What is butterfly guard BJJ?
Noah Mitchell
Published Jan 10, 2026
A highly offensive Guard position in BJJ is the Butterfly Guard. The Butterfly Guard allows you to quickly attack your opponent with sweeps and transitions. The Butterfly Guard will also allow you to defeat a much larger and stronger opponent.
What is a butterfly guard?
The butterfly guard works like a lever on your opponent. You use your legs as hooks on your opponent's legs, while staying close and clenching them. By sitting and framing with your legs hooked into your opponent gives you a strong base. Making it hard for your opponent to push you to your back and begin passing.
Is butterfly guard an open guard?
The butterfly guard is one of the simplest, yet most effective open guard in BJJ. It can be used against opponents of any size as it utilizes the strongest part of our body-the legs, to pull, lift, and off-balance the opponent.
Who invented butterfly guard?
The History of the Butterfly Guard
As judo/jiu jitsu migrated to Brazil by way of Mitsuyo Maeda in the early 20th century, much of this technical knowledge carried over with him.
How many guards are there in BJJ?
Seven Basic Guards For BJJ
- 7 Basic Guard Positions Every New BJJ Player Must Learn. ...
- Closed Guard. ...
- Butterfly Guard. ...
- Traditional Half-Guard. ...
- Seated Half-Guard. ...
- De La Riva Guard. ...
- X-Guard. ...
- Single Leg X-Guard.
Does butterfly guard work in MMA?
What makes the butterfly guard so effective is the fact that your legs are often so much stronger then your arms and when using your legs you can lift up so much more weight. By elevating the body of your opponent you create so much distance and then are given so many opportunities to attack or escape.
What is Spider guard?
The spider guard is an open guard in which you're using both your arms and legs to control your opponent's arms. To set it up, you begin by gripping each sleeve of your opponent's gi jacket and placing the soles of your feet on their biceps, near the elbow crease.
What is open guard in BJJ?
For the sake of this article we define the Standard Open Guard as a position where your legs are not locked around your opponent's waist, and at least one foot (but often both) is on your opponent's hips. Having a foot on the opponent's hip enables you to control the space between you.
How do you use a spider guard?
Basic Entry From Closed Guard
Hip out to your right (make sure your butt moves to your right) as you push your partner's left sleeve away from their body, creating enough space for you to slide your right knee across their midsection, almost as though you are going for a basic scissor sweep.
Why do people tape their fingers for BJJ?
There have been many studies regarding the subject of swollen finger joints in grappling, including in other sports such as Judo. This is a simple yet effective way to control the movement of your fingers containing the damaged joint, but it can also be used to fortify your grip when you are injury free.
What is Berimbolo BJJ?
The Berimbolo is the name given by Andre Galvao to a specific grappling movement, this movement was created by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors having derived from the De La Riva Guard. This grappling position requires the guard player to spin upside-down in an attempt to disrupt the balance of his opponent.
How do you beat Spider guard?
The basic premise behind the "express pass" for spider guard is important, crucial, and very simple to understand. The general idea is to swim both of your arms underneath your partner's feet so that you can enter into a stacking double under style guard pass.
What is closed guard BJJ?
Basic Closed Guard
The Closed Guard used with a basic sleeve and lapel grip. With an overhooking lapel grip and wrist control. Keeping the opponent close by controlling an arm and the head. Using the Closed Guard to rest for a moment; not recomended for MMA!
What are the different types of guards in BJJ?
Seven Basic Guards For BJJ
- Closed Guard. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's most basic guard, the closed guard is the clear place to begin our discussion. ...
- Traditional Half-Guard. ...
- Seated Half-Guard. ...
- De La Riva Guard. ...
- X-Guard. ...
- Single Leg X-Guard.
What is half guard and full guard?
The half guard is the position that is in between a full guard and side control or full mount. The combatant on top will try to untangle the leg and pass to obtain side control or mount, while the bottom combatant will try to transition into a full guard or alternatively attempt a sweep or submission.
Who invented Spider guard?
In Jiu Jitsu, no one person is credited with coming up with spider guard. The development was a natural process where numerous individuals innovated the position. The person that many credit as one of the grapplers to innovate spider guard the most is Mauricio Tinguinha.
Can you grab fingers in BJJ?
But grabbing the fingers and twisting is against bjj rules (small joint manipulation) and is very likely to cause a sprained or even broken finger. A painfully broken digit could cause you to miss work and not able to make your living. To someone like a dentist, this injury would be disastrous!
What is zinc oxide tape?
Zinc oxide tape is a strong strapping tape that is made of a thin woven cloth and coated with a zinc oxide-based adhesive. Due to its antiseptic properties and effective qualities, it is widely used by athletes, physiotherapists, and within the medical field.
How do stripes work in BJJ?
Stripes on Brazilian jiu-jitsu belts are used to indicate a student's level within a given belt rank. More stripes indicate a higher proficiency level. For example, a 4 stripe blue belt is a higher level than a 2 stripe blue belt. How stripes are awarded and used varies from school to school.
