Butterfly Guard BJJ: White Belt Biomechanics

1. Starting from your back, bring your knees towards your chest, heels tucked towards your glutes.
2. Place the soles of your feet on the inside of your opponent's thighs, just above the knees, with your ankles dorsiflexed.
3. Wrap your arms around your opponent's thighs, securing a deep grip on their pants or directly on their hamstrings.
4. Arch your lower back slightly, lifting your hips off the mat, creating space to insert your feet.
5. Ensure your knees are pointed slightly outwards, creating a stable 'butterfly' shape, not collapsed inwards.
6. Maintain constant pressure with your shins against their thighs, actively pushing them away to create leverage.
7. When ready to sweep, simultaneously drive your hips forward and up while pulling with your arms and extending your legs.

• Knees collapsing inward: This puts excessive valgus stress on the knee joint, risking ACL or MCL tears. The correct movement is to keep knees pointed outwards, creating a stable base.
• Flat back and head on the mat: This allows the opponent to easily execute a stack pass, compressing the cervical spine and risking neck injury. Maintain a slight lumbar arch and keep your head up or tucked safely.
• Over-reliance on arm strength: Pulling hard with arms without hip elevation and leg drive leads to shoulder impingement and ineffective sweeps. Focus on generating power from your hips and legs, using arms for control and timing.

1. Solo Hip Elevation and Foot Placement: Practice lifting your hips and placing your feet against a wall or mat for 5 sets of 10 repetitions.
2. Static Butterfly Guard Holds: Sit up and have a partner place their hands on your knees. Hold the position, focusing on hip height and shin pressure, for 3 sets of 30 seconds.
3. Partnered Hip Push Drill: With your partner on their hands and knees, practice the initial hip drive and leg extension motion without them resisting, 4 sets of 8 repetitions.
4. Controlled Sweep Attempts (0% Resistance): Your partner gently allows you to execute a sweep motion, focusing on timing and body mechanics. 5 sets of 5 repetitions.
5. Light Resistance Sweep Attempts (25% Resistance): Your partner offers minimal resistance, allowing you to feel the pressure and unbalancing effect. 3 sets of 5 repetitions.
6. Live Rolling (50-75% Resistance): Begin incorporating Butterfly Guard into rolling with a compliant partner, focusing on maintaining the guard and attempting sweeps. 3 rounds of 3 minutes.

• WHEN TO ATTEMPT:
• When your opponent attempts a guard pass, especially a knee-slice or torreando pass, and you can get under their hips.
• When your opponent is postured up high, creating an opportunity to disrupt their base from below.
• When you are defending a pass from the bottom and can quickly transition to this offensive guard.
• PRIMARY COUNTERS:
• Stack Pass Defense: If your opponent stacks, immediately drive your hips forward and away, tucking your chin to your chest to protect your neck. Use your legs to push their hips back.
• Knee-Slice Pass Defense: If they try to drive their knee across, use your butterfly hooks to create frames and push their hips away, then shrimp your hips out to regain guard or transition.
• Standing Up: If your opponent is too heavy or strong to sweep effectively, you can use your butterfly hooks to help you stand up safely by pushing their hips away and stepping your feet to the mat.

Watch step-by-step breakdowns from black belt instructors: