Trouble with my open guard

[Camus]

You probably shouldn't let them flatten or stretch out your legs, easier said than done, however.

[JohnnyS]

There is no easy answer because Open Guard is such a fluid position. Some points:
1) Don't let him control your legs - ever!
2) Stretch him out. By this I mean you should be controlling his arms and have your elbows tucked to your sides, whilst your feet are controlling his hips.
3) Always keep your opponent at 180 degrees to you so he has the farthest distance to pass.
4) If he does control your legs, sit up and go to sitting guard with your head further forward than your butt so he can't drive you onto your back. Then clear his hands off your legs and maybe shoot a low single or go back to open guard.
5) Have a goal. Whether it be triangle, armbar, a sweep etc, you must have a goal when your opponent is in your guard or you will get passed a lot easier. Having a goal will give you focus and make you the one pushing the buttons and making your opponent react, not the other way around.

[RoninPimp]

Great list JohnnyS.

Edited to add: I'm writing that down! Noobies should too.

[Gumby]

Both grips on the pants eh?

You could try using this temporary solution:

Heres the situation- your opponent breaks your guard and gets his grips on your legs. Ideally you should be trying to prevent him from getting both grips. In this particular instance, you want to sit up as if you were to play butterfly guard (i.e. your posture should be upright)- your head is always "in front" of your butt in that you're posture is somewhat like this:

/_

But never past 90 degrees like this:
\_

Make grips on his jacket right about the elbow/tricep area as if you were grabbing on to a large steering wheel. That analogy will also help in how you use this technique.

If your opponent tries to pass to your left, you're going to push up with your left hand, pull down with your right (as if you're making a right turn without changing the positioning of your hands/grips). When he passes to your right, you do the opposite (pull left, push right). Make sure you keep your feet light and your weight on your butt so that you'll be able to spin like a top. This basically allows you to spin with your opponent as he attempts to pass your legs. This is only a temporary solution that buys you time to pull off another technique. This technique by itself simply stalls, but is good to give you an opportunity to think about what you want to do.

Another usefull tip to keep in mind whenever you're playing the guard game- anytime your opponent stands up, you have to sit up to engage him in the guard. If he stands and you stay flat on your back, you're basically fighting him with just your two legs, as opposed to using both your legs and your arms. This could also be why people are passing your guard this way.

[Darkpaladin]

Thanks alot for all the replies.

I'm going to try to do some drills during open mat and see how it works out.

[PoleFighter]

Open guard was very difficult for me in the beginning, but now I find it the most interesting position in BJJ. Just keep training.