The Half Guard System
The half guard system in no-gi — one leg trapped between the opponent's legs, the underhook as pivot, and the back-take / sweep / deep half branching…
Adapted from InGrappling, The Half Guard System. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
Guard SystemDevelopingCONCEPT-GRD-HALF-SYSTEMOne leg trapped, one free — the underhook decides everything
The half guard system is built around a structural asymmetry: one of the opponent’s legs is trapped between the bottom player’s legs, and one is free. This asymmetry is the system’s entire architecture. The trapped leg is the connection point; the free leg is the target of the sweep or the passing direction. Every half guard attack operates on some relationship between the trapped and free leg.
The underhook is the decisive grip in the system. A half guard with the underhook is an attacking position — sweeps, back takes, and the dog fight transition are all live. A half guard without the underhook is a defensive position — the bottom player is holding until they can either achieve the underhook or escape to a different guard. The underhook-vs-whizzer exchange is the central grip fight, and most of the system’s decision branches flow from its resolution.
the foot lineGuard control requires hip and shoulder control.
Half guard’s leg trap is hip control — it denies the top player hip mobility past the trapped leg. The underhook is shoulder control — it denies the top player the cross-face and the downward pressure. Half guard without shoulder control is unstable; half guard without hip control (lost leg trap) is not half guard at all.
hand posts create offenceAttack angle is created by off-setting the body from the opponent’s centreline.
Half guard sweeps and back takes all require the bottom player to shift their hips to a 90-degree angle with the opponent’s centreline — coming up on the elbow, rolling to the hip. Facing the opponent square means no attack; angled means attacks are live. The underhook is what makes the angle reachable without losing position.
create space before movingEscape mechanics require creating space before moving through it.
The dog fight transition — coming up on the elbow in half guard — creates the space required to either back-take or sweep. Without the space, the attack fails. The underhook creates it; the knee shield preserves it; the whizzer closes it. The spatial exchange is the whole attack layer.
first connection dictates directionStructural hierarchy governs scramble resolution: back outranks pins, pins outrank guards.
Half guard scrambles often resolve through this hierarchy. The back take is the dominant branch when it is available; the sweep to top half guard is the secondary; retention in half guard is the third. Most well-executed half guard sequences reach the back; less-committed ones settle for the sweep.
Half Guard (Standard)The baseline position — the leg trap and the grip hierarchy.
Underhook HalfHalf guard with underhook established — the attacking variant.