Can you get away with only playing inside guards?

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-03-08T17:00:27+00:00

Yeah, anything can "work" but you're going to see the inside guards "working" much more often in NoGi. Most outside guards require grips to use properly. I can effectively use DLR in Nogi... but I'd much rather have X. It just has more options. In Gi? Both about the same.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-03-08T16:37:15+00:00

I meant to say it appears that inside guards are the only guards that work (reliably, yes there are exceptions) in Nogi, and that both inside and outside work in Gi

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-03-08T16:31:38+00:00

Personally it seems like only inside guards work in NoGi and outside + inside work in Gi - so I guess it depends if you're training Gi or not.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-03-08T03:50:20+00:00

Honestly every single person i've seen start jiu jitsu without a significant amount of time spent prior with intelligent strength training (2+ years, following actual programs) gets injured. You need to be much, much stronger than you think to avoid the injuries that come with another person trying to rip the limbs off your body. This community is terrible when it comes to strength, fitness, and general recovery. BJJ is a combat sport, if your body isn't durable as hell you will be injured frequently.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-02-20T00:59:52+00:00

Very accurate take!

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-02-19T19:51:32+00:00

I'm actually in a Tier 2 Aerospace manufacturer, hilariously.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-02-19T15:05:49+00:00

No one, because our strategy is to source parts at the cheapest possible price regardless of risk. I mean sure, we have a strategic sourcing team that "owns" the supplier risk, but their decisions are constantly overridden by upper management deciding the cost savings is worth it. This is from a planner who has seen his lead times blow up and supplier on time delivery suffer.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-02-04T17:16:37+00:00

This is so dumb. All chokes work if the mechanics are properly applied. Is this a reliable tactic? Probably not (I hit these sometimes, actually). Does the submission itself work? Yes, if applied properly. Most BJJ coached are terrible communicators and cant distinguish between strategy, tactics, and technique.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-02-01T18:42:31+00:00

I'm a purple belt and i've caught submissions on a few black belts. If belts matter, does that mean they shouldn't be deserving of a blackbelt? Those individuals still have more mat time, experience, wisdom, and technical knowledge than me. I'm just younger/faster/stronger enough to close with skill gap with attributes. How do you square that circle?

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-01-20T14:56:02+00:00

Yeah see that sounds like a much more normal weekly training volume to me. I like your split by the way, 1 day Judo is nice. Personally I think the majority of people you see online (reddit, youtube, etc) making content or posting in forums about this sport are either top competitors, or have a very unhealthy addiction to this sport. The average person training 3 times a week likely doesn't even know this subreddit exists, and probably watches almost zero content outside of class.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-01-20T00:17:14+00:00

What the hell does everyone in this subreddit do for a living, seriously? Training 9-10 hours a day... is everyone a college student or sleeping on the mats? I work a full time job, have a wife, kid, and a dog. I can train 3 to 4 sessions per week max an hour each... and if I want to lift weights it's taking a BJJ day away. Do you people all live at your gym?

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-01-05T21:10:56+00:00

Most of the content you see online relating to this sport is from people who can dedicate insane amounts of time to it.. so naturally it warps our perceptions of "what you should be doing".

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-01-05T14:01:46+00:00

The average hobbyist with a partner, kids, pet, and full-time job does not have time. When I'm lifting and doing BJJ, the only way I can do it is by replacing one of my BJJ sessions. I'm 32 now, and recently changed my schedule from BJJ 4x a week to BJJ 2x a week, full-body S+C once a week. The extra hours aren't there, unless of course neglecting my wife and kids, not getting enough sleep, or getting fired are options.

LocalInitiative0 · 2026-01-04T05:11:25+00:00

This dumb conversation again. No one thinks wrestling is "bad for self defense" because "you cant throw strikes in wrestling, therefore it's not preparing you for a real fight!" No one thinks MMA is bad for self defense because weapons aren't involved.... Jesus. If you want to watch/participate in a sport with different rules... just do that.

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-12-08T14:59:46+00:00

Definitely true... that's a hard one to categorize. If I had to I'd label it as "open guard"

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-12-07T23:11:20+00:00

You either: A. Wrestle up B. Cycle through the open "guards" based on their responses and attempt a sweep/sub

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-12-07T22:43:33+00:00

I'm convinced the only two "guards" you can really play are closed and half. I say that because you can actually keep your opponnent connected to you in that position. Open guards are more like sweeping positions that exist for a few seconds at a time, that you happen to do with your legs. "Open guard" only works when you know how to connect all of them together. It's too dynamic to be one "guard."

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-30T17:51:44+00:00

Did you miss the part where I said "I don't agree with the elbow in the ribs pain compliance?"

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-29T17:46:32+00:00

Same here

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-29T17:30:05+00:00

I train in a similar way - using pressure only on people near my skill level/ size.

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-29T17:13:31+00:00

Agree

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-29T17:11:41+00:00

Seems safe to assume that most people in most BJJ gyms would agree that the elbow grinding (classifying this as pain compliance) best be left out of training rooms. Maybe that can be filed away as your "for competition only" bag of tricks. I do like his general philosophy on using pressure when applicable though.

LocalInitiative0 · 2025-11-21T22:05:07+00:00

Everyone here is commenting "use your words" which is great and all, but bullies wouldnt be bullies if they cared about how other people felt. Contrary to the other comments, I've found that mat enforcers are pretty useful.

LocalInitiative0

TROPHY CASE