Who uses the coyote guard?

[yetanother]

i think his half is the best all around half guard system works extremely well in mma especially against strong wrestlers wiht good base as you torque the leg kills there base ins topping you from coming up but i dont like to underhook the hip i feel it makes there whizzer stronger i prefer to whizzer the thigh so i can easily come up to a single anytime i want

A regular single leg is a lot worse position then the dog fight, you need to get you underhook deep on the hip spike (is that the correct word).
It's a precise control position so you shouldn't explode and scramble (until you have everything locked and ready from the sweep) from the Lucas Leite half.
Dunno why but I always used to see local mma fighters do it in a shitty and scrambly manner.
(you can go to a shelve single leg from a dogfight which is super good),

 

[thugpoet]

In terms of must-have ones this would be my list in order:

Paul Schreiner “1/2 Guard” - This Digitsu set is by far the best structured, best taught set for this kind of Knee Torque Half Guard.It is a complete game laid out in a really linear fashion giving you a system from entry, to attack including a bunch of troubleshooting and wider Half concepts. Its genuinely one of the best BJJ sets of any kind out there on any topic i think. Buy this first if you’re going to buy anything!

Lucas Leite “Coyote Guard” - Like most BJJ Fanatics sets this could have been condensed to about half the length and number of dvds. The techniques are obviously great, Lucas is a good teacher but the contents are a bit scattered and not arranged in an ideal order. Camera angles etc. are not as good as on the Schreiner one but if you’re familiar with the position you’ll get a lot out of it. I think this and Schreiner’s compliment each other really well as a pair.

Jake MacKenzie “Precision Half Guard Vol 2” - This set has all the Underhook Half stuff not the first set Quebec Nick was talking about. He uses a different set of entries, grips and setups to Leite but the basic principles are the same. It wouldn’t be the first one i’d get but if you already use the knee torque half there is a ton of really good sweeps from positions the others don’t show as you defend passes or they defend your attacks.

Lachlan Giles “Half Guard Seminar download” - Another slightly different variation, he focuses a bit more on wrestling from the knees than Leite but has some very nice entries and troubleshooting solutions to common issues you’ll hit. There’s not too much here you won’t find elsewhere but it is the cheapest of the ones i’ve listed and also includes a bunch of rolling footage with examples of the techniques being used which is really helpful.

Caio Terra 111 Half Guard Techniques - This is an older set people might not realise has Knee Torque stuff, it has some absolute gold on it. The Knee Shield and Half Guard Single Leg sections include a small amount of stuff but every single one is techniques i use over and over from the position. He really focuses on small details and if you’re a Half Guard player of any sort this is worth getting even thought the amount of Knee Torque techniques are tiny compared to the others.

People like Tom DeBlass, James Clingerman and others have okay stuff but nowhere as detailed as the above. I’ve been lucky enough to do seminars and classes on half with Schreiner, MacKenzie and Giles so i’ve stolen bits from all of them.


If you’re signed up for any of these sites you might not know there is also some stuff on there:

Saulo’s BJJ Library - 12 video series with Lucas Leite which covers everything you need to know really, its like a concise version of his full DVD set

MG in Action - Search for Paul Schreiner video’s there’s a bunch of great videos labelled Half Guard or Hip Shovel covering the position.

Flo Grappling - One 18 minute video of Lucas Leite on setups and entries for dealing with speed passers


I’ll have a root through my browser history, favourites and stuff i have saved down to see what good free stuff from places like Youtube i can post. There was a fantastic 90 minutes Lucas Leite seminar video on Youtube in the past that got taken down somebody may have. One of the users on here called Gambledub did a great breakdown with gifs he posted on Googledocs if you can find it that is really useful.

This is awesome. Paul is a great teacher I have his passing set and it's amazing.

Thanks for taking the time to get this done

 

[thugpoet]

i think his half is the best all around half guard system works extremely well in mma especially against strong wrestlers wiht good base as you torque the leg kills there base ins topping you from coming up but i dont like to underhook the hip i feel it makes there whizzer stronger i prefer to whizzer the thigh so i can easily come up to a single anytime i want

I don't mind the whizzed I wrap my arm clamping down and go for plan b

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Need a good video plz

 

[georgegreece]

Topic.

Isn't this Z guard?

 

[rmongler]

Isn't this Z guard?

Im reasonably sure they are talking about underhook halfguard; knee torque is not exactly something you do with a knee shield, after all. (You can use a knee shield to clear a space under their arm for you to punch your underhook in to begin with, however.)

 

[thugpoet]

Isn't this Z guard?

Knee shield is part of it. It often starts with knee shield or z guard

 

[yetanother]

Knee shield is part of it. It often starts with knee shield or z guard

It's the set up. You can enter from a single leg or deep half.

 

[Daz2300]

This is awesome. Paul is a great teacher I have his passing set and it's amazing.

Thanks for taking the time to get this done

He's definitely is, I was lucky enough to do a private and a bunch of classes on knee torque half with him a few years ago and it was like getting a cheat code to move my skill level with it on by hundreds of hours ;-)

The half set links well with the passing one btw, his go to half guard sequence is to knee tap or roll under sweep and keep the hook to do the dope mount to mount pass off it.

 

[Daz2300]

Isn't this Z guard?

It's specifically Half Guard with your top leg hooking their leg to torque their knee and angle their hips away from you. You can get there from a bunch of entries but if you watch these videos you'll see how the leg is hooked rather than just pinched with your knees or left loose.

 

[Solidus Snake]

I'm in a complicated relationship with the underhook/torque half guard. I've used it for many years, probably my most used guard ever (with de la riva second on a good distance). I've had good results but lately I've almost completely dropped it, I'm tired of people stalling me or putting pressure on my face when I can play other guards that let me control the distance better and allow me to make happen stuff more immediately.

I don't want to give up on it tho.

 

[thugpoet]

I'm in a complicated relationship with the underhook/torque half guard. I've used it for many years, probably my most used guard ever (with de la riva second on a good distance). I've had good results but lately I've almost completely dropped it, I'm tired of people stalling me or putting pressure on my face when I can play other guards that let me control the distance better and allow me to make happen stuff more immediately.

I don't want to give up on it tho.

This is has been an experience of mine as well. Getting half guillotined for a 3 out of 5 mins gets old.

Old school, plan b or switching to deep half are the steps I take to avoid getting smashed.

 

[yetanother]

I'm in a complicated relationship with the underhook/torque half guard. I've used it for many years, probably my most used guard ever (with de la riva second on a good distance). I've had good results but lately I've almost completely dropped it, I'm tired of people stalling me or putting pressure on my face when I can play other guards that let me control the distance better and allow me to make happen stuff more immediately.

I don't want to give up on it tho.

You need to fix the small details and add more options so they won't be able to stall as much.
For example do you get the underhook as deep as you can?

 

[Solidus Snake]

You need to fix the small details and add more options so they won't be able to stall as much.
For example do you get the underhook as deep as you can?

I think I'm decent once I get the underhook. When I get to dogfight or even a bit before I don't have great difficulties in moving things up. My main problems are:

1) with people that wants nothing to do with this kind of game and will either stay really tight and really far, or try to reverse pass me, stay with the head very low and the arms very tucked and the such. Or people trying to leg weave me. That's usually most of the stuff that stall me out for good.
2) I suffer immensely heavier and stronger people that (obviously) knows a bit where to put their hands. To give you an example, using de la riva I can control and sweep with relative ease the same heavier guy that would give me hell if I play traditional UH game.

Of course I'm not blaming the guard itself as there is probably really a lot I'm doing wrong in the transitions.

I've always loved this position since the old Oli Geddes days to Lucas Leite and Demian Maia today and would love to understand the overall concepts better. None of my teachers were great HG players or put a big emphasys on it, so I've always been kinda an autodidact.

 

[DatCutman]

1) with people that wants nothing to do with this kind of game and will either stay really tight and really far, or try to reverse pass me, stay with the head very low and the arms very tucked and the such. Or people trying to leg weave me. That's usually most of the stuff that stall me out for good.

If I'm understanding, you're basically saying that once you have the underhook/leg hook you're fine, but it's hell getting to that, correct?

Obviously, you have to create the opening for an underhook. The better the guy, the more creative you gotta be. Just the nature of the beast I guess. Though LL does have the whole octo-coyote (coyotepus?) position for when the underhook is never going to happen. I think it's also easier to get the underhook set up from long-distance positions, before they settle into passing halfguard. Quick off balance, whoop, shoot the underhook. From halfguard itself thought, the london bridge (I think it's called?) has been effective for me.

Reverse pass (assuming we're both thinking of the same reverse pass), you backroll (over the shoulder they're not lying on) as they're dropping down into it. Timing takes practice, but it's solid cash money. If you bone it up, can also grab the shin and push in the pit, roll to the side as you push them over, and shrimp back into SLX. They'll pressure back into you to try, grab the head, and slide out of SLX, sure, but you can fish for the underhook as they do that.

Leg weave...is that happening from Knee shield? Or are you referring to trying to get to coyote from the midst of a knee shield?

2) I suffer immensely heavier and stronger people that (obviously) knows a bit where to put their hands. To give you an example, using de la riva I can control and sweep with relative ease the same heavier guy that would give me hell if I play traditional UH game.

I mean I would hazard a guess that you're probably more comfortable with DLR / your opponents are worse at passing it. I guess I don't know why they're giving you hell in this instance; if you've blocked the crossface, have the underhook, and also have the leg-hook-knee-torque-whatever, you should feel pretty confident.

 

[yetanother]

Of course I'm not blaming the guard itself as there is probably really a lot I'm doing wrong in the transitions.

Getting to the underhook is the hard part, as the knee shield is lot weaker then the coyote.

 

[yetanother]

Or people trying to leg weave me.

If you play an old school in the middle knee shield you will have to counter the leg weave all the time. I never use the traditional one. I only use either a high knee shield or a locked knee shield.

 

[Solidus Snake]

If I'm understanding, you're basically saying that once you have the underhook/leg hook you're fine, but it's hell getting to that, correct?

Obviously, you have to create the opening for an underhook. The better the guy, the more creative you gotta be. Just the nature of the beast I guess. Though LL does have the whole octo-coyote (coyotepus?) position for when the underhook is never going to happen. I think it's also easier to get the underhook set up from long-distance positions, before they settle into passing halfguard. Quick off balance, whoop, shoot the underhook. From halfguard itself thought, the london bridge (I think it's called?) has been effective for me.

Reverse pass (assuming we're both thinking of the same reverse pass), you backroll (over the shoulder they're not lying on) as they're dropping down into it. Timing takes practice, but it's solid cash money. If you bone it up, can also grab the shin and push in the pit, roll to the side as you push them over, and shrimp back into SLX. They'll pressure back into you to try, grab the head, and slide out of SLX, sure, but you can fish for the underhook as they do that.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Yes, I have indeed problems in getting to a solid underhook itself. Once I'm there I can usually finish whatever I can get (back, sweep, roll back).

Leg weave...is that happening from Knee shield? Or are you referring to trying to get to coyote from the midst of a knee shield?

I mean from the knee shield. That's where I usually start to play half guard-

I mean I would hazard a guess that you're probably more comfortable with DLR / your opponents are worse at passing it. I guess I don't know why they're giving you hell in this instance; if you've blocked the crossface, have the underhook, and also have the leg-hook-knee-torque-whatever, you should feel pretty confident.

Ahaha, you're probably right. Maybe it's even a mental thing to be completely honest with you. When I play de la riva I feel more relaxed because I know that if I fail in I can still do a lot of things like posting away, use the other hook, get back to another guard and so on. At the opposite at least lately, I feel like when I fail in half guard I'm already, well, half passed (hence the "hellish" feeling). I know it may sound generic but I don't know how can I describe it better.

Getting to the underhook is the hard part, as the knee shield is lot weaker then the coyote.

Guess so, but that's also where I'm more comfortable to start play half guard..

 

[Quebec Nick]

Ahaha, you're probably right. Maybe it's even a mental thing to be completely honest with you. When I play de la riva I feel more relaxed because I know that if I fail in I can still do a lot of things like posting away, use the other hook, get back to another guard and so on. At the opposite at least lately, I feel like when I fail in half guard I'm already, well, half passed (hence the "hellish" feeling). I know it may sound generic but I don't know how can I describe it better.



Guess so, but that's also where I'm more comfortable to start play half guard..

The problem is that we mostly train with the same people and they know our tendencies

I know pretty much what everyone of my top 10 guys I roll the most with will do in half guard. That guy is gonna knee shield and underhook, the other guy will go deep half, the other guy will go to half butterfly, another will leg lasso and sweep me while I'm passing, the other will kimura trap, we have a couple of lockdown guys...

Only a few can surprise me because they have 2 or 3 go to moves and they know which one will work the best based on my reaction.

I find that half guard is easier to block than other ''full guards'' when you know what the guy is trying, because most of the time you will have half your body to work your balance and post with it. So if you know what is coming, you can nullify it more easily

Personnaly I use half butterfly to go to X guard, but if they put their leg away to avoid that I scoop the leg for X guard, I will just continue rotating to deep half. If they cheat too much because they don't want me to go under them I will go for the underhook. I also have various techniques for when they try, backsteps, over under pass, knee slide or leg weave pass (they give you the lasso, you can use it). If they stall, I come back to butterfly or closed guard before they get too confortable.

 

[DatCutman]

I mean from the knee shield. That's where I usually start to play half guard.

Leg weave pass can be a miserable time. Have to be really careful about collar grips. I have found some success with this though:

Ahaha, you're probably right. Maybe it's even a mental thing to be completely honest with you. When I play de la riva I feel more relaxed because I know that if I fail in I can still do a lot of things like posting away, use the other hook, get back to another guard and so on. At the opposite at least lately, I feel like when I fail in half guard I'm already, well, half passed (hence the "hellish" feeling). I know it may sound generic but I don't know how can I describe it better.

I mean, I don't think you're wrong. It's pretty much the closest-distance guard (even inverted guard had knees/soles on the opponent). It's pretty dang close to being passed.

I have started using RDLR a lot though to set up my coyote, as opposed to settled half. Much easier to off balance the top guy, which makes his arms drift away from his ribs. Or I can hook low and work the underhook up from the butt to around the hips. Really though, it's because reverse half is less terrifying.