Is rubber guard just a gimmick?

**Method2Madness** · Posted On: 9/26/2005 9:35am

eddie bravos book has some good info on the subject. It's out now at borders and BN. It cost about $18.

it has what looks like a great half gaurd technique called the "lock down". i havent gotten a chance to use it a practice yet, but when i get the chance to ill let you guys know how it went.

**5FingazofDeath** · Posted On: 9/26/2005 6:20pm

Rubber guard is the bomb. I want to start incorperating more of those chokes with your ankle across the guys face. Asides from being a weird choke - who likes someones feet in their face?

GoGoplata I believe?

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 9/26/2005 6:43pm

You don't choke the face.

**MuKen** · Posted On: 9/26/2005 7:17pm

Hey, question about one of the rubber guard triangle setups, the one here:

http://www.grapplearts.com/Rubber-Guard-Setup-1.htm

I've tried this in class, and after locking the triangle, they just don't tap. I don't know what he's talking about with "not worrying about the arm", because for me with the arm to the side like that it feels like there's not enough pressure. At this point, I always need to disengage the left leg and place it on their hip so I can push out to the right side and bring their arm across before applying the triangle... but I guess now I'm just using the rubber guard to get past an arm and then doing a normal triangle, and this takes a lot longer. Is there some 'trick' I'm not getting about getting them to tap from the position shown in the article?

**5FingazofDeath** · Posted On: 9/27/2005 9:12pm

Originally Posted by Yrkoon9

You don't choke the face.

Whoops. I meant past the face. I know what I meant, but I worded it wrong.

**infidel** · Posted On: 9/29/2005 9:20pm

Is the rubber guard just a gimmick? yes.

**Roidie McDouchebag** · Posted On: 2/19/2006 2:51pm

I use it constantly, and I figured it out by myself, without any instructional, because there was no one who would teach it to me (old head instructor believed overusing the guard was gay).

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 2/19/2006 3:58pm

The names are gimmicky, and Bravo clearly has a hype team dedicated to advancing the cause of rubber guard, but I don't see how that makes his version of the high active guard a gimmick.

Bravo clearly has a workable system based upon it. That alone makes it not a gimmick.

I don't use rubber guard much at all, but I've played around with it in the past. I may play with it again in the future. At the very least, I consider it good enough to have purchased Bravo's book.

**Greese** · Posted On: 2/19/2006 5:12pm

Originally Posted by MuKen

Hey, question about one of the rubber guard triangle setups, the one here:

http://www.grapplearts.com/Rubber-Guard-Setup-1.htm

I've tried this in class, and after locking the triangle, they just don't tap. I don't know what he's talking about with "not worrying about the arm", because for me with the arm to the side like that it feels like there's not enough pressure. At this point, I always need to disengage the left leg and place it on their hip so I can push out to the right side and bring their arm across before applying the triangle... but I guess now I'm just using the rubber guard to get past an arm and then doing a normal triangle, and this takes a lot longer. Is there some 'trick' I'm not getting about getting them to tap from the position shown in the article?

Are you squeezing your knees together?

**DaChinkOfSteel** · Posted On: 2/20/2006 11:24am

Not a gimmick...just a style/strategy of no-gi grappling...

If it works for you, great...if not, then eh...stick to the regular stuff. I've tried to use it (just stuff from what I've read in his book) but it doesn't seem to work for me because I'm a bigger guy (5'10" 200lbs.) and not as flexible (it puts a lot of pressure on your ankles/knees) so I just stick to "regular" jiu jitsu...