Also known as: Seated Guard · Sit-Up Guard · Feet-on-Hips Guard
The umbrella position for guards where the legs are not locked: seated or supine with feet, hooks, and grips managing distance. Open guard is the crossroads of modern jiu-jitsu — nearly every specialized guard (De La Riva, spider, X-guard, butterfly) is entered from here, and nearly every pass starts by beating it.
Gi & No-gi · Category: Guards
What can you do from Open Guard?
Guard player (positional score 0/10)
Sweeps
Tripod Sweep — Against a standing opponent: hook one ankle, push the opposite hip with your foot, and take out the tripod’s third leg. They sit down; you stand up into passing.
Sickle Sweep — The tripod sweep’s twin for when they angle away: your calf chops behind their far ankle while your other foot pushes the same-side hip — they fall the other direction.
Passer (positional score 0/10)
Guard Passes
Toreando Pass — Grip both pant legs or shins, throw the legs one way, and move your body the other — passing around the guard like a bullfighter swinging the cape.
Over-Under Pass — One arm over a leg, one arm under the other, head pinned low on the hip — then walk your hips around the underhooked leg with crushing pressure. Bernardo Faria won five world titles with little else.
Double Under Pass — Scoop both arms under the thighs, clasp your hands on their tailbone or grip the collar, and fold them onto their own neck — passing around the stacked hips.
Body Lock Pass — Lock your arms around their waist over one of their legs, glue your chest down, and methodically clear the knee line — the modern pressure-passing answer to dangerous open guards.
Leg Drag — Drag one of their legs across your body and pin it to your far hip — their knees point away from you, their back is half-exposed, and the guard is functionally over.