The one guard you just can’t get around when you do BJJ is the butterfly guard. Gi, No-Gi, large, small beginner, or advanced, everyone will do a version of the butterfly guard at some point. It is just that good, and that easy to play. Or is it? To be honest, there are lots of details and levels to the butterfly guard but the beauty in it is that you can make it work against opponents of all levels without having to focus on all the details. Turning to butterfly guard DVD instructionals is a great way to figure out all kinds of details for every level.Â
The one thing you will hear from people often is that the butterfly guard is a waste of time and that nobody uses it in competition. Those are the people you want to unfriend. The butterfly guard will rarely be a position you start from, but it is a spot you will use during rolls, and especially during scrambles. This is just one reason to look towards butterfly guard DVD instructionals as a key tool to help you improve your open guard game.
The Best Butterfly Guard DVD Instructionals Collection
The butterfly guard is extremely reliable because it is simple to understand. You use hooks to both prevent people from passing your legs and taking away their balance at the same time. Not many guards can offer the same, without being overly complicated positions that require several years of trial and error to figure out. The biggest plus is probably that you need no athletic ability whatsoever to play the butterfly guard.
However, you still need to fulfill certain mechanical principles in order to make playing the guard a viable possibility. For example, there’s no playing butterfly guard without grips. It doesn’t matter if you have the wrists, elbows, collars, or the head, you need grips. That’s the number one thing to learn about the butterfly guard, before going into stuff like angles, hook placement, and the mechanics of sweeping or hunting for submissions.
In more technical terms, and opposite to contrary belief, you can stay in the butterfly guard while you are supine, it is just not as efficient when you are sitting. So, being seated is preferable, but in no way mandatory when playing the butterfly guard. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you sweep, you need to til to one side so that one of your hooks get the necessary space to stretch and turn your opponent over. The butterfly guard DVD instructionals we feature in this article all containing details on these crucial aspects of the guard. And that is only the beginning.
The TOP 5
There are good butterfly guard DVD instructionals, there are great ones and then, there are the GOATs of the butterfly DVD world. Some of them, unsurprisingly, feature the GOATs of grappling as well, the likes of Marcelo Garcia and Rafael Lovato Jr.
1. The Complete Butterfly Guard by Marcelo Garcia
Of course, the first one is going to be a Marcelo Garcia butterfly guard DVD. The man practically invented the guard and did so many modifications to it over the years making it the powerful weapon we know and love to use these days. In this four-part instructional, you will learn not just technical aspects of the butterfly guard, but also how Marcelo thinks about it, and the principles behind his game. In other words, this is the holy grail of butterfly guard instructionals.
2. Butterfly Guard Re-Discovered by Adam Wardzinski
Adam Wardzinski is the modern face of the butterfly guard in the competitive world of Jiu-Jitsu. He is mainly a Gi player, although he has several interesting other instructionals without it. This DVD, though is the golden standard when it comes to figuring out the modern butterfly guard for competitive grapplers.
3. Timeless Sweeps And Submissions: The Side Butterfly Guard by Rafael Lovato
This one is a bit strange, but it will work precisely because of that reason. Rafael Lovato, is a highly innovative grappler, who just so happens to come up with modifications of stuff that are highly efficient at every possible level. Another Gi instructional that will teach you a butterfly guard variation you have not seen before. Go for it!
4. How To Beat Bigger Guys by Bruno Malfacine
Bruno is a known giant killer in the BJJ world. He has literally beaten every one of note, regardless of size, despite being a pocket-sized grappler himself. The secret to his success – the butterfly guard. Bruno is exactly the type of grappler you should learn about the guard game from, and this Butterfly guard DVD won’t fail you!
5. Butterfly Guard Beyond The Basics by Thomas Lisboa
Lisboa is another grappler with a huge competitive pedigree. He knows exactly what works on the mats, and has the most efficient setups and combinations of perhaps anyone in the Gi guards realm. This 4 part instructional by him is an awesome insight into his very, very detailed butterfly guard system. It is a chance you have to grab if improving your butterfly guard is high on your list of priorities.
List Of Every Butterfly Guard DVDÂ Instructional Out There
Out of the top 5 we have listed, there are more than a dozen other butterfly DVD instructionals that are more than worth exploring and have lots to teach you.
1. Systematically Attacking From Open Guard Seated Position by Gordon Ryan
Gordon Ryan’s open guard system revolves heavily around several guards which all use the butterfly guard as the position that connects them. Expect a lot of new ideas about the guard and of course, world-class instructions!
2. Systematically Attacking From Open Guard Supine Position by Gordon Ryan
Basically part two of Ryan’s open guard instructionals, except he focuses more on working when your back is on the ground as opposed to seating up.
3. Open Guard: BJJ Fundamentals – Go Further Faster by John Danaher
While this 8-part DVD is not a butterfly guard specific one, more than a third of it addresses the butterfly guard in one way or another. It is a John Danaher instructional which pretty much says everything you need to know.
4. Butterfly Guard Re-Discovered 2 by Adam Wardzinski
Adam Wardzinski’s latest instructional on the subject of the butterfly guard, building on top of the previous one. Also done with the Gi.
5. The No Gi Butterfly Guard Rediscovered by Adam Wardzinski
A No-Gi version of Adam’s butterfly guard systems, using lots of the principles outlined in his Gi instructions but also showing lots of No-Gi specific stuff.
6. No Gi Fundamentals Bottom Game by JT Torres
JT Torres also has a No-Gi instructional out on the subject of the bottom game, and of course, it is more of a butterfly guard DVD than anything else. I highly recommend this one in particular.
7. The Butterfly Half Guard by Tom DeBlass
Tom DeBlass has a different take on the butterfly guard, focusing more on the half-butterfly guard instead. It is a new position that is still under development, but there are countless options from there and it is easy to play.
8. The Modern Butterfly Guard No Gi by Jon Satava
Jon Satava’s take on the No-Gi butterfly guard is different from others. There is just the right amount of both sweeps and submission attacks in this one, and it is all well balanced and easy to follow and learn.
9. Cross Sleeve Grip Guard Beyond The Basics by Thomas Lisboa
This Thomas Lisboa DVD is all about a very interesting way of playing the guard. he focuses on the grips in this one, but what he is basically doing is still the butterfly guard. The cross-sleeve grip si just something that will completely change how you approach controlling people.
10. Bulletproof Butterfly Guard by John Gutta
The bulletproof butterfly guard is aimed at blocking stuff first, and then transitioning to attacks. In other words, this DVD will teach you how to retain the butterfly guard for as long as you wish.
11. Best of Butterfly Guard by Cesar Casamajo
This two-volume instructional promises a lot with its name, but it also delivers! A Gi based instructional that will help you figure out the fundamentals ins and outs of the butterfly guard.
12. Basics To Advanced: The Half Butterfly Guard by Aaron Benzrihem
One more instructional on the butterfly half guard position that Tom DeBlass covers in his DVD. This one has 6 volumes and really covers the Gi version of the butterfly half guard in as much depth as it is possible.
13. The Butterfly Guard System by Rafael Formiga
Rafael Formiga is an old-school grappler who knows all about the butterfly guard, from both an original and a modern perspective. Perfect for Gi players.
14. Don’t Be A Square by Jeff Glover
Jeff’s instructionals are usually very interesting, regardless of the subject. However, when it comes to butterfly DVD instructionals, this is the one you want from Glover. It is a No-Gi one and it is exactly as unorthodox and crazy as you expect it to be.
15. Nogi Sweeps DVD with Chris Brennan [DVD]
Chirs Brendan’s sweeps DVD is basically one that fits into any open guard category. He really does go through several different guards, focusing on nothing but the sweeps in this instructional. However, a huge part of everything he demonstrates given that it is a No-Gi DVD is the butterfly guard.
16. The Sit Up Guard by Daniel Gazoni
The sit up guard is mostly the predecessor to the butterfly guard in rolling. Knowing how to sit up, and stay upright are basic principles that are extremely impotent to developing the ability o play the butterfly guard.
17. LUCAS LEPRI NO-GI MASTER SERIES PART ONE [ON DEMAND]
This one is a rare No-Gi instructional by world champion Lucas Lepri that covers lots of guard positions but mainly focusing on the butterfly guard. An awesome choice.
In Conclusion
Butterfly guard DVD instructionals are everywhere, and they will all teach you something about the butterfly guard. However, if you really want to specialize in the guard, you should look into the stuff that is presented in the butterfly guard DVD instructionals above. Just pick any of them and start learning, and you’ll know.
