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In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when a fighter is on their back and
has their opponent between their legs they are said to be in
the guard position. The guard is one of the most intricate
and unique positions in all of jiu-jitsu. The guard has the
potential to be utilized for both offense and defense. To
many who are not well versed in jiu-jitsu the guard appears
to be only advantageous for the fighter on top; this is a
great misconception. The fighter on the bottom has the
ability to employ a great deal of leverage, which can be
used to off balance or overextend an opponent resulting in a
sweep or submission. In addition, the bottom fighter can
use four limbs to attack, while the fighter on top is
limited to only two. These facts combined demonstrate that
the fighter on the bottom is actually in the superior
position despite being on their back.
The importance of the guard greatly
increases when a fighter is faced with a much larger or
stronger opponent. If a person is vastly stronger than you
it will be very difficult to for you to take them down and
easy for them to put you on your back. Because the guard
relies on leverage and not strength it is possible to submit
this much stronger opponent despite your physical
inferiority. The idea is that when submitting an opponent
the bottom fighter uses their entire body (back, legs, arms,
ect.) against only one part of their opponent's body.
To illustrate this point I have included a
picture of a common submission from the guard, the triangle
choke. Note, my legs arm clamped tightly around his neck,
my arms and back are pulling down increasing the pressure on
his neck, while my hips are lifted providing me with greater
leverage and torque. In essence every muscle in my body is
used against his neck, giving me the victory despite the
fact that my pictured opponent outweighs me by over 60
pounds. Proper technique can overcome nearly any physical
disadvantage; that is beauty of jiu-jitsu.
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