Take a little Demara and add a bit of lapel to get devastation

Nowadays, closed guard isn’t given all that much fanfare. That isn’t because the position is obsolete. It’s still LETHAL.

It’s just a question of your investment. If you put time into the position, you’ll get results from it.

And I’m going to give you some more tools to play with. The three attacks you’ll learn in this article is the start of an incredibly strong attack system.

Closed Guard Challenges

First though, understand that closed guard isn’t an easy position to master.

It requires all kinds of small adjustments and angles. The basic attacks are easy to defend. And many people switch their focus to easier positions before they truly start to have success.

Thus, one of two things are necessary: High level refinement of technique or trickery.

Focusing on closed guard, though, until you have success has a significant advantage. It will teach how you smash through resistance. And it will give you a special kind of confidence.

The Demara Closed Guard Attack System

I learned this system from Rachel Demara, so I always like to give her credit for it.

One of my best memories watching it in action was years ago at Worlds. Rachel was a blue belt back then, and one after another, her opponents all fell to this system.

They saw her use it.

It didn’t matter.

They knew it was coming.

It didn’t matter.

Their coaches gave them advice on countering it.

It still didn’t matter.

It was a thing of beauty. And I’ve never forgotten it for that reason.

The only difference in how she does it and how I do it is that she doesn’t use the lapel. Instead, she reaches around the back of the head and grabs the cross side collar similar to a bow and arrow grip.

Also these three attacks are not the full system. They are a great place to start, though. Work on them and let me know if you have success.