Back in 2001, I knew from little about the half guard. It was more of a transitional position for me that I got stuck in when someone was trying to pass guard. I just knew that I had to get back to full guard or scramble up to my feet.
That all changed after I faced BJJ Black Belt Legend Roberto “Gordo” Correa, a man that did for half guard what Eddie Bravo did for Rubber Guard. He and I faced off in the NAGA Nationals 2001 superfight tournament, my first high profile match up. It was a great match up as we both fight hard, me working my take downs and guard passing, while he working his half guard sweeps.
Ultimately, the match was decided by the final half guard sweep he nailed just as I thought I was about to pass. I remember feeling frustrated in the half guard, because he was doing all sorts of things that at the time I had no clue to what was going on.
I watched the video many times to analyze his techniques, and then begin to focus exclusively on the half guard. Every time I rolled, I would go straight into half guard and work from there – something I would have never done in the past.
As a result, my half guard game become an asset of mine and along the way I developed this technique, the Y-Choke.
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