A guard pull is how a BJJ player takes the fight to the ground on their own terms: take grips, sit or fall back and put your partner inside your guard.
- Japanese name: none. Pulling guard is a BJJ idea; in judo a player who sits down without throwing is giving the exchange away.
- Kodokan classification: none. The closest judo relatives are the rear sacrifice throws, which also go to the mat on purpose, with the aim of throwing on the way down.
- In BJJ: common in gi competition at every belt, and the reason BJJ stand-up often lasts seconds.
What is a guard pull?
A guard pull is a deliberate sit-down into guard with grips already in place. The grips are the whole point: a sleeve and a collar, or a sleeve and the opposite lapel, give you control of your partner's posture as you go down, so you arrive in a closed guard, a De la Riva hook or a seated guard with their balance already disturbed.
Two families: the pull to closed guard, wrapping the legs around the waist, and the pull to open guard, sitting down with a foot on the hip or a De la Riva hook and attacking at once.
How do you do a guard pull?
The steps below describe the standard pull to an open or closed guard in the gi.
- Win the grips first. Take a sleeve grip and a collar or lapel grip and get your partner's posture bent toward you.
- Place the foot. Put the sole of one foot on their hip, or hook their leg from the outside for a De la Riva, on the same side as your collar grip.
- Sit under control. Step your other foot back and lower yourself to your hip and back under control, pulling them forward with the grips so their weight comes over you.
- Build the guard. Close the legs around the waist for closed guard, or keep the foot on the hip and the hook in place for open guard, with your grips still controlling the sleeve and collar.
- Attack at once. Go straight into a sweep or a submission entry while their balance is still broken; a guard pull that stops and waits lets them settle, pass or stand up.
The most common mistake is falling backward without grips, with your feet off their body, which turns the pull into a sit-down and gives your partner the top position and a head start on the pass. Grips first, foot on them, sit under control, attack immediately. Our BJJ training gear is rash guards and spats for rounds with and without the gi.
What are the IBJJF rules for pulling guard?
The IBJJF Rules Book makes it a serious foul to pull guard, sit or kneel without first taking a grip. If both athletes pull guard at once, the referee counts 20 seconds and penalises both if nobody gets on top. A takedown started after the opponent began pulling guard scores nothing, but if you hold their trousers when they pull and you stabilise on top for three seconds, you score the takedown.
Sources
- IBJJF Rules Book, IBJJF
Related terms
Closed guard, Open guard, De la Riva guard, Grip fighting, Sweep, IBJJF points.