Squid Guard Top represents the passing player’s position when facing an opponent utilizing Squid Guard, a modern lapel-based guard system. This position requires specific understanding of lapel control dynamics and strategic pressure application to neutralize the bottom player’s attacking sequences. The top player must navigate complex lapel entanglements while maintaining posture and preventing sweeps or back takes.
Squid Guard Top demands excellent grip fighting awareness and patient, systematic passing approaches. Unlike traditional open guards, the bottom player uses their own gi lapel wrapped around the top player’s leg to create unique control points and off-balancing opportunities. The top player’s primary objectives include maintaining vertical posture, preventing the bottom player from inverting or taking the back, and methodically clearing the lapel entanglements before advancing position.
Success in this position correlates strongly with lapel grip management, base maintenance, and timing-based passing entries. The top player must balance aggressive passing pressure with defensive awareness of submission threats and back exposure. Understanding the mechanical principles of lapel-based guards and their inherent vulnerabilities allows the top practitioner to systematically dismantle the position and advance to dominant control positions.
Position Definition
- Top player stands or kneels with one or both legs entangled by bottom player’s lapel wrapped around knee or ankle, creating tension and control through fabric manipulation
- Bottom player remains on their back or inverted with active lapel grips maintaining connection to top player’s lower body, using lapel tension to control distance and create off-balancing threats
- Top player maintains upright posture with hands positioned to prevent lapel deepening or back exposure while working to clear entanglements and establish passing grips
- Bottom player’s legs create frames and barriers using both traditional guard mechanics and lapel-augmented control points to prevent hip-to-hip pressure and guard consolidation
Prerequisites
- Bottom player has successfully established Squid Guard configuration with lapel wrapped around top player’s leg
- Top player has entered bottom player’s open guard range and triggered lapel entanglement
- Bottom player maintains active lapel control and positioning on back or inverted
- Top player recognizes Squid Guard configuration and adapts passing strategy accordingly
Key Offensive Principles
- Maintain vertical posture and prevent forward collapse into bottom player’s inverted attack range
- Control bottom player’s free hand to prevent lapel grip reinforcement or additional entanglement establishment
- Create systematic lapel clearing sequence before attempting traditional passing mechanics
- Maintain wide base and weight distribution to prevent off-balancing from lapel tension
- Time passing entries to moments when bottom player adjusts lapel configuration
- Prevent bottom player from achieving full inversion or back exposure positions
- Use pressure and grip fighting to force bottom player into defensive postures before advancing
Available Attacks
Stack Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 45%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 75%
Leg Drag Pass → Leg Drag Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 55%
- Advanced: 70%
Back Step → Reverse De La Riva Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Toreando Pass → Headquarters Position
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 50%
- Intermediate: 65%
- Advanced: 78%
Pressure Pass → Half Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 55%
- Intermediate: 68%
- Advanced: 80%
Knee Slice Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 48%
- Intermediate: 62%
- Advanced: 74%
Decision Making from This Position
If bottom player maintains tight lapel control and begins inverting:
- Execute Back Step → Headquarters Position (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Stack Pass → Reverse De La Riva Guard (Probability: 55%)
If bottom player’s lapel grip loosens or becomes shallow:
- Execute Pressure Pass → Side Control (Probability: 70%)
- Execute Toreando Pass → Headquarters Position (Probability: 68%)
If bottom player transitions to traditional guard retention without lapel:
- Execute Leg Drag Pass → Leg Drag Control (Probability: 72%)
- Execute Knee Slice Pass → Side Control (Probability: 75%)
If bottom player establishes triangle threat from inverted position:
- Execute Posture Recovery → Open Guard (Probability: 60%)
- Execute Stack Pass → Side Control (Probability: 58%)
Optimal Submission Paths
Fastest consolidation path
Squid Guard Top → Leg Drag Pass → Side Control → Mount → Armbar from Mount
Pressure-based submission path
Squid Guard Top → Stack Pass → Side Control → North-South → North-South Choke
Back attack counter path
Squid Guard Top → Back Step → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke
Systematic passing to submission
Squid Guard Top → Knee Slice Pass → Side Control → Kimura from Side Control
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 40% | 50% | 15% |
| Intermediate | 55% | 65% | 25% |
| Advanced | 70% | 78% | 35% |
Average Time in Position: 45-90 seconds
Expert Analysis
John Danaher
Squid Guard Top represents a modern guard passing problem that requires systematic understanding of lapel mechanics and their inherent vulnerabilities. The fundamental principle is that any guard system relying on fabric control creates dependencies that can be exploited through grip stripping and postural management. The top player must recognize that the lapel entanglement, while creating control for the bottom player, also limits their own mobility and creates predictable attack patterns. Maintain vertical posture to prevent the bottom player from achieving the inverted positions where their attacking sequences become most dangerous. The systematic approach involves first neutralizing the bottom player’s ability to deepen their lapel control through grip fighting, then methodically clearing the entanglement while preventing inversion, and finally executing traditional passing mechanics once the lapel control is neutralized. Understanding that Squid Guard’s effectiveness relies on specific lapel configurations allows the top player to create passing opportunities by forcing the bottom player into defensive adjustments that compromise their control structure.
Gordon Ryan
When I’m in Squid Guard Top, I focus on aggressive posture and pressure rather than trying to play the bottom player’s game with intricate lapel battles. The reality is that Squid Guard becomes significantly less effective when you maintain vertical posture and refuse to engage in the inverted scrambles where the bottom player has practiced their sequences. I prefer to use heavy shoulder pressure and crossface control to limit the bottom player’s mobility while systematically stripping their lapel grips. The key is not getting frustrated by the lapel entanglement and instead viewing it as a temporary obstacle before initiating your preferred passing style. In competition, I’ve found that stack passing or leg drag entries work exceptionally well once you’ve neutralized the initial lapel control, because the bottom player has committed so much of their guard structure to the lapel configuration that they’re vulnerable to traditional passing mechanics. The most important thing is preventing back exposure during transitions - if the bottom player can’t invert and can’t take your back, their offensive options become extremely limited and you can pass on your terms.
Eddie Bravo
Squid Guard Top is interesting because it’s one of those positions where the bottom player thinks they’re being super tricky with the lapel game, but they’re actually creating predictable patterns you can exploit. From the 10th Planet perspective, we’re all about no-gi, but understanding gi-based lapel guards helps you recognize the underlying control mechanics that translate across both formats. When facing Squid Guard, I tell my students to think about the position like it’s a reverse lockdown situation - the bottom player is using fabric instead of hooks, but the principle is the same: they’re trying to control your base and create off-balancing opportunities. The counter is aggressive base management and circular movement away from their control points. Don’t fight the lapel directly; instead, create angles that make their lapel configuration ineffective. Circle backstep away from the entangled side while maintaining upper body control, and you’ll find their whole system starts breaking down. The beauty is that once you understand the mechanical principles, you can shut down these modern lapel guards without getting into complicated grip fighting battles - just move to positions where their lapel control becomes irrelevant and hit your preferred passes.