In the modern BJJ competition scene, the 50/50 guard is becoming more prevalent and more popular than ever.
10 years ago, no one was doing the 50/50 guard in competition. You just didn’t see it. Nowadays, you can watch it being used with great success in the gi and no gi competition scenes.
The 50/50 guard is definitely a groundbreaking technique to say the least, but some people feel that it is impracticable, or would rather use another set of means to achieve victory in a jiu jitsu match.
However, we have recently been seeing guys like Keenan Cornelius and the Mendes brothers absolutely smashing the competition with 50/50 guard techniques. Not to mention, Ryan Hall has been heel hooking dudes from the 50/50 guard before you probably ever heard of the 50/50 guard.
If you thought an armbar from the 50/50 guard is impossible, think again…
Keenan Cornelius, a Team Lloyd Irvin brown belt has been gaining a lot of popularity after he was able to armbar Joao Miyao from the 50/50 guard earlier this year. It was quite an impressive win to say the least, and in my opinion, the submission somewhat solidified the idea that the armbar from the 50/50 guard is a legitimately dangerous technique. Not only did it do that, but it also made me wonder how much more of this we will see in the immediate future.
Here is a clip of the match:
Keenan Cornelius is definitely a guy to watch out for, as he is one of the top players of the newer generation that is helping jiu jitsu evolve so rapidly. A lot of top guys come out of Team Lloyd Irvin, and Keenan is certainly no exception.
The 50/50 Guard in No Gi competition has been essential for its gain in popularity…
So if you watch the finals match between Rafael Mendes and Cobrinha at the 2011 ADCC under 66kg weight division, you see a boat load of the 50/50 guard being used.
Check out the clip:
The one dangerous aspect of fighting in ADCC is that they do in fact allow heel hooks. Therefore, you see a bunch of foot lock attempts on Cobrinhas‘ part, many of them being inside heel hook attempts from the 50/50 guard. You’ll see both fighters hiding their inside foot under their outside knee is an attempt to block the potential for a heel hook.
This match just goes to show you how strategic both players have to be while in the 50/50 guard. Not only do you have to defend and prevent heel hooks and other dangerous foot locks, but you also must focus on the entanglement of your legs in relation to your opponents.
Navigating in and out of the 50/50 guard can be difficult sometimes, due to the simple fact that you and your opponent have no advantage over each other, and the guy who makes the first advance to submit or transition usually controls the match from that point on. ( Here is a great article on navigating the 50/50 guard)
BJJ is evolving more and more each day, and I predict that we will see a lot more advances in the 50/50 guard in the future.
As a farewell, here is a sweet clip of Ryan Hall doing damage with an inside heel hook from the 50/50 guard:
Chube Jitsu 