The Guard:
The guard is the most well known, common and diverse position in BJJ.

At tournaments you will often see the majority of matches being played in some form of the guard. The guard is when the person on the bottom has their legs in between themselves and the person on top. Simply put, the guard is their legs.

The person's goal on top is to try to open and pass the legs of the person on bottom in order to achieve a dominant position. The person's goal on bottom is to use their guard to break down the opponent’s balance and posture, attack submissions or move to a better position.

The guard is a neutral position for both fighters, although the top is considered an improvement of position because of the added force of gravity.

A reversal from the bottom of guard to a top position is called a sweep. There are many variations of the guard.

* Guard– A position in Jiu Jitsu where you can either attack or defend. Playing guard refers to any position in which you’re attempting to control your opponent with your ankles, knees, or hips in an attempt to stop them from advancing their position, usually in conjunction with some sort of grip to hold them in place. Common Guards are open guard, closed guard, spider guard, half guard, De la Riva/DLR (pronounced “De La HEE-va”), and Reverse De La Riva/RDLR.

* (Guard) Pass– The player on top (i.e. “passer”) successfully goes around/through the guard player’s legs and advances their position to either side control or north/south position. In competition, if the new position is held for three seconds, then three points are awarded to the passer. 

* Guard Pull– An alternative method of bringing the match to the ground. A guard-pull results in one player bringing the match to the ground with their feet in a position to control their opponent. A guard pull can result in any guard, or if the guard pull fails the position resolves with the guard being passed. No points are awarded for a guard pull in competition.