My Four Favorite Guard Passes

Jeremy Vineyard / Flickr Creative Commons

The majority of your rolling time against an opponent of similar experience will be them trying to pass your guard (we will talk about this another time) or you trying to pass their guard.

I recall reading an article on the game of Marcelo Garcia that said Marcelo only used a few different passes, submissions, sweeps.  However, it also said he had 100 ways to get into each of those techniques.

Likewise, I am going to suggest that if you break grips and keep a good posture, four to five different solid passes should cover the majority of guard passing situations.

Let’s take a look at my four favorite guard passes.

Bullfighter / Toreando Pass

This pass (and its multiple variations) is a great weapon to deal with an opponent’s spider guard. You can pass with pressure or speed to the outside while exploiting your movement advantage over the opponent on the bottom.

Note the different ways to execute the same basic pass.

Over-Under Pass 

Sometimes a pressure pass is the best way to get by an opponent who has good hip movement and speed.

Check out World Champion Bernardo Faria on how he does what he describes as his best guard pass.

Knee Slice / Knee Cut Pass

This is my favorite tutorial on the knee cut pass. It comes from the amazing Rafa Mendes.

When you opponent uses the defensive knee shield, many passers get stuck. Mendes breaks down the position, explaining each detail on what to do and why.

Leg Drag

Philipe Della Monica, the head instructor at Gracie Barra HQ, shows how to avoid the De la Riva guard and execute the leg drag guard pass.

Pay attention to the way Philipe grips and uses his hips to get the leg dragged across his hips.

If you can drill these passes to be razor sharp, you will be able to combine them to create a formidable passing game.

Read also on Jiu-jitsu Times4 Tips To Pass A Difficult Guard


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