Butterfly guard

Seated with hooks inside both thighs. Underhooks and elevation take away their balance.

Open guardFundamental
Lesson video · 1 of 8

Butterfly Guard Fundamentals

Report a problemKD Grappling (Kieran Davern) · on YouTube
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Essentials

Butterfly guard: Butterfly guard: the bottom player sits up with hooks under the kneeling opponent, both gripping
Cpl. Jeff Sisto, USMC (2003) · Public domain (US government work) Source ↗

You sit up with both feet hooked inside their thighs and your chest close to theirs. Butterfly is built for lifting: with an underhook or arm control, your hooks can elevate them over in either direction.

Your goals
  • Get an underhook or a two-on-one grip
  • Stay sitting up with your head level with theirs
  • Elevate with a hook as they lean
What they want
  • Flatten you onto your back
  • Pin a hook and pass, or crossface you
Key principles
  • Upper body control before the sweep
  • Your chest stays close to theirs
Common mistakes
  • Falling back flat with no grips
  • Sweeping without an underhook or arm control

Techniques to learn

Each one opens its own page and video.

Sweeps
Butterfly hook sweepButterfly guard · Fundamental
Passes & back takes
Float passPressure pass · IntermediateArm drag to the back (guard)Back take · Fundamental
Submissions
GuillotineChoke · FundamentalKimura (Gyaku Ude Garami)Shoulder lock · FundamentalMonoplataShoulder lock · Intermediate

Where it leads

Other side
Passing butterfly guard
Moves from here
Back controlSide control (Yoko Shiho Gatame)Closed guardHalf guardX-guardSingle leg XHalf butterfly guard
Escapes
Escape the guillotineEscape the kimura
In courses
Open guard set
Seminars

If this happens…

  1. they lean their weight forward onto youFall to the side of your underhook and lift with the hook for the sweep
  2. they back away to free their hipsFollow with your hooks or switch to X-guard or single leg X

Seminars

All seminars →

Longer seminars, classes and masterclasses that teach this. Free on YouTube.

Class recordingNo-GiBottomGuard

Noon BJJ Class: the Butterfly Sweep

Firas Zahabi

A full class built around the butterfly sweep

A live no-gi class at Tristar Gym where Firas Zahabi teaches what makes a powerful butterfly sweep.

YouTube ↗
Advanced detailsTransitions, threats, reactions, troubleshooting and a sparring drill

1. Overview

Seated with hooks inside both thighs. Underhooks and elevation take away their balance.

Key controls

  • Underhook on one side
  • Hooks inside both thighs
  • Sit tall, stay mobile

In this position

7 transitions · 1 sweeps · 3 submissions · 3 reactions · 2 troubleshooting fixes · 1 sparring exercise · 5 techniques

Read about itGrapplearts articlesBJJ Heroes

Finish this lesson

0% of this lesson0/8 videos completed · 0/5 techniques practiced
Test yourselfButterfly guard lesson quiz5 questions · pass with 4