Key Takeaways
- A BJJ insturctional containing a complete system on playing the shin to shin guard in Gi and No-Gi.
- Features fundamental mechanics, sweeps, leg locks, X-guard combinations, back takes, and entries.
- Answers common questions and provides counters to common passes.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
SHIN TO SHIN SYSTEM SHAWN WILLIAMS DVD AVAILABLE HERE:
The shin to sin guard is like the half guard these days, especially if you’re doing a lot of No-Gi Jiu-JItsu. Like it or not, you’re going to end up in it, both playing and trying to beat it. So, why not accept that it is here to stay and try to create a working system from there?
Better yet, why not copy a system that has been proven to work at the highest levels of BJJ? The Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD has got you covered on everything shin to shin guard-related, both for Gi and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Seated Guards: High-Risk High-Reward
When I was a fresh blue belt, I was a big proponent of seated guards, more precisely, the Koala guard. It is a seated guard that provided some awesome options with the Gi until a friend of mine figured out a way to kill it – he simply pushed my head to the mats.
This is the most in-your-face (literally, if you try the Koala guard) example of how seated guards can go from hero to zero in an instant. So why play them at all? Because they also have a lot of attacking potential and are incredible for disrupting the balance.
If you’ve ever played a seated De la Riva using the Gi (skull-crusher sweep, anyone?) you know how many options seating up can open. The same is true for the shin to shin guard, arguably the most utilized seated guard variation in BJJ these days.
A shared problem for all these guards is the proximity of your head to the opponent’s arms. This can spell trouble for you unless you know how to mitigate it with optimal angles and a precise grip-fighting strategy. One man who has figured it out is Shawn Williams, with his findings now available in the Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD.
The Grappling Brilliance of Shawn Williams
When I was a blue belt I somehow came across a Shawno Williams instructional. It was about a guard I had never heard about, called the Williams guard. While it didn’t have a fancy name, it delivered efficiency in a way no other guard did in the direction of providing me with a reliable go-to closed-guard version.
Back in those days, innovating and naming stuff after yourself was not as encouraged as it is now, especially by Gracie family members. Renzo Gracie, however, was always a different breed of Gracie. Most of the innovation in the BJJ world came from that blue basement, and Shawn Williams and his guard efforts are just one example.
A black belt under Renzo, and only the fifth American to get the coveted rank, Shawn Williams was touted as one of the top competitors of his generation, competing a lot in the early 2000s. Rolling every day with the likes of Matt Serra, Danaher, and Ricardo Almeida meant Shawn had to be at his best in those super-hard old days of training in the blue basement.
Guard was his forte, and to this day, I have not figured out a better-closed guard than the Williams guard. Now, the story gets a second part, this time with the focus on a seated guard variation in the Shin To Shin Guard Shawn Williams.
Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD Review
The Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD has way more than just the essentials, offering a system divided into 6 volumes which include control, attacks, transitions, entries, and troubleshooting. There is even a dedicated volume for Gi adjustments in this four-and-a-half-hour-long DVD:
Part 1 – Shin To Shin Fundamentals
First things first, the key aspects that make the shin to shin guard work. As it is clear by now, failure from seated guards is just as possible as winning an exchange. Understandably, Shawn’s first lessons have to do with the fundamental elements of the guard, such as positioning, grips, essential movement, and primary attacks.
This opening act of the Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD presents a concept that explains the essentials behind flat and spinning attacks, which I really wish I had known when I first picked up the shin to shin position.
Willimas also delivers ideas on what exactly you need to do to the primary leg to start your attacks and how to be heavy on your opponent. A short tease about using the guard to get to Ashi announces part two.
Part 2 – Ashi Garami & Sweep Attacks
The longest volume of this Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD is all about leg locks. Not surprising, since most people only think of them when they enter into the shin to shin guard.
Shawn’s mini system of leg locks from the position begins with the usual suspects, such as single leg X connections and getting to straight Ashi, outside Ashi, and Inside Senkaku. he also throws in the full X guard in the mix, introducing a variety of sweeps and teaching you how to create dilemma situations.
Part 3 – Bear Traps & Wrestle Ups
One of the less known and used leg locking options that is having its moment in the sun these days is the calf slicer from the bear trap position, or in 10th Planet lingo, the Ham Sandwich.
In part three of the Shin To Shin Guard Shawn Williams, you get as deep of an analysis as anyone can deliver on the position. Shawn starts by explaining the risks of looking for this position, as he outlines different ways to get the position by being proactive and reactive from the shin to shin.
He does an excellent job at connecting the dots between the bear trap and traditional Ashi Garami, which provides you with a means to funnel the opponent into wrestle-ups that conclude the system. Some impressive Kosoto and single-leg finishes wrap things up.
Part 4 – Troubleshooting
I always enjoy when people include a troubleshooting section in a BJJ DVD, although not all of them contain actionable and valuable information. Well, you can rest assured that Shawn delivers exactly what you need to answer the questions that you have about his shin to shin guard system.
Some key topics covered in this part include dealing with knee cuts and breakaways, which are two of the most common counters available to the top person. All levels of backsteps into Ashi also get a lot of attention before Willimas provides a formula for winning leg pummels every time.
Submission awareness against rolling Kimuras rounds off the troubleshooting portion of the Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD.
Part 5 – Shin To Shin Entries
You can tell that Shawn shares a past with Danaher, as they have the same principle of teaching the things you do first in rolling at the end of their lessons and instructionals. That’s the best way to do it, anyway.
Getting to the shin to shin guard often results in catastrophic position giveaways for the bottom person, so Shawn addresses fallacies first, before offering a few proven ways to get to the guard. For the most part, he talks about setting it up against standing opponents, covering two distances – long range with no grips, and from a hand-fighting pocket.
Providing both a great example of a level-changing opponent, and introducing the next and last part of the Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD is an entry to the shin to shin from the De la Riva guard.
Part 6 – Gi Shin To Shin System
Another Shawn Williams super-cool move is that he also provides a blueprint for setting up and playing the shin to shin guard in the Gi. In the final part of the Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD, he dons the cloth and goes over the differences between playing the shin to shin guard in Gi and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Sleeve grips are the aspect Shawn focuses on the most, with plenty of De la Riva-style sweep attacks becoming an option. On a more interesting note, a lapel ber trap setup features in the middle of this volume, and it became an instant favorite of mine.
There are also Berimobolo countering details, ways to spin under into inverted attacks, and directions on blocking passes. A series of pummeling drills bring an end to this exhaustive, but very well-put-together BJJ instructional.
Looking Past Leg Locks
So where does the shin to shin guard fit in your game if you’re not big on leg locks? The answer is the same as with any other seated guard – whenever you’re engaging a standing, sometimes kneeling opponent, and you’d like to isolate a leg while staying very close.
This last part about distance is what matters the most. It is why seated guards work so well in both Gi and No-Gi. When you latch on to the leg of a standing opponent, the full weight of your body is there to keep them “chained” to the ground. using the same principle you can create off-balances, in all directions, using a multitude of different methods.
One more important thing that comes to mind when seated guards are the subject is their checkpoint role, as a safe spot to hang out in when changing different guards, especially when you’re changing the distance, and/or the top person is changing levels. It’s all in the Shin To Shin Shawn Williams Guard DVD, explained to a ‘T’.
FULL DOWNLOAD: SHIN TO SHIN SYSTEM SHAWN WILLIAMS DVD
Sit to Win!
Lazy BJJ is the best BJJ. Seat on your butt, grab that leg and become one of the most annoying and difficult-to-beat people in the gym. At least when we’re talking about playing guard. If you want to keep your suffering to a minimum, use the well-presented and tested advice from the Essential Shin To Shin System Shawn Williams DVD to get an immediate edge when you introduce the shin to shin guard to your game.
