BJJ Graph

Spider Guard Bottom | BJJ Position Guide | BJJ Graph

Oct 25, 202513 min read

Spider Guard Bottom

bjjstatespiderguardgiopenguard

State Properties

  • State ID: S218
  • Point Value: 0 (Guard position)
  • Position Type: Offensive/Controlling
  • Risk Level: Medium
  • Energy Cost: Medium to High
  • Time Sustainability: Short to Medium

State Description

Spider Guard Bottom is a gi-specific open guard where the bottom practitioner controls both of the opponent’s sleeves while placing their feet on the opponent’s biceps, creating powerful push-pull control that manages distance and breaks posture. This configuration creates a mechanical advantage where the guard player can off-balance, sweep, or submit the opponent while maintaining safety through distance management. The feet on biceps act as mobile frames that prevent the opponent from establishing pressure or passing, while the sleeve grips provide steering control. Spider guard is one of the most popular competitive guards in gi BJJ due to its effectiveness against standing and kneeling passers.

The position represents sophisticated evolution of open guard concepts, combining grip fighting, distance management, and leverage-based attacks. Spider guard excels at neutralizing pressure passing attempts because the frames prevent the opponent from getting close enough to apply weight. It also creates strong sweeping opportunities by controlling the opponent’s arm positioning while simultaneously pushing or pulling them off-balance. Modern spider guard has evolved into an entire system with numerous variations, transitions, and submission chains that make it a complete guard strategy.

Visual Description

The bottom practitioner lies on their back with both hands gripping the opponent’s sleeves at the wrist or mid-forearm, arms extended. Both feet are placed on the opponent’s biceps with the balls of the feet creating active pressure points that push while the hands pull, creating a push-pull tension. The legs are typically bent at approximately 90-degree angles, with shins roughly perpendicular to the ground. The opponent kneels or stands in front, their arms extended due to the sleeve control and bicep pressure, posture broken or struggling to maintain uprightness. The bottom player’s hips are mobile, allowing them to create angles and adjust distance dynamically. One common configuration is “double spider” (both feet on biceps), but mixed configurations exist where one foot moves to other positions (hip, collar, lasso) while maintaining one spider hook. The tension created by opposing forces (feet pushing, hands pulling) is constant and active, not passive. The bottom player’s core is engaged, using their whole body as a system rather than relying on arm or leg strength alone. The opponent feels stretched and off-balanced, unable to establish forward pressure or stable posture. This creates an incredibly frustrating position for the top player as they cannot reach the guard player’s body to pass.

Key Principles

  • Push-Pull Tension: Constant opposing forces - feet push biceps while hands pull sleeves
  • Active Feet: Feet are mobile frames, not static posts, adjusting angle and pressure constantly
  • Distance Management: Control exact distance to prevent passing while enabling attacks
  • Grip Dominance: Sleeve control is foundational - lose grips, lose the guard
  • Hip Mobility: Hips create angles for sweeps and adjust structure for defense
  • Energy Efficiency: Use opponent’s attempts to pass as energy for sweeps and transitions

Prerequisites

  • Gi training (spider guard requires sleeve grips)
  • Strong grip endurance for sustained sleeve control
  • Hip flexibility and mobility
  • Understanding of push-pull mechanics and leverage

State Invariants

  • Both sleeves controlled by bottom player’s hands
  • At least one (typically both) feet on opponent’s biceps
  • Bottom player on back with mobile hips
  • Distance maintained between bodies
  • Opponent’s posture broken or challenged

Defensive Responses (When Opponent Has This State Against You - You’re Top)

Offensive Transitions (Available From This State - You’re Bottom)

Sweeps

Submissions

Guard Transitions

Counter Transitions

Expert Insights

  • John Danaher: “Spider guard represents one of the most sophisticated applications of leverage in BJJ. The beauty is in the mechanical advantage - you use the opponent’s skeletal structure against them. Your feet on their biceps create a lever arm that makes even strong opponents feel weak. The key is understanding that spider guard is a system of constant adjustment, not a static position. Your feet must dance on their arms, adjusting pressure and angle based on their movements. The grip-break battle is everything - once they strip your sleeves, the guard collapses.”

  • Gordon Ryan: “I don’t use spider guard much because I’m primarily no-gi, but I respect how effective it is in gi. The thing about spider guard is it’s incredibly safe if you know what you’re doing. You’re keeping them at distance where they can’t pressure you, while you have all these sweeping and submission options. The downside is it’s energy-intensive - you’re working constantly to maintain those grips and frames. In competition, I see a lot of people gas out trying to hold spider guard too long.”

  • Eddie Bravo: “Spider guard is pure gi technique - you can’t do it without the sleeves. In 10th Planet we obviously don’t use it, but I’ve studied it because knowing gi techniques makes you a more complete grappler. What’s interesting about spider is how it inverts the normal power dynamic. Usually the top person has the advantage, but spider guard makes them feel helpless if it’s played well. The lapel variations people have added to spider guard are crazy creative - shows how the position keeps evolving.”

Common Errors

Error: Weak or broken sleeve grips

  • Consequence: Spider guard is entirely dependent on sleeve control. Without strong grips, the feet on biceps lose their effectiveness and the entire guard structure collapses. Opponent can easily posture up and begin passing.
  • Correction: Maintain death grips on sleeves, reinforcing with proper grip technique (thumb inside sleeve, four fingers over). When opponent fights grips, use both hands temporarily on one sleeve if necessary. Re-grip immediately if broken. Practice grip endurance specifically.
  • Recognition: If opponent easily breaks your grips or you feel grips slipping, grip strength or technique is insufficient.

Error: Static feet without active pressure adjustment

  • Consequence: Passive feet on biceps allow opponent to adjust their structure and begin passing. Static frames can be passed around or driven through. No offensive threat is created. Energy is wasted maintaining useless positions.
  • Correction: Feet must constantly adjust - pushing harder when they try to posture, angling for sweeps when they shift weight, moving with their movements. Think of feet as active mobile frames, not fixed posts. Micro-adjustments prevent passing and create sweeping opportunities.
  • Recognition: If opponent feels stable despite your spider guard, your feet are too passive.

Error: Letting opponent establish chest-to-chest connection

  • Consequence: Spider guard’s fundamental purpose is distance management. If opponent gets their chest to yours, the guard has failed completely. They can now apply pressure and begin passing, nullifying all spider guard advantages.
  • Correction: Your feet on biceps must prevent their chest from reaching you. If they start getting close, extend legs more, pull sleeves harder, or transition to different guard. Never accept them smashing through your frames to your chest.
  • Recognition: If you feel opponent’s weight on your chest while in spider guard, distance management has failed catastrophically.

Error: Poor hip positioning and angle creation

  • Consequence: Spider guard needs hip mobility to create sweeping angles and defensive adjustments. Flat hips with no angle make sweeps weak and passing easier. Static hip position signals lack of offensive threat.
  • Correction: Constantly adjust hip position - angle off to one side for sweeps, square up when needed for defense, move hips back when threatened. Hip mobility is what makes spider guard dynamic and dangerous. Core engagement allows fluid hip movement.
  • Recognition: If your sweeps feel weak or you can’t seem to off-balance opponent, hip positioning is probably wrong.

Error: Holding spider guard too long without attacking

  • Consequence: Spider guard is energy-intensive for both players but especially for the guard player. Holding it passively without attacking wastes energy and gives opponent time to develop passing strategies. Stalling in spider is losing slowly.
  • Correction: Constantly threaten sweeps and submissions from spider. Even if attacks don’t finish, they create defensive reactions you can exploit. Spider guard should feel aggressive and threatening to opponent. Maximum hold time without attacks: 10-15 seconds.
  • Recognition: If you’re getting tired while opponent seems comfortable, you’re holding without attacking enough.

Training Drills

Drill 1: Spider Guard Establishment and Maintenance

Partner starts in open guard passing position. Bottom person establishes spider guard (sleeve grips plus feet on biceps), maintains for 10 seconds while partner provides increasing resistance (40%, 60%, 80%), then resets. Focus on grip establishment, proper foot placement, and maintaining structure under pressure. 3-minute rounds. Focus: Speed of establishment, grip fighting, foot positioning, core engagement.

Drill 2: Spider Guard Sweep Chains

Start in established spider guard. Bottom person attempts first sweep (balloon, lumberjack, or spider). If defended, immediately chain to second sweep based on opponent’s defensive movement. Continue chains of 2-3 sweeps. Progressive resistance (50%, 70%). 5-minute rounds. Focus: Reading base and weight distribution, smooth transitions between sweeps, maintaining grips throughout, using opponent’s defensive energy.

Drill 3: Spider Guard Submission Flow

From spider guard, flow between three submissions: triangle (when they resist sweeps), omoplata (when they defend triangle), armbar (when they posture hard). Partner provides realistic but moderate resistance (60%). 4-minute rounds alternating. Focus: Recognizing submission opportunities, maintaining some spider structure during transitions, not forcing submissions but capitalizing on openings.

Drill 4: Spider Guard vs Passing

Positional sparring from spider guard. Top person attempts to pass using various strategies. Bottom person maintains guard and attempts sweeps/submissions. If passed, reset in spider. If swept, reset in spider. Live resistance (85-90%). 5-minute rounds. Focus: For bottom - dealing with realistic passing pressure, maintaining grips under duress, timing attacks. For top - grip fighting, posture maintenance, finding passing lanes.

Drill 5: Spider Guard Foot Mobility Drill

Establish spider guard. Top person shifts positions (standing, kneeling, stepping around) while bottom person adjusts foot position and pressure to maintain optimal frames and create sweeping angles. No actual sweeps, focus on foot adjustment. Continuous movement for 3-minute rounds. Focus: Active foot repositioning, quick adjustments, maintaining push-pull tension through movement, reading top person’s weight shifts.

Optimal Submission Paths

Fastest path to submission (direct attack): Spider Guard Bottom → Triangle from Spider → Triangle Control → Won by Submission Reasoning: Triangle is immediately available when opponent reacts to sweep threats by posting arms. Quick transition from spider structure.

High-percentage path (sweep first): Spider Guard Bottom → Balloon Sweep → Mount → Armbar from Mount → Won by Submission Reasoning: Balloon sweep is one of highest percentage sweeps from spider. Mount offers dominant submission platform.

Alternative submission path (shoulder attack): Spider Guard Bottom → Omoplata from Spider → Omoplata Control → Won by Submission Reasoning: Omoplata is available when opponent defends triangle or drives into guard. Effective against posture-focused defense.

Chain attack path (systematic): Spider Guard Bottom → Spider Guard Sweep → Top Position → Pass Guard → Side Control Top → Americana → Won by Submission Reasoning: Direct sweep from spider, then systematic passing and control before submission. Most reliable path.

Decision Tree

If opponent stands up to pass:

  • Execute Balloon Sweep → Top Position (Probability: 70%)
    • Reasoning: Standing loads weight onto their arms, perfect for balloon sweep mechanics
  • Or Execute Sit Up Sweep → Top Position (Probability: 65%)
    • Reasoning: Standing creates distance allowing sit-up based sweeps

Else if opponent drives forward aggressively:

Else if opponent establishes strong low posture:

Else if opponent focusing heavily on grip breaking:

Else (balanced neutral spider guard):

Position Metrics

  • Success Rate: 62% guard retention (competition data)
  • Average Time in Position: 30-60 seconds (energy-intensive)
  • Sweep Probability: Beginner 40%, Intermediate 56%, Advanced 70%
  • Submission Probability: Beginner 28%, Intermediate 42%, Advanced 58%
  • Guard Pass Probability (opponent): Beginner 38%, Intermediate 28%, Advanced 18%
  • Grip Break Resistance: High with proper technique, Medium without

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