
Originally Posted by
Jason Hyatt
That's what I mean. I can't just decide "OK, I'm gonna work on [insert half guard technique of choice here] tonight. I start on my back, go to half guard, and IMMEDIATELY have to start defending the Necktie. If you even start to whip you better damn well hide your head super-STAT 'cause the vice is coming (the upside is that by hiding my head deeper and hooking the waist better I'm getting to Middle School a lot more). That's not a bad thing, it just means I can no longer pick and choose what I want to rep from half guard. I HAVE to defend the Japanese Necktie first and foremost or it's done. Big picture -- still not a bad thing, but a little annoying when I have specific things I want to accomplish in an evening of rolling.

I never whip up. It's just one move that can open up alot of counters unless you're really good at it. The Middle School is a great option. Also, if you can manage to never get flattened out in the first place, that's great too. Plus there's several traditional half guard options out there that offer easy transitions to deep half or the dogfight or butterfly sweep,etc. When the guys on my level at my school whip up, they've already made their first mistake by giving me space to look for an opening on the way back down.
The whip up has it's benefits too in that it forces some fast action, but the risks outweigh the benefits IMHO. And it's not that I'm all about constantly playing it safe or anything either. It's just that there are superior options at your disposal again IMHO.