Key Takeaways
- Gi BJJ DVD focusing on the most effective applications of the closed guard that work.
- Includes a submission system against kneeling opponents and versatile sweep combos against standing ones.
- Features a self-defense volume that covers old-school Gracie moves, but with a modern twist.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
CLOSED GUARD FOR DUMMIES RODRIGO ANTUNES DVD GET HERE
Closed guard instructionals are more numerous than beginners in your gym, and that’s saying something. Just like with BJJ newbies, every now and again, a closed guard BJJ DVD will turn out to be good. Some are so good that they’re even helpful to more experienced grapplers.
This Rodrigo Antunes DVD is one such instructional. The self-defense portion is actually what’s going to be most helpful for more advanced people—try rolling with strikes (okay, slaps) and use the info. The rest is good for everyone, but the sweeps portion is a real lifesaver for beginners. Read on to find out why.
Closed Guard Gi Game Basics
Most people who have been training for a few weeks at least know what the closed guard looks like. They’re even okay at getting to it. What they don’t know is how to use it after they wrap their legs around the opponent’s waist.
A few quick-fire pieces of advice that will surely change your guard game (they’re super basic):
- Only hold grips if they’re helping you sweep or submit. Death grips only tire you out and open you up for passes.
- If you don’t know where to hold, go for the sleeves. Try to get on top or submit without letting them go.
- Aim to force the top person to touch the mats with their butt and/or shoulders. That’s where most sweeps happen.
- Go for triangles. Having your legs around an arm and a head offers all the upper-body submissions you’ll ever need from the closed guard.
- Don’t open your legs too often.
There you go—now you’re ready to play closed guard forever. All these points are covered in much more detail, and with lots of options, in the Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD. This is a good one, and not just for dummies.
Old-School BJJ Black Belt Rodrigo Antunes
Rodrigo Antunes is a sixth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and the owner/head instructor of Six Blades South Denver, where he leads programs for kids, hobbyists, and competitors alike. In July 2023, he was promoted to 6th degree by Grand Master João Alberto Barreto (Helio Gracie’s first black belt), reflecting more than two decades of teaching and competing at a high level.
As an athlete, Antunes has collected major titles across federations and eras. Highlights include IBJJF Pan American championships (Gi and No-Gi), an IBJJF No-Gi Worlds title, multiple IBJJF European crowns, American Nationals wins, and SJJF/JJWL world titles.
Antunes also holds a black belt in judo and is certified in Ginástica Natural, rounding out a coaching profile that blends technical precision with athletic conditioning. His coaching career has been global, with stints teaching and running programs in Brazil, the United States, and the UK, as well as guest seminars that regularly draw packed mats.
Rodrigo’s approach blends classic Gracie-lineage fundamentals with modern competition tactics and a strong emphasis on mindset and consistency. Today, beyond developing athletes in Colorado, Antunes also produces instructional material, like the Rodrigo Antunes Closed Guard DVD, while actively doing seminar tours.
Detailed Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD Review
The Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD is a three-part instructional that contains about an hour and a half of material. Rodrigo uses a super clear structure to deliver it and doesn’t complicate anything—it’s straight to the point with this OG.
Part 1 — Closed Guard for Self Defense
Rodrigo starts the Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD like an old Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructional. He talks about preventing punches from the closed guard using biceps blocks and delivers head grabs and wrist locks that probably won’t help you in an IBJJF tournament.
There is value to this material, though—particularly the armbar and shoulder lock finishes, and the scissor sweep variation that takes all the fluff away in favor of efficiency. Granted, you’ll likely never armbar anyone trying to choke you with both hands on your neck from your guard, but the mechanics are helpful. Plus, it’s fun to watch.
Part 2 — Submissions
I enjoyed this part of the Rodrigo Antunes Closed Guard DVD the most. It is a Gi-only instructional (no surprise for a 6th-degree black belt from Helio’s lineage) but filled with tons of super useful tricks.
Antunes covers the cross choke, supplementing it with a very nasty-looking punch choke, as well as plenty of triangle applications. Armlock-wise, he presents even more applications of the straight armbar, tying it in with bent options, mostly Kimuras and Omoplatas.
A short overview of the hip bump is meant more as a movement practice than a sweep—Rodrigo uses it to set up and finish guillotines and Kimuras. Beginners will find this part useful, but it’ll answer more questions brown and black belts usually have.
Part 3 — Sweeping Standing Opponents
The final part of the Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD goes over sweeps, providing an interesting overall closed guard tactic in the process. Namely, Rodrigo uses the position to attack submissions on kneeling opponents and sweeps on standing ones. Solid, if you ask me.
The opportunities to get on top revolve around the usual fundamentals: tripod sweep, ankle pick, and trips. I liked the cross-arm sweep a lot, although it may prove difficult to set up against people who’ve fallen for it once.
There’s a lapel attack section wrapping this DVD up (pun intended), featuring a cool sweep-choke combo.
The Lazy Fallback for Dummies of All Levels
Beginners will struggle with the closed guard. Listen to Rodrigo, stick to simple attacks that chain together easily, place emphasis on not allowing passes over attacks, and you’ll do just fine—until you get bored.
That’s the main problem with the closed guard—people get bored with it quickly and try to figure out more complicated (and less effective) stuff. One thing that’ll happen more times than not is that those who remain on the mats for more than a few years eventually go back to the closed guard.
Not because they’re smarter or better at BJJ (for some), but because it works great without getting you tired. It’s dummy-proof because it’s super hard to just pass for the top person (they have to open the legs first) and it’s also very versatile with attacks.
As a beginner, this won’t matter—you’ll get tired in any position. But paying more attention to the closed guard before it inevitably becomes too boring (at least for a while) is a great way of having a super solid fallback. The Closed Guard for Dummies DVD has everything you need.
DOWNLOAD: CLOSED GUARD FOR DUMMIES RODRIGO ANTUNES DVD
Dummy-Proof Guard!
You can’t dummy-proof your guard against people who do weird stuff from the top and end up smashing you until you feel like a meme. However, you can dummy-proof against yourself and eliminate all the stupid mistakes that leave you guardless.
The Closed Guard for Dummies Rodrigo Antunes DVD will help you with the latter and might even make a good guard player out of you. We’ll see.
