28.11.2022
Hour five of my couple clients’ Mixed Martial Arts Ground Fighting course looked at stacking from guard. This area concerned the fighter standing as the opponent gets their feet on the fighter’s hips. Posting with feet on hips is a very effective and common method to escape to standing. In MMA ground fighting, getting to a standing position from underneath is the top of the hierarchy and fighters should seek it above sweeping and submitting. Likewise, the fighter in the top position might not always prioritise passing an opponent’s guard. Due to the presence of striking, a strong top position can be held within guard.
We went through three different scenarios:
- Stack in a “floating guard”. In this instance the standing fighter strips the hip posts uses their knee/shin to put pressure inside one guarding leg whilst they strike. They also have the option of passing guard.
- Knee pinch stack. Here the standing fighter pins the knees together of the stacked opponent and continues to strike. No guard pass is necessary due to the opponent now being in a very prone position.
- Counter to lumberjack sweep. Here the opponent grips the ankles of the standing opponent and sweeps the fighter with a push/pull action. In response, the fighter immediately pins together the opponent’s knees with their own and then push up from underneath and transitions to combat base.
The lesson finished with 4 x 2 minute rounds of ground ‘n pound sparring. Rounds 1 and 2 allowed the two clients to spar me from the top position whereas 3 and 4 they sparred with each other, taking on either role.