Closed Guard for Beginners: What Top and Bottom Really Mean

When you’re new to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the word “guard” gets thrown around a lot. “Pull guard.” “Break the guard.” “Work from your guard.” But no one tells you right away what that even means.

Is guard a position? A strategy? A mindset?

Here’s the truth most beginners don’t hear soon enough: the word “guard” doesn’t describe just one thing. It’s a broad term that covers a huge range of positions, and unless you break it down, it’s easy to get lost. Today, we’re focusing on one specific form of guard that every white belt must understand, the closed guard.

Closed guard is one of the most important positions you’ll ever learn, and yet most people only start to appreciate its value once they’ve spent time struggling to use it or escape from it. Understanding closed guard and how it works will open the door to better balance, better awareness, and better timing whether you’re on the bottom or the top.

So What Exactly Is Closed Guard?

Closed guard is when you’re on your back and your legs are wrapped around your opponent’s waist, with your ankles crossed behind their back. From this position, you’ve locked their body between your legs, and that lock gives you control, even if you’re technically “on bottom.”

If you’ve never trained before, this can feel confusing. Being on bottom usually looks like you’re losing. But in closed guard, the person on the bottom might be the one calling the shots.

The key word is control.

You don’t win a round just by being on top. You win by controlling your opponent and putting them in danger while keeping yourself safe. Closed guard gives you the tools to do exactly that if you learn how to use them.

Top and Bottom: What’s Actually Happening

Let’s unpack this:

Top in Closed Guard

If you’re on top inside someone’s closed guard, you’re stuck between their legs. Your job is to keep your posture upright, control their hips, and look for a way to open the guard and pass.

You are physically on top, but you’re not in control unless you can break open their guard.

Bottom in Closed Guard

If you’re the one with your legs locked around your opponent’s waist, you’re in the bottom position, but you’re not helpless. Far from it. You can attack with submissions, control their posture, break their balance, and set up sweeps to reverse the position.

It’s not about up or down. It’s about control and leverage.

Why Closed Guard Is Perfect for Beginners

Closed guard is one of the most useful positions for beginners to learn because:

It teaches core BJJ concepts like posture, grips, and leverage
It gives you a way to defend and attack from your back
It builds your understanding of balance and control
It forces you to think about movement, not just force

Learning closed guard shows you that being underneath someone doesn’t mean you’re losing. It means you have to move differently, smarter, and more efficiently.

Closed Guard from the Bottom: Strengths and Weaknesses

Pros

Lets you slow down the fight and control the pace
Strong platform for submissions like armbars, triangles, and cross-collar chokes
Safe space to recover and reset if you’re under pressure
Excellent starting point to learn sweeping mechanics

Cons

Can feel static or frustrating if you don’t move your hips
Weak if your legs open or if your opponent breaks your grip control
Dangerous if your opponent stacks or smashes your guard without resistance
Requires active effort to stay offensive

Closed Guard from the Top: Strengths and Weaknesses

Pros

Opportunity to pass the guard and move to dominant positions
You can apply pressure and tire your opponent out
Good place to learn posture, base, and balance

Cons

You are always at risk of being swept or submitted
Bad posture means immediate danger
It’s easy to get stuck if you’re not patient or technically sound

Key Terms to Know

These terms are the foundation of understanding how closed guard functions on both top and bottom:

Posture: Keeping your spine straight and head up if you’re on top. Breaking your opponent’s posture if you’re on bottom.
Base: Your ability to stay balanced and grounded, especially when resisting sweeps.
Grip fighting: The battle to control sleeves, collars, wrists, or arms. Whoever wins the grip fight usually controls the exchange.
Hip movement: Your ability to shift, create angles, and move your opponent without brute force.
Breaking the guard: On top, this means opening their legs to pass. On bottom, it means stopping them from doing exactly that.

How to Train Closed Guard the Right Way

If you’re a white belt, don’t just fall back into closed guard and hold on. Learn to use it actively. Here’s how:

Practice breaking your opponent’s posture with collar and sleeve grips
Use your hips to move, not your arms
Chain submissions together to create reactions
Learn how to sweep and reverse the position when the time is right
Study how to keep your ankles locked and knees engaged

If you’re on top, practice staying calm, keeping your elbows tight, and working slowly to open the guard without giving up your balance or exposing your arms.

Why This Position Stays Useful Long After White Belt

Ask any black belt and they’ll tell you, closed guard never goes out of style. It might seem basic, but the fundamentals behind it are what power high-level technique. You’ll see world champions using closed guard in high-stakes competition because when done right, it works.

It keeps you safe. It lets you attack. It gives you control. That’s everything Jiu-Jitsu is about.

Takeaway for Beginners

Closed guard is not just a beginner position. It’s a fundamental platform for understanding how Jiu-Jitsu works. Don’t think of “top” and “bottom” as good and bad. Think of them as different responsibilities. Different tools. Different ways to control the fight.

Start with closed guard. Get good at it. Then build your game from there.

Because if you can control from the bottom, you’ll never feel helpless on the mat again.