Guard Retention
The skill of preventing a top-position opponent from passing to side control, north-south, mount, or back control — maintaining at least one leg between tori and the opponent's hips (the IBJJF's own structural definition of "guard").
The skill of preventing a top-position opponent from passing to side control, north-south, mount, or back control — maintaining at least one leg between tori and the opponent's hips (the IBJJF's own structural definition of "guard").
Related concepts
Other principles recorded on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Base and Posture
Maintaining a stable center of gravity and an upright, structurally sound spine/frame in every position — the physical precondition for both offense (preventing sweeps and reversals) and defense (preventing the opponent's submission attempts).
Framing
Using the forearms, knees, or shins as rigid structural braces against an opponent's hips, shoulders, or head to create and maintain distance, preventing them from consolidating a dominant position — the mechanical basis underlying most of the escapes coded in this corpus (bjj-mount-escape-hip, bjj-back-escape, bjj-side-control-escape, bjj-half-guard-escape).