What Is a Guard Spider?

Executing Guard Spider

• The guard spider aptly got its name from the way martial artists execute the move. It uses all four limbs of the body (both hands and feet) to take down, pin, or sweep an opponent. The spider guard can be efficiently executed if the opponent wears long sleeves, because the hands can grip them, locking them in place. While the hands lock the opponent's arms, the soles of the feet either step on the opponent's legs, thigh, hip or biceps. There are several modifications in executing this move, but the main idea remains that the hands should grapple the arms, and the feet lock in on a different part of the body.

Advantages

• If executed properly, a spider guard can immobilize an opponent. In offense, you can take down the opponent easily once you grab his arms and execute a sweep using one of your soles. Once the opponent is down, place your feet on top of his thighs to immobilize them. You can proceed to execute a lock, such as a choke hold, or you can throw the opponent.

  If the opponent is on the defensive side, it can eliminate all possible attacking position. For example; holding the arms of the opponent renders him almost useless. If he tries to kick, you can use the soles of your feet to deflect the kicks by pushing the thighs.

Tactics and Considerations

• Since the goal of the guard spider is to immobilize the opponent, using it as an early offensive tactic can cost dearly if you can't grab your opponent's arms right away. You must approach the opponent very carefully and grab both arms as soon as you can.

  Guard spider also relies a lot on power and your grip on your opponent's arms. If your grip is not strong enough, your opponent can free one hand, potentially using it to strike you. Aside from this, if your opponent does not wear sleeves, your grip can easily slide off, making the tactic useless.

Martial Arts

• Jiu jitsu martial artists often master different types of guards in fighting, with guard spider as one of them. Since the move can also be a preparatory move for attack, mixed martial artists often use it to set an opponent on the ground. In real situations, the guard spider can be a logical guard move if the attacker does not have a weapon in hand. When an attacker has a weapon, the first thing to do is to disable the weapon.