Craig Jones

Australian competitor and coach whose game integrates heel hook entries, back attacks, and Z-guard half guard. Founder of the Craig Jones Invitational. His scramble hierarchy and wrestle-up imperative inform this site's analysis of transitional positions.

2014–presentActive years−88kg · HeavyweightWeight class2SMedals (this list)ADCC 2017–presentEra2017 · ADCC −88kg

Silver medal earned through a heel-hook-led submission run that brought leg attacks from B-Team's pre-DDS era into a mainstream competitive bracket.

YearEventResult2025Craig Jones Invitational (CJI 2)Founder★2024Craig Jones Invitational (CJI 1)Founder · $1m absolute prizeRival event scheduled the same weekend as ADCC 2024 in response to ADCC athlete pay; Jones did not compete in ADCC 20242019ADCC World Championship · −88kgSilver★2017ADCC World Championship · −88kgSilverSubmission run via inside heel hookOpening

is an Australian no-gi competitor and coach whose competitive game integrates Z-guard half guard, heel hook entries, and a back-attack chain derived from the rear body lock. He founded the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) in 2024. This site’s scramble hierarchy, the height / hip-height principle, and the wrestle-up imperative are all drawn from Jones’ systematisation of the transitional phases of grappling.

2017 ADCC World Championship — silver, –88kg. Submission run including Leandro Lo and Chael Sonnen by inside heel hook.

Polaris and WNO appearances across the late-2010s to mid-2020s cycle, including title-fight performances at heavyweight superfight level.

Founder, Craig Jones Invitational (CJI 1 in 2024; CJI 2 in 2025). CJI 1 was scheduled on the same weekend as ADCC 2024 as a rival event, in direct response to ADCC athlete pay, with a $1m prize for the absolute champion. Jones did not compete at ADCC 2024.

Z-guard as a heel-hook entry. Jones’ Z-guard system treats the half-guard knee shield not as a retention shape but as an outside-position structural lever from which the cross-ashi entry becomes one motion. The knee shield holds the top player’s hip on the outside line; once they commit weight to either pressure or pass, the bottom player’s outer leg threads over and the position rotates into cross-ashi — the inside-position entanglement. Z-guard itself is outside position; inside space control governs the cross-ashi destination, not the entry. The Z-guard’s job is to produce the angle from which the inversion to inside position occurs cleanly. See Z-guard and half guard.

INV-LE01InvariantInside Space Control Determines the Entanglement

"Inside space control — maintaining the attacker's hip in the space between their hip and the opponent's hip — prevents the opponent from extracting their leg and determines which submissions are available."

See full invariant page → Heel hook entries from Z-guard and the half-guard family. The cross-ashi to inside heel hook sequence from Z-guard expresses the same invariants as the K-guard (a seated leg entanglement position) entry (heel exposure by position; connection throughout) — only the entry shape differs. Jones’ contribution is the demonstration that multiple entry shapes converge on the same finishing system; the entanglement is the load-bearing structure, not the entry. See inside heel hook.

INV-LE02InvariantHeel Exposure Is Determined by Position, Not Grip