up close fighting

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Hi my name is aaaaaaa and I have just joined because I have always got a question about martial arts and I often search the internet for diffrent answers.

At the moment I am mostly trying to improve my defences at close range

When sparring I am good at defending against long range/medium but when I get up close I always take a few hits. What kind of guard do you think is good to use at very close range? I don't like the boxing style guard as it leaves the groin very open and isnt as effective without gloves.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.