Gordon Ryan’s instructional on the seated open guard was something else. While it is an exclusive No-Gi instructional, it does open up new ways of approach to how we play all open guards. In fact, Gordon’s open guard system has two main subsystems – playing from a seated or a supine position. Today, we have the Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position Gordon Ryan Instructional Review. It will cover guard variations that were not covered in the first edition of seated guards, and everything in this DVD ties in perfectly with the previous one into an impregnable system.
This Gordon Ryan Instructional Review was one of the more interesting ones to do. As a guard player, most of my own game revolves around seated guards, so this was an eye-opener. It provides so many more options to what we are used to and systematizes the best guards for the job. Lying on your back doesn’t have to mean you’re only playing defense, but rather attacking from a position of relative safety. Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position is a DVD that everyone should see at least once. In fact, I’d pick it over the seated guard one in terms of the importance of the information it relays.
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Gordon Ryan – Open Guard Supine Position
The Supine Open Guard In BJJ
What exactly is the supine position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? It is when you play guard while having your shoulder blades on the ground, or at least one of your shoulder blades. While you might think you play most guards from that position when it comes to picking those that actually work from there, you’ll end up with quite a small choice. In Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position, Gordon Ryan further narrows that choice to just a handful of guard positions that you can rely on day in day out.
Apart from the closed guard, which is covered in different Gordon Ryan DVD, other guards that you play while lying on the ground with your back are not many. Basically, it comes to distance control. When someone is closer to you, playing seated guard makes much more sense. When people are away, the length of your legs is something you can maximally use only if you are on your back. Interestingly enough, when people are as close as possible, i.e. right on top of you, it comes down to supine guards again (think X guards or the deep half). Basically extremely far and close distances are covered by supine guards, and medium distances are seated open guard territory.
As you will see in the following detailed Gordon Ryan Instructional Review, Ryan, has a system of several guards that cover both very far and very near distances, and easily achieve the two main goals of any open guard. Those two goals are first, the ability to stay in the guard indefinitely, and secondly, the ability to attack with sweeps or submissions. Supine guards, or better said, some carefully select ones, can offer all of that without you having to break a sweat. Just keep reading.
Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position Gordon Ryan Instructional Review
In this particular DVD instructional, Ryan sticks to the format of the seated open guard DVD. That makes it easy to connect both of them and use them as a system. Of course, there are Gordon’s signature rolling and narrated rolls volumes as well, which are an immense tool in putting together all the information that he presents in a meaningful and logical way.
The Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position instructional contains a total of eight volumes, six of which are technical ones, and two consist of rolls and narrated rolls covering the subject matter. The progression goes from a general introduction and basic principles of open guards to how Ashi Garami can be used as a guard. Ryan then covers different supine guards in volumes 2 – 6, most of which you know and use on a daily basis in training. That makes this DVD perfect for people of all sizes and experience levels. Check out the play-by-play Gordon Ryan Instructional Review to see exactly what awaits in each volume.
Part 1 – Supine Position Scenarios
After a short overview of the system as a whole Gordon Ryan focuses on the 4 key scenarios which you will encounter when playing open guards and which will determine whether you succeed or fail with your guard game. The interface of inside and outside leg positioning is the first hugely important subject Ryan covers. This is basically what determines what type of guard you will be playing. Negating movement and goal setting follow suit, as principles not many people consider when playing guard. The final thing Ryan points out and which you should really think about is the mechanical advantage of having conclave shoulders.
The second portion of the first volume of the Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position DVD looks into Ashi Garami as a bottom position of control, rather than just the preface to a leg lock attack. Ryan goes over drills, entireties, sweeps, and ways to switch between using Ashi Garami control on either leg. The dilemma of whether to sweep or reap the knee along with ways of changing Ashi positions on the same leg is also covered here.
Part 2 – X Guard And Ashi Garami Basics
What is the difference between X guard and the Ashi Garami? in this portion of the Gordon Ryan Instructional review we’ll talk about how Gordon explains it all. HE likes to do what he calls the Ashi X, a blend of the Ashi Garami used for leg locks and the traditional Single Lg X Guard positioning. He goes over several options from there, like switching to outside Ashi or Irimi Ashi.
Basic attacks from the X guard follow, in the form of several sweep options. Several Scissor sweep variations come first, before ways of getting leg locking options when some of them fail. A transition between the Ashi X and the scorpion half guard is also featured here, along with a follow-up sweep and a back take option. Even more leg lock entries are not far behind as well.
Part 3 – Attacks And Counterattacks
The third volume is still about the Ashi X guard, moving from retention and sweeping into counterattacks. Backsteps are a common icloaessue when it comes to playing the traditional X guard and its variations. After a couple of options from the position, though, is where the real good stuff starts.
Namely, Ryan starts explaining and exploring the Ushiro X Guard, a different way of playing the full X guard that is optimized to tie in with Ashi Garami positions. The rest of the volume is all about the Ushiro X, and all the ways in which you can attack with it. The scissor sweep appears again, along with the reverse scissor sweep. Furthermore, Cross Ashi Garami entries and back takes make up most of the chapters in this portion of the Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position DVD.
Towards the end of the volume, Gordon goes over the trilemma of the Ushiro X Guard, which includes the options of a back take, guard pass, or a leg lock, and a hip heist to get you out of trouble if you fail with all three.
Part 4 – The De La Riva Guard
In the fourth volume of the instructional, Gordon starts looking onto the De La Riva guard, which is slightly unusual when he is in question. The truth is, while we haven’t seen him or anyone from the DDS plays this guard too much, it is something they value and practice a lot.
The De la Riva Gordon show,s though, is far from the one you’re most likely used to. The tripod sweep comes first, and from there on, it is all about Ahsi Garami once again. Failing the tripod sweeps just means Ashi Garami options open up easily. Other De La Riva sweeps also open up Ashi entries, like the hip bump sweep. Several interesting sweep options follow before Ryan concludes this part with a 50/50 entry from the De La Riva guard.
Part 5 – No-Gi Berimbolo
Halfway through the Gordon Ryan Instructional Review of Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position, Gordon throws in something quite unexpected and devotes an entire volume to the Berimbolo. As you’d expect, though, it is quite a different take on the Berimbolo.
Gordon does it without the Gi, which significantly changes how you grip and move. All of that is explained in great detail, as Ryan takes you from a cross-body ride entrance all the way to back exposure and even forcing leg drags off of the Berimbolo. What happens if you fail? You guessed it, you get a chance to enter Ashi Garami and go for leg locks!
Gordon wraps up with inverted leg lock entries and tactics to deal with float passes.
Part 6 – Reverse De La Riva
After covering the De La Riva guard and Berimbolo, Ryan goes into the Reverse De La Riva. Along with the X guard, this has always been one of the guards people claim is the best for No-Gi. Ryan seems to share that sentiment.
The progression here is similar to that in the De la Riva volume. The tripod sweep is the first attack, with Ashi Garami entries being the backup if that fails. Even more interestingly though, Ryan connects the De La Riva here, by offering a slick transition from the tripod sweep.
Apart from “regular” stuff like the single leg and Ashi Grami entries from the RDL, Ryan also shares a way to invert from the Reverse De la Riva guard. In fact, connecting the two De la Riva Guard variations is what concludes this volume, and with it the technical part of the Gordon Ryan instructional Review. That is not the end, though.
Part 7 – Rolling
Rolling volumes are a given in Gordon Ryan BJJ DVDs and “Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position” is no different. The seventh volume covers rolls with five different partners. During those rolls, Ryan does his best to force guard playing situations, and he sticks to the things demonstrated in the six volumes above.
Part 8 – Narrated Rolling
The real gem in terms of rolling, though, is the final volume of the entire instructional. It has Ryan narrating rolls with the same five training partners, this time doing a step-by-step analysis of everything he does. It is a unique chance to not just learn how he builds a supine open guard game, but also how his mind works during rolling. Arguably, the best part of the entire DVD, but will only make sense if you watch all the material first.
Wrapping Up
This Gordon Ryan Instructional Review of the Systematically Attacking The Guard Supine Position goes deep into each volume and what it contains, but it doesn’t come even close to what you actually get when you watch the DVD yourself. The best part about this instructional is that it is No-Gi. Why? Well, when you know how to perform something without the Gi, doing it with it will make little to no difference. In other words, if you want to develop a mean guard game that prevents people from passing and opens them for attacks, this is the DVD to get. This, and the seated open guard Gordon Ryan DVD, of course.
ON SALE HERE:
Gordon Ryan – Open Guard Supine Position
