Closed Guard Top Position represents one of the most challenging defensive scenarios in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where you find yourself trapped inside your opponent’s closed guard with their legs wrapped around your waist and ankles locked behind your back. Despite being the top player, this position places you at a significant strategic disadvantage, as your opponent possesses numerous sweep and submission options while your primary objective must be maintaining defensive posture, avoiding attacks, and working systematically toward guard opening and passing.
Success in closed guard top requires understanding that this is fundamentally a defensive position that must be escaped through systematic progression rather than a passing position offering immediate offensive opportunity. Your ability to maintain proper posture prevents your opponent from breaking you down for attacks, while strategic grip fighting denies them the control necessary to execute sweeps and submissions. The position tests your patience, technical precision, and defensive awareness as you navigate constant threats while working toward the guard opening that enables actual passing attempts.
The closed guard top position exemplifies the strategic complexity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where being on top does not automatically confer advantage. Understanding the systematic approach to guard opening - establishing posture, controlling grips, creating space, and opening the guard before attempting passes - separates effective guard passers from those who become trapped in defensive cycles or caught in submissions. Your success depends on balancing defensive awareness with offensive progression, creating a complex positional dynamic that requires both technical skill and strategic understanding to navigate effectively toward dominant position.
Position Definition
- Opponent’s legs wrapped completely around your waist or hips with ankles locked behind your back, creating closed circuit of control that restricts your mobility and creates constant pressure on your torso, compressing your breathing and limiting lateral movement options while threatening to break your posture.
- You are positioned between opponent’s guard with your torso trapped inside their leg control, typically on your knees or in low squat with your hips positioned between their thighs, with your weight distributed through your knees to the mat while maintaining enough mobility to defend sweeps and work toward guard opening.
- Your spine position is critical - either maintaining upright posture with head over hips and chest elevated creating structural strength that prevents attacks, or compromised with opponent pulling your head and shoulders down toward their chest, breaking your structural integrity and creating immediate submission opportunities including triangle and armbar threats.
- Hand placement on opponent’s hips, biceps, collar, or lapels to manage distance and prevent them from closing space for attacks, with constant grip fighting occurring as opponent attempts to establish dominant grips on your sleeves, collar, or behind your head while you work to break their grips and establish your own controlling positions.
- Your base consists of both knees on mat with weight distributed to prevent lateral movement from sweeps, while maintaining enough mobility to initiate guard breaking sequences, with knees typically spread wider than shoulder-width for stability against hip bump, scissor, and pendulum sweep attempts.
Prerequisites
- Understanding of posture mechanics and spinal alignment principles with ability to recognize when structural integrity is compromised and how to recover it
- Knowledge of guard passing principles and progression sequences from guard opening through completion of pass
- Defensive awareness for common closed guard attacks including triangles, armbars, omoplatas, and sweeps with understanding of their setup patterns
- Basic grip fighting skills and understanding of dominant versus defensive grips with ability to break strong grips systematically
- Ability to recognize when posture is compromised and how to recover it through proper hip and chest positioning without exposing arms
- Understanding of base and balance fundamentals to defend against sweeps including hip bump, scissor, and pendulum variations
Key Offensive Principles
- Posture Maintenance Priority: Keep spine straight and head over hips to prevent opponent from breaking you down for attacks - this is your primary defensive concern that enables all other technical work
- Distance Management: Control distance with proper hand placement on hips, biceps, or collar to prevent opponent from closing space for submissions while maintaining enough connection to initiate passes
- Base and Balance: Maintain wide base with knees spread to defend against sweeps while staying mobile for passing attempts, distributing weight through lower body rather than hands
- Grip Fighting: Control opponent’s grips to prevent them from establishing dominant control for attacks, breaking strong grips before they develop into attacking positions
- Patient Progression: Work methodically toward guard opening without rushing into vulnerable passing attempts that expose you to counters, following systematic progression from posture to grips to opening to passing
- Defensive Awareness: Constantly monitor threats including triangle, armbar, omoplata, and sweep attempts while working toward pass, recognizing setup patterns before they develop into full attacks
Available Attacks
Guard Opening Sequence → Open Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 55%
- Advanced: 70%
Toreando Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 45%
- Advanced: 60%
Knee Slice Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Stack Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 40%
- Advanced: 55%
Over-Under Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 45%
- Advanced: 60%
Long Step Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 40%
- Advanced: 55%
Pressure Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 20%
- Intermediate: 35%
- Advanced: 50%
Double Under Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 40%
- Advanced: 55%
Standing up in Base → Standing Position
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 50%
- Intermediate: 65%
- Advanced: 80%
Decision Making from This Position
If opponent has broken your posture and is pulling you down toward their chest with collar or head control:
- Execute Posture Recovery → Closed Guard (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Stack Defense → Stack Pass (Probability: 45%)
If opponent maintains closed guard but you have good posture and hand position on hips or biceps:
- Execute Guard Opening Sequence → Open Guard (Probability: 60%)
- Execute Standing up in Base → Standing Position (Probability: 70%)
If opponent opens their guard or you successfully break the guard creating separation:
- Execute Toreando Pass → Side Control (Probability: 55%)
- Execute Knee Slice Pass → Side Control (Probability: 60%)
- Execute Pressure Pass → Side Control (Probability: 45%)
If opponent is attacking with triangle or armbar creating immediate submission threat:
- Execute Posture Recovery → Closed Guard (Probability: 50%)
- Execute Stack Defense → Stack Pass (Probability: 55%)
If opponent establishes strong collar and sleeve grips creating control for attacks:
- Execute Grip Break → Closed Guard (Probability: 60%)
- Execute Standing up in Base → Standing Position (Probability: 65%)
Optimal Submission Paths
High-percentage passing path to submission
Closed Guard Top → Guard Opening Sequence → Open Guard → Toreando Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Mount → Americana from Mount
Pressure-based submission path
Closed Guard Top → Guard Opening Sequence → Knee Slice Pass → Side Control → Transition to North-South → North-South → North-South Choke
Back attack path from guard passing
Closed Guard Top → Guard Opening Sequence → Open Guard → Stack Pass → Side Control → Back Take Generic → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke
Standing pass to dominant control
Closed Guard Top → Standing up in Base → Standing Position → Long Step Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Mount → Armbar from Mount
Knee slice to knee on belly control
Closed Guard Top → Guard Opening Sequence → Knee Slice Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Knee on Belly → Americana
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 30% | 30% | 5% |
| Intermediate | 50% | 50% | 10% |
| Advanced | 70% | 70% | 20% |
Average Time in Position: 1-3 minutes depending on skill level and guard opening strategy