Half Guard:
A position where you have only one of your opponent’s legs trapped between your own. It is best explained as a guard that enables control of a single leg of your opponent using both of your legs, which occurs when they are halfway past your guard.

Half Guard Defense:
If you are still learning the concepts of Half Guard, your primary objective should be to recover Closed Guard or Open Guard.

Transitioning back to Closed Guard or Open Guard helps to prevent your opponent from passing your guard and removes you from an otherwise dangerous scenario in which your opponent is inching closer to gaining a dominant top position.

Even if you have the world’s best control in the Half Guard position, it’s not ideal to be stuck underneath a bigger and stronger opponent for any period. This is why your priority needs to be removing yourself from Half Guard and gaining extra control of your opponent.

Your opponent will be trying to outmaneuver you, smash past your guard, or a combination of both. To pass your Half Guard, he will likely need to flatten your back, stop you from achieving an underhook or overhook, and gain control of your head and upper body.

Therefore, it’s essential to use proper framing techniques to stop him from crushing your upper body and working into Side Control or Full Mount.

Half Guard Offense:
Those who are more comfortable in Half Guard won’t be rushing to reclaim guard. Instead, they will be attempting to execute sweeps or submissions from this position.

To do so, a Half Guard player needs to disrupt his opponent. He can achieve this by scooting deep underneath his hips and start threatening with sweeps and attacks. There’ll need to be some form of upper body control to endanger him, though. Whether that’s an overhook or an underhook, this upper body control will help prevent him from controlling your head and flattening your back.

The ideal way to play half guard is on one side of your body. A fundamental rule of Half Guard is that it helps to be on your side. Remember, your opponent wants to flatten your back and keep you pinned to the mat. If this occurs, you will lose much of your mobility and will be unable to execute many techniques.

Another tactic to remember is that you should dig for the underhook with your top-side arm. That’s often the same for the overhook, too. If you can secure this position – even without an understanding of particular sweep techniques – you are already well on your way to disturbing your opponent’s center of gravity and forcing him to rebalance regularly, rather than finding ways to progress past your guard.

Half Guard Variations:
There are many variations of Half Guard, and each hybrid has a list of advantages and disadvantages that primarily depend on whether you wish to attack or defend.

Some of the most prominent Half Guard variations that you will encounter are Deep Half Guard, Z Guard, Lockdown, Half Butterfly Guard, and even X Guard can be considered a form of Half Guard.

Over time, you will learn, understand, and master these positions.

Half Guard Sweeps:
By developing a seriously effective ability to sweep your opposition from Half Guard, you won’t feel uncomfortable about being on the bottom anymore.

Half Guard Submissions:
There are not many submissions available from half guard, and you probably shouldn’t crazily pursue submissions from the position. Remember, it’s always a good idea to regain Closed or Open Guard, or sweep your opponent to gain a dominant position.

In attempting a submission from Half Guard, you might allow an opportunity for your opponent to slide right into Full Mount or Side Control. Two of the most popular submissions from Half Guard are Kimuras and knee bars.

Other variations of Half Guard, such as Z Guard, can assist with setting up triangle chokes from the position. It’s also not entirely unusual to see a collar choke from Half Guard.