This article presents a no-gi closed guard blueprint that synthesizes core ideas popularized by John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, Lachlan Giles, and Craig Jones. It focuses on hip superiority, systematic posture-breaking, climbing to advantage positions, and the finish chains that make closed guard a true submission platform in modern grappling.
Content
- Why Hip Position Actually Matters
- Getting to Closed Guard in No-Gi
- Breaking Their Posture (The Real Fight)
- The Three Positions That Make Everything Easy
- How to Actually Finish People
- When They Stand: Options
- Submission Examples (Competition)
Why Hip Position Actually Matters
Most people think closed guard is about controlling someone underneath you. They're wrong. Closed guard is about hip dominance—and that changes everything about how you think, attack, and finish from this position.
Core Concept: Hip Superiority
When you lock your legs in closed guard, you place your hips “on top” of the opponent’s hips, giving consistent leverage for upper-body submissions—regardless of who is on top overall. Closed guard is an attacking position across rule sets (Definition;Attacking Function).
Think about it: every upper body submission—armbars, triangles, omoplatas—requires you to control their upper body while your hips provide the leverage. In closed guard, your hips are already in the dominant position. You're not fighting gravity; you're using it.
Getting to Closed Guard in No-Gi
Understanding why closed guard works is one thing. Getting there in no-gi competition is another. Without collar grips to control posture during entries, you need to be smarter about when and how you close the distance.
You Have to Off-Balance First
You can't just pull someone into closed guard. Establish a collar tie, place one foot on their hip, then use your second leg to sweep their base and force a post. As they recover, lock the closed guard.
The key insight: you're not pulling them down—you're catching them as they fall. This makes all the difference in whether they land in your closed guard with broken posture (good for you) or perfect posture (bad for you).
What Makes or Breaks the Entry
- Timing over force: Enter when they're off-balance, not when they're set and ready
- Underhooks first: Lock your legs after you control their arms, never before
- Accept imperfection: Lock up even if the position isn't perfect—you can improve it once you're there
- Connection before compression: Get your hips connected to theirs before you try to squeeze them down
Remember: the goal isn't to get the perfect closed guard immediately. The goal is to get any closed guard, then improve from there. Now let's talk about how to do that improvement.
From half guard, a Z-Guard/Williams Guard pathway also exists: sit up with an overhook and hip pressure to shoot the top leg for triangle or lock a closed guard with an overhook (Z-Guard Entry;Williams Guard Control).
Entry Examples From Competitive Matches
A few competitive clips that illustrate the above entry concepts.
Seated Open Guard → Elbow Ties → Closed Guard
Victor posts on the shoulders; Lucas takes double elbow ties, falls to a hip, and pulls into connection to lock closed guard (double inside control to connection).
Low Knee Shield Half → Overhook First → Closed Guard
Adele uses a deep knee shield to invite tight waist, secures an overhook first, then closes the guard (overhook pathway consistent with Williams Guard/overhook themes).
Related sequence later in the same match: overhook from low knee shield to closed guard with immediate upper-body threats (e.g., overhook attack routes) (55:18).
Scramble → Guard Jump/Breakdown → Closed Guard Established
From seated open guard, Brandon wrestles up, opponent jumps guillotine/guard, and the sequence ends with closed guard established. This illustrates how transitional chaos can still funnel into closed guard.
Breaking Their Posture (The Real Fight)
You're in closed guard, but they have good posture. This is where most people stall forever, pulling on the head and hoping something happens. Elite competitors think differently: every engagement is a battle over posture, and you win it systematically.
What Broken Posture Looks Like
Practical indicators include: hands forced to the mat, hips knocked to the mat, or chest-to-chest connection inside or outside the elbows.
Key Concepts for Control
- Knee Pull: Break posture by pulling your knees to your chest, using legs and core (not arms) to fold them forward and expose attacks (Knee Pulls & Misdirection).
- Battle for Inside Position: Win the hand fight so your hands control head/arms, not their frames on your chest/hips; inside control sets up posture breaks and angles (Posture Control Principles;Grip-Fighting Philosophy).
The No-Gi Posture Breaking Arsenal
Posture Control Tools
Control posture via the spine-as-lever model—apply head control or climb your guard high on the back, combined with knee pulls to off-balance and create angles (Posture Control Principles;Principles of Posture Control;Knee Pulls & Misdirection).
The Three Positions That Make Everything Easy
Breaking posture is just the beginning. The secret that separates elite closed guard players from everyone else is this: they don't attack from neutral closed guard—they climb to advantage positions first.
Strategic Positioning from Closed Guard
Don’t force finishes from neutral—climb first to side scissor/outside the elbows, double underhooks, or top lock (Advantage Positions Overview).
Advantage Position #1: The Top Lock
The Top Lock is your highest-percentage advantage position because it eliminates their primary defense: posturing up. By locking your legs over their shoulders instead of around their waist, you're controlling them at the neck level—much higher on the lever of their spine.
Top Lock Entries and Finishes
Against kneeling posture, first climb to a high guard/top lock to bind posture before attacking juji. Once the elbow is trapped inside your hip line, raise your lower back, pivot 90°+, and swing the outside leg to finish or sweep (Top Lock Concept;Pivot & Finish).
Advantage Position #2: Double Underhooks
When you can't get top lock (they're defending their shoulders), double underhooks become your go-to position. This gives you complete upper body control while opening up angle-based attacks and sweeps.
Establishing Double Underhooks
Start with one underhook established. Use that underhook to lift their arm while you slide your other arm underneath their free arm. Once you have both underhooks, you can control their entire upper body by lifting their arms and pulling their head down.
Attack Options from Double Underhooks
- Sweep entries: Hip bumps become unstoppable when they can't post their hands
- Back attacks: Circle to the side while maintaining underhooks for back exposure
- Angle creation: Use underhooks to turn them and attack their side
- Submission setups: Transition to armbars and triangles with built-in arm control
Advantage Position #3: Arm Across
The arm across position gives you the most dynamic advantage position—one that opens up three different finish paths based on how they react.
The Three-Way Branch
Once you have arm across position:
- If they posture up: Their arm is isolated and elevated—perfect for armbar via high guard
- If they stay low and hunker down: Their back is exposed—circle to back control
- If they drive forward into you: Use their forward momentum for a flower sweep
The Climbing Principle
Here's the critical insight: you don't have to pick one advantage position and stick with it. Elite players flow between them based on what their opponent gives them. Start with whichever one is most available, then climb to the others as opportunities present themselves.
The goal is always the same: get to a position where finishing becomes easy, not where you have to force the finish against resistance. Now let's talk about those finishes.
How to Actually Finish People
You've broken their posture. You've climbed to an advantage position. Now comes the moment of truth: finishing the job. Elite competitors don't hunt for submissions—they create situations where submissions become inevitable. Here are the proven sequences that end matches at the highest level.
Hip Bump to Front Senkaku (Triangle)
Use the hip bump as a posture-breaking entry, not just a sweep. The goal is to force a defensive hand post you can convert into a triangle.
The Setup
From closed guard with broken posture, open your guard, post one hand and the opposite foot on the mat, then drive hips up and forward to compel a hand post.
How It Works
As soon as their hand touches the mat, retract your knees and throw your legs to front senkaku, capturing head and arm. Adjust to finish the triangle based on their pressure or posture (Forcing the Post;Post-Entry Adjustments).
Why This Works
The hand post they use to stop the sweep becomes the trapped arm inside your triangle—forced, predictable mechanics.
Speed Armbar (Gordon Ryan Version)
When someone puts their hands on your belly in closed guard, they're giving you a gift. This Gordon Ryan special punishes that mistake with lightning speed and perfect timing.
When to Use It
Hands on belly is a common defensive posture—they think they're safe because they're not in submission danger. They're wrong. The moment you see hands on belly, you attack immediately.
The Execution
- Grip the wrist: Secure a thumbed grip on one wrist—this prevents slippage
- Hip shift: Shift your hips away from the trapped arm to create angle
- Knee pull kazushi: Pull your knees to your chest while maintaining wrist control—this off-balances them forward
- Leg over: Throw your leg over their head with your knee higher than their head
Key detail: the kazushi (off-balancing) comes from the knee pull, not from pulling their arm. A slight disruption prevents posture, enabling clean entries and transitions (Kazushi Entry;Transitions).
Armbar: Problem-Solving Roadmap
Address the three problems in sequence. 1) Posture: against kneeling posture, climb to high guard/top lock before throwing; if they stand fully, break them to a hip (e.g., hand sweep) and re-attack (Posture Problem). 2) Stacking: for early stacks, angle and sweep by shifting hips beyond their base; for deep stacks, slip out the back door to relieve pressure and re-angle (Stack Counters). 3) Pull-Out: bring the top leg over the head, transfer the bottom knee from near to far shoulder above the ear to trap the arm; if they still free it, switch immediately to leg entanglements (Pull-Out Prevention & Transitions).
Pendulum (Flower) Sweep ↔ Armbar Chain
Block a post at the elbow, hip out, and hug the far leg; pendulum to pull their weight forward using hamstrings/glutes. If they post to stop the sweep, pull the posting arm high and swing your leg for armbar. If they stack the armbar, the original sweep becomes easier—reverse them or finish as you extend hips (Flower Setup;Pendulum Mechanics;Armbar from Post;Chain on Stack).
Triangle from Overhook Control
Break posture by pulling knees to chest and clearing hands off your hips. Secure a high overhook, hip out, place same-side foot on their hip to frame, bring the opposite knee in front of the shoulder, and cut angle to lock. Finish by grabbing shin, elevating hips, cutting a severe angle, and chopping down with both feet—aim to finish with legs alone (Breaking Posture;Triangle Setup;Finish Mechanics).
Arm Drags When They Hide Their Arms
When they tuck elbows, arm drags create angles and multiple threats from a single setup.
The Drag Execution
Grip high in their armpit (not on the wrist—this prevents slippage). Execute a coordinated push-pull: push their hand under your arm while knee-pulling over your shoulder to bring them across the centerline. The key: chest down, not up. This forces them to carry your weight, making posture recovery impossible.
The Three Attack Options
Once you have arm across position, you have three finishes based on their reaction:
- Back take: If they stay low and hunker down, circle to their back
- Armbar: If they try to posture up with the trapped arm, switch to Armbar
- Omoplata: If they resist the back take, use their resistance for shoulder lock setup
Ref:Initial Mechanics;Refined Entries & Options.
The Reaction Chain Principle
Here's what's important to understand about Closed Guard: don't force one sequence, force a chain of reactions instead. This might look like this:
- Initial attack: Hip bump or armbar attack or knee pull all force reaction.
- React to their reaction: If they post a hand during the hip bump, you can convert to front senkaku (triangle) (Forced Post → Triangle;Adjustments). If they drive forward/stack to escape armbar, pendulum (flower) sweep or finish juji (Stack → Sweep/Finish). If they remain square/neutral, arm drag across to create angle (Arm Drag Mechanics).
- Use the commitment: Each defense exposes the next attack in the chain.
This is why closed guard looks so fluid at the elite level—they're not forcing positions, they're creating situations where the opponent forces the positions on themselves.
When They Stand: Options
Standing changes available attacks but doesn’t end them.
Two Types of Standing
There are two types of standing: standing with broken posture (bent over) and standing with vertical posture (fully upright). Your response depends on which type they choose.
Against Broken-Posture Standing
If they stand but remain bent over, maintain your closed guard and continue your normal attacks. Their posture is still broken, so your submission game remains intact.
Against Vertical Posture Standing
If they achieve full vertical posture, either aggressively break them back down to re-engage primary attacks or transition to lower-body attacks/leg entanglements.
The Shin Push (Countering a Stand-Up)
As they stand, keep your guard closed and use a shin/ankle frame combined with a powerful knee pull to dump their weight forward and break them back down. The key is synchronizing the knee pull with the shin frame so they cannot maintain balance while upright (Example: Shin Push, 7:35).
Open Guard Options When the Guard Is Broken
If they open your legs while standing, connect immediately to lower-body attacks rather than conceding distance. Strong, system-backed options include entering leg entanglements like Single Leg X and sweeping off the reaction (SLX Entry;SLX Posture & Control;SLX Sweep & Top Control). For a broader illustration of options at this moment, seeOpen Guard Transition Examples (9:20).
The key insight: standing doesn't negate your attacks—it just changes which attacks are available. Adapt your game, don't abandon it.
Submission Examples (Competition)
A few competitive clips that showcase submissions from closed guard.
Triangle Finish After Arm Isolation (1:27:40)
Attacker threatens upper-body control to draw a defensive hand-clasp. As the defender commits both hands, the attacker shifts angle and locks a front triangle, finishing via proper hip elevation and angle cut (triangle mechanics).
Triangle from Closed Guard (15:02)
Classic guard triangle: posture broken with knees-to-chest, angle created, ankles locked, finish achieved by grabbing the shin, elevating hips, and chopping down with both feet.
Break the Stand, Climb High Guard (3:13:41)
From closed guard, opponent tries to stand to escape. Attacker uses a shin/ankle control to break posture back down, then climbs legs high to control the upper body (high guard/top-lock style posture control) and attack.
Juji Gatame Entry off Scoop Grip Angle (45:40)
With a hand posted to the mat and a scoop grip on the leg, the attacker creates angle to bring the crossface leg over and enter juji gatame. They settle into standard finishing mechanics with controlled hip line and elbow alignment.
Overhook Trap Triangle to Shoulder-Crunch Arm Lock (10:20)
Overhook closed guard sets the angle for a trap triangle. When the arm cannot be brought fully across, attacker maintains triangle control and uses a shoulder-crunch grip to finish the arm lock (triangle finishing + arm isolation).