Controlling Opponent in Closed Guard (Breaking Posture / Arm Drag)

OK, he's in guard.  Now what?

 Breaking Opponent’s Posture in Guard:

-         Start with opponent in your guard

-         Grab both of your opponent’s lapels and pull him down

-         When you feel your opponent start to push into your hips with his hands, pull both of your knees up as close to your forehead as you can.  At the same time, pull both lapels up as high as you can.

-         Opponent should fall forward with both hands on the ground.

Yay, broken posture!

Arm Dragging Opponent in Guard:

-         Start with opponent in your guard

-         Grab both of your opponent’s lapels and pull down as a distraction

-         Slide one hand down to opponent’s wrist, put the other behind opponent’s elbow (of the same arm).

-         Pull opponent’s arm up over your head, to the opposite side (opponent’s right arm moves to your right side, etc).  It seems more natural to just pull to the side that you want, but then you end up in a tug of war that a stronger opponent will win.

-         Bring your legs up high to keep opponent’s posture broken for this movement

-         From here look for arm bar and triangle setups.