BJJ TECHNIQUES

Lasso Guard – Everything you Need to Know About This Guard

The lasso guard finds its use in the game of BJJ. It’s a great way to restrict your opponent’s movement while you’re laying on the back and he’s trying to pass.That being said, people usually learn this technique starting from blue belt onwards. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try and learn some of the intricacies of this technique as a white belt. The best thing that you should do is try it out and see for yourself. Below you will find more information on what do to from lasso guard.

Lasso Guard Basics

Setting up the lasso guard

This technique may seem intimidating when you first hear about it. Not many people use it in BJJ. But in fact, it’s easy to implement it.

You start with your back on the floor while your opponent is sitting in front of you.
Place your feet on his thighs or at the hips and you grab the end of his sleeves with both of your hands.
After you have done this, you will need to “lasso” one of your legs around your opponent’s arm, from the outside, and slide it in the place between his arm and his torso.
Congratulations – you have executed the lasso guard!

Lasso Guard sweeps

But the point of BJJ isn’t to just hold the guard ad infinitum. After all, the lasso guard may go hard on your grips. Eventually, your hands will begin to give out if you persist in doing nothing while holding this guard. Your opponent will then pass. So, you will need to start doing something as soon as possible. There are a number of lasso guard sweeps that you can begin to execute.

You can do one such sweep by putting your free leg perpendicular to your opponent’s torso – like you’re blocking him from advancing forward. Then all you need to do is grab the collar at the end of his pants and push him over so that you will end up in the knee on belly position. This is a very effective sweep that few BJJ practitioners will expect.

If you want to see different kinds of sweeps that you can execute from the lasso guard – then we suggest that you watch the video below.

Lasso Guard Submissions

There are opportunities for finishing your opponent on the spot with the help of a few submission moves that you can execute from the lasso guard.

Lasso Guard to Omoplata

The first thing that you could try doing is an omoplata. To do the omoplata, you will first need to get into the lasso guard. After this, you will need to scoot under your opponent and come from the other side. Finishing the omoplata from here is a cinch. You may have difficulties in seeing this move in your mind’s eye. In such a case, watch the video

Lasso Guard To Trangle

There is also an opportunity that you could try out and execute a well-put triangle. Again, you need to start by setting up the basic lasso guard. You then need to use the hand opposite the “lasso hand” in order to grab your opponent, cross-collar. At the same time, you extend your non-lasso leg into the bicep of your opponent. This will give you a much better control over his movements.

Then you need to switch your lasso hand grip and grab your opponent behind his triceps muscle. After that, you just extend your lasso leg while at the same time using your other leg to go over the shoulder of your opponent. You will now have a diamond-shape guard over your opponent and it will be easy for you to complete the triangle. For a visual demonstration of this move, check:

Lasso Guard Pass

The lasso guard can be very difficult to block, especially if it’s the first time that you’re seeing it. There are certain things that you must be mindful of. The first thing is that you may have a big temptation to go forward with the lasso guard. But you should be careful – as you may end up in a trap and get swept rather easily.

So, what you’ll want to do is go to the side instead. Go to the side that’s farther from your opponent’s lasso leg. In this way, you will, in great part, neutralize your opponent’s leg. After this, you will be able to do a sprawl and pin your opponent’s powerless lower body on the ground. You’ll be able to pass the guard from here. Check the video below for a demonstration.

No matter what the current level of your BJJ skill is, you still need to know at least the basics of the lasso guard. Your opponent may ragdoll you if he sets it up and you have no clue of how to defend it. Likewise, you will be able to ragdoll many of your opponents if you know how to use the lasso guard. We hope you will have fun with it.

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