Half Guard Muscle imbalances!

Jiu Jitsu Half Guard Muscle Imbalances :

IF you are a Jiu Jitsu practitioner , at one point or another seeing the Half Guard is something very common. Although not everyone prefers this guard, for those that do, and do not , I highly believe this Article will come in handy.

Playing Half Guard most common Muscles involved :

Hamstrings on the bottom Leg are in constant Tension from hooking your partner.

The Shin on the bottom leg is constantly in Tension due to you pointing your toes to the floor in order to not allow the partners leg to escape.

Adductors (inner thighs of the bottom leg are in constant tension from squeezing and hooking your partners leg in an attempt to not allow them to move around.

The Glutes , IT Band, TFL and Lateral Gastrocnemius of the top leg (Knee Shield ) are in constant tension in order to not allow the partner to collapse your knee and smash .

Lastly , The frame is always attempting to be up, whether its the inside collar grip or hands on biceps and shoulder, you may find yourself in a protracted state with your spine bending forward in an attempt to keep your hips back.

These frames we create put a great deal of tension on the rotator cuff , Latissimus Dorsi, Delts and Chest , which could lead to joint pain in various areas due to the tension one must maintain for prolonged period of time.

Lastly, there are many more muscles which are involved, however I chose to address these for now, as they are large muscle groups and easily identified. If one starts to address these (
use stretching and myofascial release techniques daily), you may begin to notice more ease while being in these positions and maintaining them as well.

Pick the side which you find yourself in the most, stretch those muscle groups and look for tightness with a baseball or foam roller , seeing a massage therapist might also be a good idea. Then, look at the muscles of the unused side, and perform isolated strength exercises for them.

Once you do this and feel it improving, throw in whole body exercises to even out the force produced.

In Short, not addressing these areas will lead to your body becoming lop sided in its strength and the ability to create force efficiently, it would be like making your car look super cool, but not changing the oil regularly, eventually it will start to break down.

Thanks for reading ! Please stay tuned for more and if you enjoy, share to help us grow!

Much Love,
Dr. Jiu Jitsu AKA Week Massage and Personal Training