Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Escapes and Guard Defense

Half Guard: In the first position of the instructional video, Master Marcus Vinicius Di Lucia and his son, Vinny Di Lucia break down the basic concepts of half guard detailing proper body placement to defend an opponent’s pressure and to execute sweeps. They first show basic sweeps from the knee shield, half guard to x guard sweeps, variations from different sleeve grips and lapel control, then ending with a back take showing various submission finishes.

Escapes from Side Control: Vinny shows proper defense from this position to prevent being smashed with pressure or be put in knee on belly or mount. The first set of escapes start with an inside underhook, bridging, elbow escape going to either recover guard, back take, or takedowns. He then shows submissions and more escapes depending how the opponent is holding side control and counters for when the opponent reacts to your movements during escape attempts.

Mount Escapes: They start off with a bridge and roll from a basic mount, push away when in a low mount, and elbow escaping to recover guard. Vinny also shows how to escape different types of mounts like technical mount or high mount, and then finishes with escapes from the north south position.

Guard Defense: Master Di Lucia explains that you must always be defensive thinking a move ahead of your opponent and always be defending and ready to react in guard. He shows different recoveries, sweeps, and submissions off an opponent’s guard passing attempts from different types of guards.