head to head ...

Hello all - again, forgive the typo's - got to be quick , hitting the mat for a morning of privates in 10.

A few white belts have asked me this question of late - (how to prevent an opponent from always driving us backward and forcing us to always play guard) there may be others with the same problem - so here are a few tips:

Ultimately, you will need to learn and develop a couple of good attacks from 'head to head' (starting position). And not just leg shoots, where if it fails, you are underneath.
Starting this way at the beginning of a session is just an artificial start and so doesn't really metter - as fights don't start that way - however, there all loads of times when you find yourself 'head to head' and so you do really need skills there: eg: when you shoot for the legs and he sprawls - when you escape side control to your knees - when he backs out of your guard and you follow him up ....

Anyways - basics for not going back into guard from head to head:
1 - stay on your knees - not up one one foot.
2 - 'gorilla back- ... ie: belly pushed forward , shoulderspulled backward and hips down as low as you can get them - so that your spine is very straight and not curved (hunchback)
3 - 'bulldog neck' - ie: weld a steel plate at the back of your neck the same way you do when someone grabs your head in thai neck control
4 - 'tyranosaurus arms' - ie: arms held in tight - not to give your oponent levers to grab.

Now - no-one should be able to push you over backwards - you may slide backwards along a very slippery mat - but you won't fold over backwards.

Strategies: from there, try working to a position where you get you butt heads with your opponent - then angle off to the side and get your head 9and body properly lined up behind it) angled into the side of your opponents head - if you do this - you can now just drive forward and you will turn anyone over with leg-driven power. In other words, get you head to the side of theirs, and drive in hard - they wil be the ones going back into guard.
This advice comes with a money-back guarantee - enjoy

JBW

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