BJJ Graph

Open Guard Top | BJJ Position Guide | BJJ Graph

Oct 25, 20258 min read

Open Guard Top

bjjstatetopguard_passing

State Properties

  • State ID: S033
  • Point Value: 1 (Slight advantage)
  • Position Type: Passing/control position
  • Risk Level: Medium
  • Energy Cost: Medium
  • Time Sustainability: Medium

State Description

Open Guard Top is the fundamental position where the top player engages with an opponent who is utilizing an open guard (any guard where the legs are not closed around the opponent’s waist). The position encompasses a wide range of specific scenarios depending on the bottom player’s guard configuration, but generally involves the top player standing or in combat base, working to navigate past the opponent’s legs to establish a more dominant position. This position serves as the starting point for all guard passing sequences and represents one of the most complex and dynamic positional battles in BJJ.

Visual Description

You are standing upright or crouched in combat base over your opponent, who lies on their back or sits up with their legs between you and their torso. Your hands actively grip their sleeves, pants, belt, or control their legs and arms to establish passing grips, while your weight distributes forward on the balls of your feet or through your knees if kneeling. Your opponent’s feet press against your hips, thighs, biceps, or hook various parts of your legs, creating active barriers you must navigate around or through. The space between your chest and their torso is actively contested territory that you seek to close while they work to maintain, with your posture ranging from fully upright to bent forward depending on your passing strategy. Your head position varies based on your approach, staying high and back to avoid submissions in standing passes or tucked close when applying pressure passes. This dynamic configuration creates a chess match of grips, base, and positioning as you systematically work to bypass their leg barriers while defending against sweeps and submissions.

Key Principles

  • Maintain proper posture and base to avoid sweeps
  • Control opponent’s legs to limit their mobility
  • Create and exploit angles to bypass defensive frames
  • Establish grip dominance to facilitate passes
  • Manage distance appropriate to your passing style
  • Anticipate and counter defensive guards and transitions
  • Apply strategic pressure to break down guard structures

Prerequisites

  • Understanding of various guard types and mechanics
  • Base and balance awareness
  • Grip fighting fundamentals
  • Recognition of passing opportunities
  • Defensive awareness against sweeps and submissions

State Invariants

  • Top player standing or in combat base
  • Bottom player utilizing open legs configuration
  • No chest-to-chest connection established
  • Distance managed through grips and positioning
  • Dynamic engagement with opponent’s legs

Defensive Responses (When Opponent Has This State)

Offensive Transitions (Available From This State)

Counter Transitions

Expert Insights

  • Danaher System: Emphasizes systematic categorization of open guards and developing appropriate passing strategies for each guard type. Creates a methodical approach to guard passing that begins with proper grip breaking and establishment of advantageous grips before committing to specific passes. Focuses particularly on the concept of addressing the opponent’s defensive layers in the correct sequence.
  • Gordon Ryan: Approaches open guard top with a pressure-based passing system that emphasizes creating dilemmas for the guard player through strategic weight distribution and grip configurations. Focuses on forcing predictable defensive reactions that can be exploited with pre-planned passing sequences, particularly favoring the headquarters position as a central hub.
  • Eddie Bravo: Developed specialized passing approaches for his 10th Planet system that often involve unique passing angles and pressure distributions not commonly seen in traditional gi passing. Emphasizes the importance of posture breaking and creating pressure that forces the bottom player to make defensive compromises.

Common Errors

  • Poor posture → Vulnerability to sweeps
  • Neglecting grip fighting → Loss of control
  • Committing prematurely → Defensive counters
  • Passive engagement → Allowing guard establishment
  • Telegraphing passes → Predictable patterns

Training Drills

  • Grip fighting sequences against various guards
  • Passing flow drills with progressive resistance
  • Base and posture recovery exercises
  • Defensive awareness against common sweeps
  • Transitional drills between different passing approaches

Decision Tree

If opponent establishes collar/sleeve grips:

Else if opponent plays with feet on hips:

Else if opponent uses seated guard:

Else if opponent plays supine (lying) open guard:

Position Metrics

  • Success Rate: 60% passing probability (competition data)
  • Average Time in Position: 30-90 seconds
  • Pass Completion Probability: 55%
  • Sweep Vulnerability: 35%
  • Submission Vulnerability: 15%

Optimal Paths

Standard passing path: Open Guard Top → Headquarters Control → Headquarters Position → Knee Cut Pass → Side Control

Pressure passing path: Open Guard Top → Double Under Pass → Side Control → Mount → submission options

Dynamic passing path: Open Guard Top → Leg Drag Setup → Leg Drag Pass → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke → Won by Submission

Computer Science Analogy

Open Guard Top represents a “search problem” in the BJJ state graph where the top player must navigate through a complex decision space with multiple possible paths (passes) and obstacles (guard configurations). The position requires implementing an adaptive search algorithm that constantly evaluates the current state and selects the optimal passing strategy based on the opponent’s defensive structure. Similar to a pathfinding algorithm encountering dynamic obstacles, the guard passer must continuously reassess and adjust their approach as the guard player shifts their defensive configuration.

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