From open guard the game goes to the man who controls the head and shoulders: The old cliche in grappling is “he who controls the head controls the whole body.” There is a lot of truth to this. A big part of our approach to open guard is based around head control. When you can lock on to the head and one arm you can really subvert the opponents movement whilst at the same time setting up your favorite upper body attacks. Look how nicky ryan, young master of open guard, completely dominates his opponents head in a way that sets up strong sweep and submission opportunities on both sides. Whether you favor inside position (underhooks) or outside position (overhooks) use this principle of control whenever possible and watch your open guard game take off!
