A close look at the rubberguard.

[Echsos]

What do all the grapplers here think of the rubberguard? I've experimented with it a few times and like it, although it is fairly easy to counter if you know what you're doing. Thoughts? Comments? Dirty jokes?

 

[Eternal Beginner]

I've played with it a bit but have abandoned it because it is just too brutal on the knees. I've heard this from a couple of other people as well.

 

[MardiGras Bandit]

Rubber guard is the best thing to happen to the bottom game since someone decided to fight from missionary position. It is a great way to control your opponent as it severly limits their mobility and defense. A big enough person can muscle out, but will probably give up a sub if they don't know whats going on (which is pretty standard with all guard stuff). A smaller person will have a lot of trouble getting out, and will probably just try to hide and hope for a chance to escape.

With strikes thrown into the mix it is a more challenging to use because its a little hard to defend against the arm that isn't trapped, but any strikes that are big enough will leave openings for triangles. I try to avoid the getting there by going for an omoplata as soon as I get rubber guard.

It does suck for your knees, but I found it helps if you don't use the mission control setup (pulling your own ankle across the back). Mission control work very well, but unless you are very flexible it will leave you hurting badly.

 

[Aesopian]

I've seen it work enough and had enough success with it to say that rubber guard can be very effective and useful. But even with great flexibility and the body type that's particularly suited for it, I've found the stress on my knees and hips to be too much to make it worth using over a "traditional" closed guard game. About all I've kept doing is London, which I was doing before I ever heard of Eddie Bravo. He hypes up rubber guard as the ultimate in no-gi closed guard, and while it is good, I'd recommend checking out guys like Baret Yoshida too.