Xande's Classic Guard 1 - Flaring Your Shin Shield and Using Your Blades

Xande's Classic Guard 1 - Flaring Your Shin Shield and Using Your Blades

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In this series Xande covers his favorite topic, the classic guard. He begins with a lesson on using his flare, which is his shin shield that he flares open and uses to break his opponent's grips on him. When his shield flares open to break the grips, he refers to this as his blade cutting through the arm. By doing this he can control where his opponent's arm is and open things up for attack.


Inside the University 919 - Staying Elegant in the Classic Guard

Inside the University 919 - Staying Elegant in the Classic Guard

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Now Xande goes over staying elegant, which is when he is on his side and his body is extended. From here he shows how he can break grips, and how he can trap the leg with a scissors motion and use the leverage to recover and maintain his classic guard. Finally he shows how these movements can lead to his submission attempts.

Inside the University 917 - Using Your Shin in the Classic Guard

Inside the University 917 - Using Your Shin in the Classic Guard

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Now from his classic guard, Xande shows how he can continuously fight his opponent's hand on his hip by using his shin. He can either circle it in or circle it out to break his opponent's grip, and then options to go foot on the biceps or even shoot up for omoplatas and triangles.

Inside the University 916 - Framing and Recovering Classic Guard

Inside the University 916 - Framing and Recovering Classic Guard

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As his opponent tries to pass to the side, Xande goes over his framing techniques and how he uses his footwork to recover his classic guard. He also covers some options to break his opponent's pants grip and keep inside control of the arm with his leg.

Inside the University 915 - The Importance of Your Bottom Foot while Playing Classic Guard

Inside the University 915 - The Importance of Your Bottom Foot while Playing Classic Guard

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To begin class, Sensei Xande breaks down the basics of the classic guard, including how to place his shield, but more important in this lesson is how he is using his bottom foot. His bottom foot is the one that helps him pivot and follow his opponent as he tries to pass the guard.

Inside the University 894 - Redirecting Your Opponent

Inside the University 894 - Redirecting Your Opponent

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Answering a student's question, Xande breaks down the importance of redirecting his opponent's force to create angles that allow him to make space and gain leverage to recover his guard.

Inside the University 893 - When to Prop Your Forearm to Recover Guard

Inside the University 893 - When to Prop Your Forearm to Recover Guard

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Xande explains when and how to prop yourself up on your forearm while your opponent is trying to keep pressure on you and pass your guard. He also explains the importance of using your prop to create distance and leverage so you can recover your guard.

Inside the University 891 - Recovering Guard from the Superhold

Inside the University 891 - Recovering Guard from the Superhold

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Now Xande goes over how he uses these movement principles to recover his guard when his opponent has a superhold grip on him. First he bumps to create space so he can insert his shield, which he uses to push off and extend his body so he can insert his frame. Next he likes to bring in his pedal and look to recover guard or go right into setting up some attacks.

Inside the University 890 - The Difference Between Exercise and Technique

Inside the University 890 - The Difference Between Exercise and Technique

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Xande explains to some newer students the difference between drilling an exercise and drilling a technique. In this case, he saw some of the white belts rolling to their bellies like they did during the warm up drill, and explains how the rolling is practice to get the movement down but not to be used in a practical situation.

Inside the University 889 - Creating Space and Leverage by Rotating Your Body

Inside the University 889 - Creating Space and Leverage by Rotating Your Body

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Going back to the side roll mobility warmup drill from last week, Xande shows one way he applies that movement into his Jiu Jitsu, in this case from his knee shield guard. After placing his shield and pushing off with it, he not only extends his upper body, but rotates it as he did in the rolling drill. This gives him the space and leverage he needs to prop himself up on his elbow and recover to a better position. The scissoring of the legs and rotation of the body are the keys to this movement.

Inside the University 844 - Shin to Hip Connection in Classic Guard

Inside the University 844 - Shin to Hip Connection in Classic Guard

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Xande breaks down some core concepts of the classic guard, and explains how getting in position to scissors sweep is his go to first action. From here he can look for other attacks and come back to the scissors if they don't succeed. He also stresses the importance of your shin bone staying connected to your opponent's hip bone while playing classic guard.

Inside the University 843 - Principles of the Classic Guard

Inside the University 843 - Principles of the Classic Guard

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Now Xande goes into detail on his classic guard, using collar and sleeve grips with both feet on the hips. He goes over the common scenario of his opponent stepping over one leg to pass, and how he can replace the guard, and also set up some attacks while doing so.