First there were only the closed and open guard.
And then the gates were open and we had the half-guard, De La Riva, Spider, Lasso, inverted DLR, etc and etc.
All of them were more or less accepted with various levels of controversy.
Three techniques generates the highest level of discussion recently.
The first one to hit the headlines was the much used, but also dreaded 50/50 guard.
Used to control the opponent, it was quickly considered a staller’s technique that wouldn’t allow the match to move forward.
As everything else in Jiu-Jitsu, the 50/50 can be used for good and also for bad.
JT Torres shows how to be effective using the technique.
After the 50/50, berimbolo became the talk of the town.
All of a sudden, passing guard was for suckers and the fastest way to victory was to roll your way to the opponent’s back.
The berimbolo is still very much a trend that creates a lot of controversy.
In this video, the Miyao Bros. teach various ways to attack using the bolo.
As if traditionalists were not ticked off enough, Keenan Cornelius decided to take things to a whole new level.
He came up with a variation of the lapel guard that wraps the opponent’s leg in his own lapel called the worm guard.
Some people loved it as an efficient way to control the opponent, specially heavier opponents, but some people wanted to beat Keenan up.
Again, as all things Jiu-Jitsu, the worm guard can be used for good or evil.
Keenan usually uses it to sweep tough opponents and to set up beautiful finishes too.
Here’s a BJJ Scout video explaining the basics of the worm guard.
Ok, these three techniques are not your thing.
Don’t hate them, go train and learn how to shut them down like Marcus Buchecha did here with Keenan’s worm guard.
https://youtu.be/vkbqrcVsqr8?t=11m4s
