs around their opponent’s waist and locks their ankles together. The top player is “inside the guard” and must break it open in order to pass.
From the bottom, closed guard allows you to control posture, launch submissions, or set up sweeps. From the top, the goal is to maintain balance, open the guard, and advance to stronger positions.
It’s one of the most fundamental positions in Jiu Jitsu because it teaches balance, leverage, and patience — three skills that carry into every other part of your game.
Why Closed Guard Matters in Jiu Jitsu
Closed guard is more than just a defensive position. It’s a platform for attack, and one of the most common places fights are decided. Here’s why it matters:
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Control first, attack second. You must break posture before submissions exist.
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Efficiency. With your legs locked around your opponent, you can use your whole body against smaller targets like their arms or neck.
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Relevance at all levels. From white belt to black belt, closed guard remains a weapon that never loses value.
If you build a strong closed guard, you’ll always have a reliable way to survive, reset, and counter-attack.
Key Principles of a Strong Closed Guard
To play closed guard effectively, keep these fundamentals in mind:
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Break posture. Don’t let your opponent sit upright. Pull their head down, control grips, and force them forward.
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Use your legs as weapons. Keep your legs tight, angle your hips, and use them to control balance and movement.
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Focus on small targets. Controlling one arm, the collar, or the head is enough to disrupt everything else.
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Open on your terms. Most submissions and sweeps require opening the guard — but only do it when you’re ready to attack.
Closed Guard Submissions You Need to Know
The closed guard is a launchpad for some of the most effective BJJ submissions:
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Armbar: A fundamental submission that works at every level of Jiu Jitsu.
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Triangle choke: A high-percentage finish that turns posture breaks into fight-ending strangles.
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Cross collar choke: Deadly when executed with deep grips, one of the most classic attacks in BJJ.
From closed guard, you can also set up sweeps like the scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, or flower sweep, transitioning into dominant top positions.
Closed Guard for Beginners vs. Advanced Players
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Beginners: Closed guard is a safe place to learn posture control, grips, and timing. It’s where most athletes develop their first submissions and sweeps.
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Advanced athletes: Closed guard remains a trusted weapon at the highest levels of competition. Even world champions use it to slow down opponents, launch surprise attacks, and control the pace of a match.
You never “outgrow” the closed guard — you just refine it.
Final Thoughts: Embracing the Chaos
At Riot Sports, we define the Art of Chaos as skill, resilience, and grace thriving in unpredictability. The closed guard embodies this perfectly. It’s where defense becomes offense, where patience turns into opportunity, and where every athlete learns how to impose control in the most unexpected moments.
Master the closed guard, and you’ll always have a weapon to disrupt, attack, and dominate — no matter the level, no matter the opponent.
