I Can't Sit Back On My Heels Inside Full Guard (After Knee Surgery)

I’ve always had trouble sitting back on my heels. In fact I was never able to do it. Until I was 30-31 years old

I’m also not that flexible. And after two separate meniscus surgeries. I figured it was just something that wasn’t in the cards for me.

This created a bit of a unique issue for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu when I was inside someone’s Full Guard. Because I could not sit back on my heels. I was always leaning slightly forward. If you watch the video you’ll see a few picture from BJJ classes where I was leaning forward at the end of class or training.

But over the last couple of years I’ve become more and more interested in corrective exercises, Yoga and stretching. I’m sure this is a result of being older and wanting to still be able to train Brazilian Jiu-jitsu like I want to.

Meaning I don’t want to be injured all the time because I’m not treating my muscular issues.

Overtime I found that through the corrective exercises and stretching I was able to FINALLY sit back on my heels inside the Full Guard. My problem areas really seemed to be my calf muscles and right behind my knee and my quad muscles.

I also started to experience great success inside the Guard and being able to break the guard when I was doing Jiu jitsu because I wasn’t constantly leaning forward.

So when I got the question about tips to sit back on the heels from Jose. I was kind of excited because I had the same issue myself and I know the frustration.

So if you’re someone that experiences difficulty sitting back on their heels. Try using the stretches and movements I show in the video and see if it works for you.

Your muscle imbalances might be different than mine. But if they’re similar I hope they work.

Big tips if you decide to use these moments.

- CONSISTENCY. Stretch often. At least 3 times a week. A great time is after BJJ training or after a hot shower when you have some time to relax.
- Take deep breathes in through the nose and out through the mouth and attempt to melt into the stretch. I usually do each movement or stretch for between 5-10 seconds.

Thanks for watching!
-Chewy