Key Takeaways
- A 2-part Gi instructional that deconstructs the main concepts and motions behind guard retention.Â
- Contains only concepts, guiding you through the key goals a guard player has.Â
- Offers several key mobility partner drills and exercises to improve BJJ guards.Â
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.
360 DEGREES GUARD RETENTION THIAGO ABUD DVD AVAILABLE HERE:
Can you stay on your guard without attacking for a full 5-minute round? If the answer is ‘no’ you need to consider picking up the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD and working on that issue, unless you enjoy having your guard passed constantly.
Even if the answer is ‘yes’ you should still think about picking this instructional up. It offers a conceptual framework that covers every crucial aspect of staying in any BJJ guard that you want. As such, it is applicable to everyone, of every level, and both Gi and No-Gi. If your instructors have not paid attention to teach you the art of guard retention first, then Thiago’s DVD is your new best BJJ buddy.
How Long Can You Keep Your Guard?
If someone asked you to pick a guard, any guard you want, and keep your training partner in it for as long as possible, would you be able to do it? While it seems straightforward, I’d bet upward of 70% of people will fail miserably to keep the guard they choose for the duration of a standard 5-minute round.
Simply having a guard structure is as far removed from having a successful guard as Conor McGregor is from a UFC return. What people seem to think happens in guard is that they magically start working once you get to the position. Well, it is not quite as simple.
First of all, you need to use your legs actively to adjust your positioning constantly if you want to remain in a guarded position. Moreover, you need to actually pull/push/twist, etc with your grips, rather than just gently hold the sleeve of your opponent and think that miraculously you’ll end up sweeping them.
In fact, let me now ask you this: How can you attack from the guard when you can’t stay in the guard long enough? Keeping a guard is an ability that everyone in grappling should learn first in terms of guard and practice daily. Since this is not the case, the silver bullet to help your guard retention comes in the form of the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD.
The Inspiring Story of Thiago Abud
Would you give up a stable and high-paying job just to compete in BJJ and teach full-time? Not many people are ready to dive into the unknown by embracing BJJ as their sole focus, especially not after they turn 30. Thiago Abud is one of the handful of folks who have made this transition, and he has excelled at it.
The Brazilian-born grappler began training Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 14, after previously switching to Judo from soccer, where he played intentionally at club level. Safe to say, has been an athletic guy his entire life. Thiago picked up BJJ after joining Fernando Yamasaki’s gym, going through the juvenile belts and eventually his blue belt under his guidance.
Abud was an avid competitor who saw his dreams cut short by an arm injury that he suffered at 16. It took him a long while to recover from it and remained a recreational grappler, training at Murilo Santana’s academy.
However, despite finishing law school and working in the field, Abud had an itch to scratch and decided to drop everything and return to professional Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 30. A world Masters title and a bunch of other accolades in the sport since have confirmed his decision.
A very detail-oriented grappler, the Unity Jiu-Jitsu representative now offers an insight into how he sets up his unpassable guards through the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD.
360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD Review
The 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD is a two-part BJJ DVD instructional that contains concepts rather than techniques. The material, which Thiago presents with the Gi, is applicable to every guard in BJJ and will work for everyone, from white to black belt level.
Part 1 – Key ConceptsÂ
The first part of the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD offers very cool and useful concepts to help you understand the goals you have in terms of retaining guards in BJJ. He begins with an overview of the concepts, which I found useful, even though I still had no idea what each concept meant at that point.
Most of the approaches Abud has are based on things that we know to be true and proven about guards, such as heavy hips, the role of the centerline, and directions of movement. However, he does share some interesting new aspects of this compass concept, which is the basis of the 360 retention system, and the snake strike tactic which I immediately liked.
Part 2 – Centerline & Sides
As we move on to part two, the focus narrows down to identifying your tasks and opportunities on each side as you attempt to stay in a guard of your choosing. About half of the material in this part of the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD covers the idea of controlling your sides, switching between them, and crucial mobility drills to make it seamless.
As this volume nears the end, the central line becomes the star of the show, with Thiago breaking down how to use this concept to easily change between seated and supine guards, as well as how to pull guards without any risks of passing or leg locks.
Stay in Guard to Play Guard
Building on the stuff I said when opening this article, you need to be able to stay in a guard position if you are to have any hopes of using it against the top person. Sweps and submissions work from guard, not bottom side control, where you’ll end up the moment you try to attack someone without having a solid guard structure.
The choice of guard does not matter here – you can apply these ideas and concepts to any guard you want and then need to work. First, you need to keep your legs between you and your opponent, without them being outstretched. Next, you need meaningful grips that will help you stop them from passing and lead them to your attacks.
From there on, you can build, depending on your guard position. You can play supine or seated, open or closed guard, inverted or lapel guards – the same principles will apply. As long as you’re able to use your legs in front of your opponent and lead them where you want, you’ll have a solid guard.
The Thiago Abud Guard DVD we reviewed above contains details on setting these two crucial aspects up, along with a bunch of other really important and helpful concepts for guard retention. It is a good choice, particularly for beginners.
FULL DOWNLOAD: RETENTION THIAGO ABUD DVD
360 Guard Trouble!Â
The unpassable guard does not exist, and it never will. The good news is that neither does that 100% pass, so the scales are in balance. All you need to push that balance further as a guard player is a resource such as the 360 Degrees Guard Retention Thiago Abud DVD. It will teach you how to stay in guard until you decide it is enough, which will end up frustrating even the best passers, bringing out the worst in them and giving you an edge.
