Technique 

Video: Learn What Makes Marcelo Garcia’s Butterfly Guard So Special

Ben Coate

Although he’s retired from competition, there is still plenty to learn from watching jiu-jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia. In a recent video from Kenny Florian, we learn the key concept at work behind Garcia’s legendary butterfly guard.

Florian is a long-time jiu-jitsu black belt and a three-time UFC title challenger. As he describes below, the key to Garcia’s butterfly guard is the idea of “being your opponent’s floor.” Let Florian explain:

By forcing his opponents to carry their weight on him rather than the floor, Garcia is able to sweep and control with relative ease. And as Florian explains, the guard player’s grips aren’t all that important. Instead, the focus is on being under the top player, at which point sweeps with practically any grips become easy.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

Ben Coate has 1160 posts and counting. See all posts by Ben Coate