2 Part Lesson — Marcelo avoids danger inside the Closed Guard: [I] Breaking up and out of Closed Guard is a matter of posture, and hand-fighting. The longer you stay inside, the more and more likely you will get caught by an attack. The best strategy is to get out as soon as possible without delay. The spirit of the skill is closely akin to that of standing up to escape from the bottom referee's position in folk-style wrestling; one must find the opponent's hands and act upward quickly. If you cannot win grips because the opponent is hiding their wrists, ignore the controls and pop up to your feet for the break. Grab the material of your opponent's pants on the inside of the knee with both hands and press downward off of your leg. [II] If your opponent is breaking your posture with his legs while you are working for grips inside the Closed Guard, don't fall into any traps; i.e. keep your hands off of the mat both under and over the opponent's arms. Try your best to keep the inside position with your elbows and forearms, blocking the opponent from making grips on your sleeves. Win control over the hands to buy yourself a moment to transfer to the pants after popping up to your feet with upright posture.