Guard Retention Drill/Game (Fast Learn Guard Retention)

[@hypoluxapan]

Another great video Jon, specific/positional training is such a valuable methodology in my opinion...really appreciate the way you translate the conceptual side of BJJ. Your input has not only helped my own game, but also helped me learn how to better teach the art to others. Cheers!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Eric L Thanks so much man means a lot hearing how much my videos have helped

[@NurSLICMA]

Really appreciate real world BJJ concepts you show

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Nur SLICMA Thank you I try to always focus on the things that actually matter in sparring not just stuff that looks cool. Happy you enjoy it

[@jonlau7937]

"real world" BJJ concepts is the best word to put it. I've seen the top current passers at featherweight not able to pass Jons guard. Really good to have compiled a more comprehensive guard retention video!

[@nowayasway1988]

Really like the content! My biggest issue is in dealing with someone getting me off to the side and forcing my hips to face the other direction. What’s your favorite way to stop that from happening? Thanks

[@BrianBirdy]

Same. Thank you.

[@AlexWehpunkt]

This, together with a Video I saw a Week before this one here - called "the most important concept in Jiu Jitsu?" by the Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood was one of those really rare mind-blowing eye-openers for me. In my mind (and on the mat), those both concepts work perfectly hand in hand. By connecting elbow and knee of the closer side to my partner, I automatically bringing my body into a "strong shape" like it is talked about in previous mentioned video. Like holding to puzzle pieces for years in your hands and finally find the connection. Awesome. Thank you, sir. Greetings to Sweden from a german practinioner.

[@theperalesfam4462]

Thanks Professor. Your videos help me out so much. These guard retention videos are gold.

[@rapp3090]

As usual, great stuff. Thanks Professor!

[@Knapier93]

Jon thanks for always being so responsive. I feel like I am getting mentored just from your videos here and on Instagram.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Kris Napier happy to help thanks buddy!

[@jameslyons6655]

I appreciate how you always demonstrate the concepts that are the foundation of the techniques.

[@marcschmidt4993]

Thanks Jon, this is money. Looking forward to having you in town next week. Cheers,

[@theperalesfam4462]

Professor, could you please do a video on how you escape from turtle bottom position? Thank you again for all your great videos.

[@SM-xb8qw]

Wow! Jon is an amazing Instructor 🤯

[@markturner7755]

Thanks Jon, yours is my favourite BJJ subscription channel bar none. Always excellent instruction. Keep up the good work. More closed guard vids please

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Mark Turner thanks s lot buddy I’m gonna do more stuff on closed guard systems soon.

[@theticoboy]

Yes please! I’d love to hear how you approach breaking posture and dealing with really strong guys in closed guard. I feel like they pop my guard open so easily.

[@thai-anhnguyen5527]

You have a great content, man. Don’t stop. This stuff helps a lot do people.

[@JustinMeyers-Plasticmonument]

Great detail. For future videos, I would love to hear you cover more conceptual aspects of what pace you should keep in a tournament match, off-balancing people in guard, etc. You're such a good guard player... Really anything concept based for the guard would be great. Thanks, homie.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Justin Meyers Hey buddy I’m gonna do that soon sound sounds like great idea

[@leadteks]

i always got my knee pushed away while doing this escape...no i got a solution for it...thx a lot!!

[@bgalvani]

Amazing technique! Thank you Jon!

[@danielfloyd396]

Great stuff that seems like a game changer. Thanks professor!

[@SoftwareSenseiOmar]

Great video , thanks for sharing this awesome content in your channel

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Kherjouj Omar thank you!

[@DPSBreakdowns]

Great stuff (as usual), Jon.

[@alfonsocomic]

Awesome stuff! In wrestling practice we called this situation drills. Great way to learn specifics. Nice breakdown on the details as well!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Alfonso Ochoa yeah I wrestled in high school and always love situationals it’s so critical for development

[@alfonsocomic]

JonThomasBJJ very cool! Thank you for the vids.

[@Toxic_doc]

greatest details. From a blue belt who is constantly getting smashed thank you. Will work on this

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Orly spi It’s always the little stayed that makes the biggest difference

[@mihopark3078]

Another new video! I’m gonna watch it a lot of times! Thank you very much. You are so amazing!

[@bEeeatem]

Always struggled with north-south, especially against heavier guys. The pressure is usually to tough to handle, then comes the kimuras. Escaping side controle is usually difficult for this reason because many guys prevent me from connecting the knee-elbow by switching their arm from the far side hip/underhook of the far arm to ”forklifting” the nearest hip under the leg. Then they switch to north south or knee-on-belly.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

bEeeatem yeah it’s really important when escaping side to make sure you catch that arm going over your head early when they switch to north south it takes a while to train your self to always look for it but when you get it, it really makes a difference

[@jessesimonds6744]

Yeah that tip was money for me, I always would push at hips and grlet smothered

[@Whisky148]

Awesome! I needed help with those situations too. Thanks

[@anoosh2075]

Hi Jon - Thank you for the bjj instructional videos you are uploading, they are priceless. Can you tell me where I can get a Gi like yours in this video?

[@michaelmcnamara1839]

Great concept! Thank you!

[@DickoWA2010]

Cheers mate been using a ton of your guard retention stuff lately 🤙

[@JonThomasBJJ]

DickoWA2010 Thanks buddy I will keep them coming

[@jairajranchod7360]

I've had issues with side control (bottom) position where I get my elbow-knee connection but my opponent will bring their knee up along my ribs and break the elbow-knee connection from the bottom. I've been advised about a few options for how to deal with that: 1. engage the far side hand and foot to block 2. if the knee gets high enough, go for a belly-down single leg What do you think?

[@2008israelramos]

Jon, I like your guard retention instructions, but I think my lack of flexibility is keeping me from executing them well. Can you show any variations for less flexible people? I'm trying to stretch more and I guess trying to get your head to your straightened knees is the stretch I need. Any feedback is appreciated.

[@faronmclurkin1103]

If you make a guard retention instructional I would buy it.

[@freman75]

Very important concepts here.

[@moperkcf]

How do you recompose when the partner is controlling (stalling) with a crossface and a near side pant grip controlling the hips? I find that one of the most difficult grip configurations to escape.

[@mariosolorzanojr90280]

This dude is awesome

[@victorcostalima2966]

Great Video!!!!

[@adolfoforonda3363]

Fantastic content, many thanks! I'd love to see a video with options purely focused on when the opponent stands (out of your DLR, spider or whatever). I know you have inserted options peppered within some of your videos, but one solely focused on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Adolfo Foronda good idea I’ll try to do one soon

[@JamezAdam]

This one is gold! 👏👏

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Thanks buddy!

[@joreilly]

This is very helpful Jon, as usual. I would like to see what you do to get out of North-South when your opponent has transitioned with a lot of pressure and collapsed your frames and get's chest to chest in the north-south position. How do you re-establish your frames? Or do you do something else in this situation?

[@airportchronicles199]

Wow! Great stuff! Thx!

[@joshuakeeler82]

Good stuff

[@jessesimonds6744]

This is gold, thank you

[@footballskillerz80]

Jon, can you do a more comprehensive defence to the cross grip pass? It's been used a lot effectively lately in competitions. The far foot in bicep to break collar grip method that u taught is very effective but i find that people now anticipate that and smash that far leg(after i kick break their grip) and proceed to leg drag onto the other side. thanks

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Nicholas Rich Yeah I might show it in a shorter story I have been doing a small little quick counter move to help stop it early.

[@philippeferrandi3683]

elle est au bout de sa vie ;-)

[@mikeb6703]

Thanks

[@grigelkotten]

Would love to se your take on the cross grip pass Alessandro Sodré used to pass Miyao! I know keenan made a video on it, but maybe you have a different perspective on the pass.

[@seanm6925]

Keenan has a video on it

[@mariosolorzanojr90280]

Jon “Danaher” Thomas

[@speedbones]

How do you deal with the inside pant grip if they also have a tight grip on the near side collar? It’s hard to square up if they have that collar.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Keith Depends in which Leg they have, if they have the same side leg as the collar grip then it’s my leg weave pass I have a video on it but basically I put my foot across to break the grip on lapel. If it’s opposite side pant as grip on lapel I focus on trying to frame early and get left foot in bicep assuming they are passing to my right

[@HGN406]

Hey Jon quick question. I seem to run into a problem where I'll try and maintain that elbow knee space as someone attempts to pass my guard, and I've found that sometimes my opponent manages to sneak in their knee into that small opening between my elbow and knee, and with that manage to pry open my control of that space and I lose the position. Any advice? Thanks

[@charlesbell5500]

Instead of doing the elbow-knee escape, why not try the jailbreak? By bringing a far-side butterfly hook in the mix, one of their legs are already dealt with as it can't interfere. From there, all you have to do is shrimp back to open or closed guard. If you're not flexible, you can still do the jailbreak! You will just have to get your near-side arm underneath their body, not as a frame, but more as an underhook of sorts. Suppose your opponent is on your right side. Sneak your right arm in between their right hip and right shoulder to form sort of a modified underhook, like you're attempting the ghost escape. All you have to do is get your left foot to your right hand. Grab your foot and guide it to the inside of their right leg. Once you have this butterfly hook, it's so strong that you don't need anything else to be able to square back up with your opponent and reclaim guard. This escape works best when you fake the ghost escape first. You could also fake a jailbreak and execute the ghost if they move their hips back to prevent the jailbreak. In my personal experience though, if they're getting their knee in between your elbow and knee, it just means you're not moving fast enough. Also, you shouldn't just rely on 1 movement to escape, you need to use combinations. Fake like you're going for a far-side underhook and then do the elbow-knee escape. Something to get you ahead in the race.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Aaron Wasama Have you seen my video on knee on belly escape? I think it will cover that concept decently well. The ability of getting them back out of your elbow knee space is a seperate skill set from escaping back to open guard once you get your elbow and knee connected . Also have you watched my original side control escape videos

[@jimvenizelos4649]

As a tall wirey white belt I find Jon's techniques usefull. His body structure indicates that I may be capable of replicating his moves. I'm still finding it difficult keeping others framed away from total side control.

[@chestersing]

Thank you so much Jon. Ill be consulting you one of these days. Anyway, question, do you recover guard by gripping collar, sitting up, and butt scooting back? (There are 2 variations - facing out from opp and facing in; you have spoken about the sleeve grip stiff arm when torreandoed but not specifically the collar grip.)

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Chester S Yeah it can definitely be effective but I only do that if I’m sitting up and already have the collar grip if I’m on my back I always prefer strong framing and base retention skills.

[@stephenrogalla2108]

that north south frame is tight gotta do it quick though or your asking for an armbar

[@diabolic42090]

Once i connect knee to elbow, they always go around to N/S. I will specific train this this week and try to implement your N/S defense concepts... I've always found it very difficult to navigate out of N/S. How do you feel about the style of N/S escape where people will look to fully invert and connect their feet to the top person's hips or stomach and spin through rather than taking inside position with the knee as you've shown?

[@JonThomasBJJ]

foulfortune that can work too but it’s last case scenario because I nyhat case they are more in on your hip I would do what I showed first then if they get in and you have the mobility you can go for that one

[@ilxyaeger]

JonThomasBJJ Im 6.4 and about 240lbs, and my FEET is 15(US shoesize) I find it hard to find the openings to slip my feet inside the guard without getting alot of space to do it, and that opens the space for the guy on top to move more freely( 3.19 in your video is impossible for me) The guys in my gym are quite smaller than me. Do you think that some types of guard retention styles are better suited for bigger guys ? and what type? Usually what I do is frame, shrimp pray :P (whitebelt) thanks for all the good content! How much does it cost to have you do a seminar in Trondheim, Norway?

[@JonThomasBJJ]

E K Hey buddy DM me directly on IG and can discuss rates for a seminar. As far as your question for getting your foot on the persons hip I don’t think size is a problem for this at all, mobility is much more the factor. For the move I showed here I don’t think a high level of mobility is required here often it is small details like for example when trying to put your foot on the hip a lot of people struggle with this because they are flat on their back when they try and then need to rock out to their side so they have a better angle to put it in. That being said it is possible to be so inflexible that it’s difficult to do some movements in that case you have two options either build a system around the immobility or develop the mobility to do it, often I find it is much faster to take stretching very seriously for 2 or 3 weeks rather than build an entire system around lacking the mobility. Plus mobility makes you feel better in general it should be a foundational aspect of training BJJ in my opinion.

[@GUTOMOFFICIAL]

Are you based in Gothenburg? Do you instruct students in Swedish?

[@brotendo]

She did not look happy being there that day lol

[@adamschneider868]

Her beauty isn't her worth, but Jesus she is beautiful.

[@mattlee8902]

Awesome details you beautiful male version of Nancy from Stranger Things

[@gregory49]

Tore my groin, very hard to retain guard LOL.

[@carloseduardo-6912]

Osss

[@ryantwalk]

i'm a simple man. i see jon thomas video, i see girl. i click like.

[@ryantwalk]

p.s. third hook video soon?

[@ryantwalk]

p.s.s "lets look at the north south position", i see u jonny boy you ol sly dog u

[@eddiesmurfy]

lol his waist is smaller than hers.

[@Brandon-ob9rg]

Ummmmm give us her IG

[@coachomri5468]

Damn his assistant is pretty..

[@Matt-dr7up]

How is the girl?🤓

[@meetthemasters754]

I want to roll with that Blue Belt and get Triangled..