I know a man who can. http://www.amazon.co.uk/X-guard-Bra...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216033189&sr=8-1
Been playing with it for a little while, my brother has had more sucess with this guard (Here is a clip of him doing an x guard sweep then passing the guard at the very start X Guard sweep.) We have worked on hitting x guard from half guard, de la riva, butterfly guard and de la riva, personally i find it easy from butterfly but hard from half guard, it is hardest to hit surprisingly from de la riva as it requires the most movement and is easiest to block/counter
Thanks, I bought this a week ago! I've also ordered Stephen Kesting's (?) Dynamic Butterly and X guard DVD. I guess you just need to study it and try it out!
Stephan Kesting is badass. He puts out great instructional DVDs. I haven't seen this one, but I own his drills DVD and have seen his half guard dvd on at the school. Both are top notch. On the half guard DVD he shows the moves slowly, at full speed and then in a lot of cases from competition video so you can see what it might look like against a resisting opponent. Very helpful.
Not seen the Stephen Kesting stuff, but the Marcelo book is amazing. Get loads from it. His arm drag stuff at the start is also worth a study, since he is so blooming good at it. I have used x guard a few times, mainly when my half guard is in danger. Though if I am on my right side my left foot is behind the knee and my right foot is over the shins. If you get what I mean. A low, leg switched, x guard. Saved me from getting passed a few times. If I don't sweep I can usually clamber back to an open guard, because I am not very good at x guard!
Even though you're Scottish, I'll respond to you. I was way into the half guard, it's all I did for months. What I prefer about the X Guard is it's a lot more aggressive, I guess belonging to the open guard family. It looks crazy but it works. I really want to incorporate it into my game. Are there any dangers or things to beware when first exploring this position? Thanks again....
Garcia's book is a must have in my opinion. I purchased it as soon as it was available and have been reading and rereading it ever since. I really like the Xguard and find it to be a very functional option. I actually use it on purpose now just b/c not as many people I grapple with are experienced in it.
Do you think you could do the X-guard for self defense? I got locked up in a clinch stalemate, and decided to just drop into a half butterfly which I quickly transitioned to x guard and swept my opponent.
