BJJ Guard Retention Concepts
BJJBJJ App Team·⏱️ 1 min read·🔄 Mar 31, 2026
☰Contents
Master BJJ guard retention: the frames, hip movement, and recovery principles that keep your guard alive against aggressive passers.
Contents
Guard Retention vs Guard Recovery
Guard retention is proactive — maintaining guard before it's passed. Guard recovery is reactive — rebuilding guard after you've already been passed. Elite grapplers blend both: they retain first, then recover if retention fails.
The Three Retention Tools
- Frames: Stiff arms and leg frames create space and buy time
- Hip movement: Shrimping, inverting, and rolling reposition your hips under theirs
- Grips: Sleeve, collar, pants, and wrist grips prevent passes completing
Guard Retention Scenarios
| Pass Attempted | Retention Response |
|---|---|
| Torreando | Hip away, re-establish DLR or butterfly hook |
| Knee Cut | Inside knee frame + shrimp away |
| Leg Drag | Granby roll + recover DLR |
| Stack Pass | Invert toward them, recover guard from inversion |
💡 Core principle: Guard retention is a race — your hips vs their hips. If your hips are always moving toward them, they can never fully settle their weight. Movement beats pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I improve guard retention?
Practice shrimping and inverting under pressure daily. The movements need to be reflexive — hip escapes during retention must happen before the passer settles weight.
What is the most important guard retention tool?
Hip mobility. Frames and grips help but they're temporary — eventually frames get broken. Only continuous hip movement guarantees guard survival.
Should I prioritize guard retention or guard recovery?
Retention first — it's energetically cheaper to retain than to rebuild. But train recovery so that when retention fails, you have an automatic response to return to guard.