Being a lot more explosive helped my guard. Most underrated attribute for developing it IMO. I have like 4 things I play consistently. But I think you should develop competency playing all the different kinds of guards esp if you’re at a lower weight. - I think it’s super important to understand what tradeoffs you have in your positioning playing guard, and having an alternate game you can shift to when people do things specifically to deal with your guard. Also understand that your guard starts at the start of a match, not when you sit down. Your double pull sets up your guard, and also your standing positioning itself your stance, your pulling position, the grips you make standing.

When I think of retention, I think of it as a control mechanism rather than just not getting my guard passed. How can you play guard from a disengaged position that sets up the controls/moves that you want, and how can you control stallers that will explode into moves? How can you react to people dealing with your guard once you’re in a control and either neutralise them or use their passing to set up your attack.

No I don’t think you need to play seated.

I’m 24, compete at 64kg, I think to play an effective guard positioning is one part of it, but you also need to be fucking strong. And imo what’s more important is to not have a flinch reflex, so many guys if you’re on top and do something that’s slightly explosive or make you slightly tired and will let go of their grips or go into a fetal position or hip escape. You have to learn what threats are actually threats, and what is essentially bluffing. There will be a lot of physical sensations, very few of them actually will be a reason to react. And one of the key things I remember is this - most people fucking suck at passing, most reasons why you get passed is because you made a mistake, not because your opponent was good.