Playing top in Flattened Half Guard represents the culmination of effective pressure passing and the critical decision point between maintaining control and completing the guard pass. When you successfully collapse your opponent’s frames and settle your chest onto theirs with their leg still trapped in half guard, you’ve achieved significant positional dominance. Your opponent’s back is flat against the mat, their breathing is compromised by your weight, and their offensive options are severely limited. However, this apparent advantage contains a subtle trap - becoming satisfied with the control position without actively working to complete the pass. The trapped leg remains a barrier that prevents scoring position and allows your opponent time to systematically recover their frames.
The fundamental challenge of playing top in Flattened Half Guard is balancing the maintenance of pressure with the advancement toward completing the pass. Too much focus on pressure creates a static situation where your opponent, while uncomfortable, can eventually work through systematic frame recovery sequences. Too much focus on advancing allows your opponent to exploit the space you create during your movements to re-establish their defensive structures. The technical solution involves understanding pressure as a dynamic concept rather than static weight. Effective pressure flows and adapts, increasing when your opponent attempts escapes and redirecting when you advance position. This requires constant awareness of your opponent’s movements and the ability to transition smoothly between different passing techniques while maintaining forward pressure.
Crossface control represents the highest priority control point when maintaining Flattened Half Guard top. The crossface achieves multiple strategic objectives simultaneously: it turns your opponent’s head away from the action, limiting their vision and awareness; it creates a pressure point that compounds your body weight’s effect; and it prevents them from effectively using their near-side arm for framing. When combined with hip pressure driving through their chest, the crossface makes breathing difficult and creates the psychological pressure that often leads to defensive errors. However, the crossface must be maintained dynamically rather than statically. Your opponent will constantly work to remove or reduce crossface pressure, and you must be prepared to re-establish it while advancing position.
The trapped leg creates the position’s central technical problem. While you maintain dominant upper body control, the hooked leg prevents you from transitioning to side control or other scoring positions. The solution involves creating angles that allow leg extraction while maintaining your pressure advantage. This typically involves either driving your knee across their body to create the angle for knee slice passes, or controlling their hips while stepping over the trapped leg. Both approaches require maintaining chest pressure throughout the movement - any reduction in pressure allows frame recovery. The timing of these movements must coincide with moments when your opponent is focused on managing your pressure or defending their position, not when they can actively defend the leg extraction.
Understanding the position’s relationship to the broader passing game is essential. Flattened Half Guard top should be viewed as a waypoint in the passing sequence, not a destination. Skilled bottom players will eventually create enough space to recover frames if you remain static. The position’s value lies in the significant pressure advantage it provides, making opponent’s defensive actions predictable and creating opportunities to advance. When your opponent shrimps to create space, you can time your knee slice. When they turn to prevent the pass, you can transition to back attacks. The position creates a pressure laboratory where your opponent’s defensive responses become readable and exploitable.
Position Definition
- Top player maintains chest-to-chest contact with forward pressure driving through opponent’s sternum and ribcage, creating sustained compression that restricts breathing and limits defensive movement while controlling the pressure angle and distribution
- One leg remains trapped in opponent’s half guard hook, preventing completion of the pass to side control while creating the central technical challenge of leg extraction that must be solved to advance position
- Top player establishes crossface control across opponent’s face or neck, turning their head away from the action while creating a pressure point that multiplies the effective weight and prevents near-side arm framing attempts
Prerequisites
- Understanding of forward pressure mechanics and the ability to drive weight through chest and hips rather than relying on arm strength
- Crossface control experience including proper hand positioning, pressure angles, and maintaining control while transitioning positions
- Base and balance fundamentals to maintain stable pressure while opponent attempts hip escapes and frame recovery movements
Key Offensive Principles
- Pressure must be dynamic and flowing - static weight allows systematic frame recovery over time
- Crossface control is the highest priority - losing the crossface opens multiple defensive pathways
- Advance position when opponent is managing pressure, not when they’re defending leg extraction
- Hip pressure and chest pressure work together - using only chest pressure allows hip escape opportunities
- Create angles for leg extraction rather than forcing through direct opposition of trapped leg
Available Attacks
Knee Slice from Half → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 55%
- Advanced: 70%
Crossface Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Underhook Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 45%
- Advanced: 60%
Back Take Generic → Back Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 15%
- Intermediate: 30%
- Advanced: 45%
Kimura from Half Guard → Kimura Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 10%
- Intermediate: 25%
- Advanced: 35%
Transition to Mount → Mount
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 20%
- Intermediate: 35%
- Advanced: 50%
Knee on Belly → Knee on Belly
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 15%
- Intermediate: 30%
- Advanced: 40%
Decision Making from This Position
If opponent maintains leg hook but loses all upper body frames and structure:
- Execute Knee Slice from Half → Side Control (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Crossface Pass → Side Control (Probability: 55%)
If opponent turns away to escape crossface pressure or prevent pass completion:
- Execute Back Take Generic → Back Control (Probability: 50%)
- Execute Transition to Mount → Mount (Probability: 40%)
If opponent extends arm to establish underhook or create frame against crossface:
- Execute Kimura from Half Guard → Kimura Control (Probability: 40%)
- Execute Underhook Pass → Side Control (Probability: 50%)
Optimal Submission Paths
Pressure Pass to Mount Submissions
Flattened Half Guard Top → Knee Slice from Half → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Armbar from Mount
Back Take to Rear Naked Choke
Flattened Half Guard Top → Back Take Generic → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke
Kimura Control to Finish
Flattened Half Guard Top → Kimura from Half Guard → Kimura Control → Kimura
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 50% | 40% | 10% |
| Intermediate | 70% | 60% | 20% |
| Advanced | 85% | 75% | 30% |
Average Time in Position: 20-60 seconds to complete pass or lose position
Expert Analysis
John Danaher
The flattened half guard top position reveals the true nature of effective pressure passing - it is not about applying maximum force, but rather about strategic weight distribution that creates a pressure problem your opponent cannot solve through defensive techniques alone. When you settle your chest onto your opponent’s sternum with the crossface established, you create multiple simultaneous challenges they must address: respiratory restriction limiting their work capacity, vision obstruction from the crossface reducing their awareness, and structural collapse eliminating the frames required for guard retention. The key to advancement from this position is understanding that your opponent will inevitably create small amounts of space through systematic hip escape efforts. Rather than viewing this as a defensive success, skilled passers recognize these moments as the precise timing windows for executing passing sequences. When your opponent shrimps to create space, they momentarily reduce their leg hook’s effectiveness - this is when you drive your knee across for the knee slice. When they turn to relieve crossface pressure, they expose their back - this is when you transition to back control. The position becomes a pressure laboratory where opponent defensive responses become predictable and exploitable.
Gordon Ryan
In high-level competition, holding flattened half guard without advancing is a waste of a positional advantage. You’ve done the hard work collapsing their structure - now you need to complete the pass before they systematically recover. My approach is aggressive but controlled: maintain heavy chest pressure while constantly creating angles for the knee slice. I’m not trying to muscle through their leg hook, I’m waiting for the moment they shift weight to defend pressure or create space, then I’m cutting through. The crossface is non-negotiable - I’d rather give up other control points than lose the crossface. It controls their head position, limits their vision, makes breathing harder, and most importantly, prevents them from effectively using their near arm for framing. When I feel them starting to recover structure, I immediately increase pressure and look for the back take. Don’t get comfortable in this position - use it as a launching pad for finishing the pass or transitioning to back control.
Eddie Bravo
The Lockdown changes everything about how you play flattened half guard top. Traditional pressure passers get stuck here because they’re fighting the leg hook with upper body control, but the bottom player’s leg is designed to control your leg - that’s its whole purpose. When someone locks you down from bottom, you can’t just pressure pass anymore. You need to address the Lockdown first. My whole game from top half is about preventing the Lockdown before it happens. If I’m flattening someone, I’m immediately thinking about their leg position. Are they trying to get the Whip Up for the Lockdown? I’m putting my weight on that leg, controlling it, not letting them get the position. If they do get it locked, the game completely changes - now I’m defending Electric Chair and working Lockdown breaks rather than thinking about passing. The position teaches an important lesson: don’t get so focused on upper body control that you ignore what their legs are doing. Half guard is a leg position first, upper body position second.