A good introduction to the cross-collar sleeve guard, De La Riva guard and lasso guard (Long Review)
If you want to leave the safety of the closed guard and start working your open guard then this instructional is a great way to learn a range of techniques from three open guards including cross-collar sleeve, De La Riva and lasso. The instructional teaches the fundamental techniques (Gi) including entering the guard and controlling the opponent and a range of sweeps and submissions. Overall, in terms of the submissions taught they include armbars, a canto style choke, a triangle choke, an omoplata, a kneebar, heel hooks, a toe hold, an ankle lock, a bicep slicer and a wrist lock. Also provided with the instructional is a pdf file designed to assist with your learning. The pdf comprises a series of flowcharts for each of the three guards showing you how to navigate the techniques taught in the instructional (e.g., from a specific guard with the opponent standing what are your choices, etc). The instructional runs for 4 hours 12 minutes and consists of 54 chapters. Eric Laporte teaches in a relaxed manner. He commences the instructional teaching open guard fundamentals (i.e., efficient movement, staying in contact with the opponent, and a quick introduction to open guard retention) and how to effectively break your opponent’s grips. For the first two guards Eric Laporte approaches the topic by firstly teaching the fundamentals and then teaching techniques dependent on what position the opponent is in (i.e., kneeling or standing for CCSG and when their weight is forward or backward for the DLR). For the lasso once the fundamentals have been addressed, he teaches techniques based on whether you are on your side or back. Eric Laporte’s instructions are clear, as are the demonstrations. Overall, the quality of the vision is good. Sound is reasonable, noting that Eric Laporte is softly spoken in this instructional. A single fixed camera has been used and the range of the camera is good. The angles of the technique displayed are appropriate. The available previews are consistent with the whole instructional. In summary, in my opinion this is a solid and good value instructional that I found to be a great introduction to the open guard. It has increased my confidence in using the open guard. The techniques taught are effective and not overly complex and nor do they require lots of flexibility or strength.
