Pretzel Foot Pass

This is an open guard pass to use when your opponents has their feet on your hips and a same side collar sleeve grip set.

Start standing. Your opponent is on the on the ground, feet on your hips, gripping your right arm, with their left,  and your collar, with their right.

1. Grab their lapel with you right (trapped) arm.

2. Stuff their foot on your free side between your legs and prepare to smash their knees down.  -grab their foot above their toes -step back with your leg on that side as you push the foot down between your legs. -When their foot’s between your legs, clam them together so it doesn’t pop out.

3. Smash their legs down. grab the top of their knee with your free hand as you drop your right knee down, stapling their left leg. Keeping your lapel grip with your right hand, move yoru elbow so that it is up on top of their knees, pinning their knees down to the side. Next, slide your left knee up behind their knees. Once you’re heavy, on top of their knees, reach around and grab the back of their jacket with your free have.

4. Free your trapped right leg by kicking it back as you keep your other knee, your left knee, up behind their knees.

5. Pretzel time. (This details is awkward, but important and protects you from ending up in half guard or back in guard.) while keeping your left knee behind their knees, rotate your left foot and ankle over and across both their feet so that you ar stapling them down.

6. Finish the Pretzel. Now move your right knee (this was the trapped leg) up and over their legs. Placing your right knee down between their knees and your left knee.

7. Unstaple and roll them back to side control. Keep your lapel grip. kick your feet around. sag heavy on their chest as you roll them back towards you with the lapel grip and establish side control. (the lapel grip stops them from turtling away from you.)

Open guard, passing »

Here are the 2 techniques to open the closed guard from class this week. The first one, the “Lunge” does not require the player inside the closed guard to stand up. the second on, the “Sleeve ‘n Stand”, does.

“The Lunge”:

Grab the gi above belt and hold. you don’t need to apply pressure. (Keep your elbow on the inside of your opponents leg to avoid an oma plata.)

With your other hand, grab your opponents waist above their hip, and place your elbow inside their thigh. (This hand will be opening the guard and checking their hip.)

Nest, put your knee, on the gi grip side, next to their tailbone.

Open the guard by kicking the other leg back, like a “lunge”, posting on your toes on that leg, and then rotating your heel down as you twist your hips and push with the tailbone knee to pop the guard open.

“The Sleeve ‘n Stand”:

Start this pass by securing the lapels grip, but this time turn your palm so that your knuckle face your opponent and your palm is down. You will be using this hand to keep them down, should they try to pop up as you stand.

With your free hand, grab one of their sleeves by rolling your fingers under the outside of their sleeve and turning your palm up as you close your fist.

Pull this sleeve grip up to your hip, keeping your elbow inside their thigh.

Stand by rocking laterally and planting your sleeve-grip side foot and then stepping up with the other one. (Always step with the sleeve-grip side foot first to avoid the sweep.)

Once you are standing, release the lapels and grab the inside of their knee with that hand.

To open the guard, lean away from the knee as you straighten that arm. Once the arm is locked, lean down on that knee to pop the guard open.

*You must maintain posture or neither of these will work.

half guard, judo, Kettle Bells, Main, Mount, Oma Plata, passing, Side Control, videos »

Thanks, Walker. This is a cool pass and it is always nice to learn things that work both Gi and NoGi.

This is a lower body pass, involving controlling your opponents legs, tripod-ing, freeing your trapped leg, and ending in side control.

Start From Half-Guard Top, your right leg is trapped in Half-Guard :

1 – Dive your head down, end posting on it with your left ear on your opponents left hip, and putting heavy pressure on your opponents solar plexus. (be heavy to prevent choke attempts)

2 – lock your wrists around your opponents legs. Try to be between their hips and knees, but closer to their knees.

3 – squeeze your arms together to weaken their leg clamp on your trapped leg.

4 – kick your trapped leg back and move to side control.

5 – Back-turn, scoot your back up their body and prepare to mount

Option starting from closed guard:

A – grab opponents armpits. lunge knees forward, like you’re doing squats. Repeat this until their guard opens.

B – Push their right knee down with your left hand, while you pin their left hip with heavy pressure from your right hand.

C – pass into half guard, go to 1 above and start.

Gi, half guard, nogi, passing, Side Control »

Start in your opponents butterfly guard. You are pinning their feet and back down, and have your head on their chest and your arms holding their side. Your head is facing to the side you will pass towards. For this example face your left.

1. They try to extend their legs and sit up to attack. React by posting up on your toes and taking an underhook on the opposite side that your head is facing, so under hook with your right arm. (By posting onto your toes, you are very hard to sweep. You are a tripod and your head is pinning their chest down as well.)

2. Start your pass by dropping one of your hips, your right hip. This will lose the hook on that side.

3. Continue the pass by pushing down their remaining leg with your left hand, to avoid half-guard, as you walk your legs out towards the passing side.

4. Finish and establish side control.

butterfly guard, Open guard, passing »

Jiu Jitsu Inc Head Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor, Josh Griffiths, shows a sweep into a guard pass.

De La Riva, Gi, Guard, Open guard, passing, sweep, videos »

Since we’re on the topic, here’s more on guard passing:

As the passer decide you are going to dominate and control the other guy. Inner alpha male attitude – Good for Jiu Jitsu and the ladies love it too.

OPENING THE GUARD

1. Maintain posture
Keep top of your head pointed up and arch back
2. Get a double lapel grip
Get double lapel grip with right hand. this grip is used to push your opponent down if they start to sit up.
3. Grab a sleeve and stand
(grabbing their right sleeve with your left hand.)
a. Get same side sleeve grip with left hand grip outside and on top of their sleeve.
b. Put your sleeve-grip elbow on top of the inside of their knee.
c. Big step forward with left leg 45 degrees out.
d. Stand up arch back and stick hips up and out.
4. Push them down off of your hips
(Once you are standing let go of the lapel grip with your right hand )
Push your right hip out to the right and push down on the inside of their left knee with your right hand. *When their left leg falls, grab the pants with your right hand and keep elbow knee connection on both sides.
note – it is important not to stand totally straight and upright when you are pushing them down off your hips. If you do this, they can try to hit a sweep or take down while they are sliding down. to prevent this, remember to bend your knees a little and keep your feet shoulder width apart as they are falling.
5. Get the lapel grip with your left hand
(their butt is now on the ground and you are standing)
Stagger so that your left leg is forward with your knee pushing on the inside of their right thigh. Sit back into horse stance and rock forward over your left knee to make the same side lapel grip with your left hand.

Alternative – Another way to open the guard after you are standing is to switch hands with the sleeve grip, passing their same side sleeve to your cross side hand (your right hand ends up gripping their right sleeve while your left hand is free to push their hips down on that side.)
This way you are only working one side and there’s not much they can do to stop you.
(video)

COMPLETING THE PASS

Once their legs are open, there are 3 options. Choose one depending on where the guys hips are and where his left leg is.

1: Staple
if His left leg is sideways, his inner thigh facing you
then staple down on his left thigh with your left shin.
2: Toreador
if his left leg is on your right hip,
then step right leg over to the outside of his left leg, then left leg kick out, boot pass / bull fighter
3: Back Kick Pass
if he is on his right hip,
then drop to left leg on right leg staple, splits, and then flop onto your right hip against his hips.

Guard, passing »

Start in your opponents open guard. They have the butterfly hooks and an under hook and are probably getting ready to sweep you.

1. Grab their knee on the opposite side as their underhook and push it down flat against the ground, locking your outstretched arm.

2. Grab the back of their gi with your underhooked arm as you step forward with your foot on that side. When you step, try to step a few inches past their knee on that side.

3. Slam your knee on that side down forcefully onto their leg just above the knee. You are trying to push that leg down to flatten it on top of the other pinned knee.

4. Once you’ve done this, quickly switch your grip so that you are gripping the knee of their top leg. Keep this arm outstretched.

5. Walk your legs around to end in side control on the underhooked side.

butterfly guard, Open guard, passing »

In general in BJJ, if is very good to be aware of they direction your hips are pointing in relationship to you opponent. These half guard passes are no different. We’ll go over 4 variations.

But first one critical point: As Saulo Ribeiro says “The problem is not the pass, it’s how you start the pass.” It’s easy to think of half guard as a transitional position that you’re in while you’re on your way into a better one. However you think of half guard, you have to remember that even though you may be excited about geting closer to a dominant position, you still have to be smart and cannot afford to rush things. Back to Saulo’s wisdom…You have to remember to start you pass properly. This means flattening your opponent. Your opponent should be flat on their back before you start your pass.

Start in Half Guard. You are on top trying to pass. Your right leg is in their half guard.

1. – Flatten your opponent. Under hook them with your top (left) arm and grab their collar behind their neck as you circle your hips towards them. (you’re stepping into them on your knees)

2 – Once they are flat, “back turn”. Flop onto your outside hip and face their legs with your chest. Move your left arm grip down to their belt or the waist of their pants. With your other arm, apply pressure with your forearm to their top knee. From here, there are 3 options:

#1 – BACKTURN to MOUNT

IF they do not have an under hook with their top arm THEN

3 – Scoot your butt up towards their armpit on your near side and creep your elbow up on the far side as you try to elevate their arm and fold it over their face. As you go, grab their gi with your hand so that they cannot push your elbow down. When your armpit is just below their chin, reach around with that arm and grab the back of their collar, trapping their arm against their face. This is very uncomfortable for your opponent.

4. drop your trapped leg knee on the other side of their hips as you sit up to mount.

5. With your free ankle, press down on the top of their thighs to free your trapped ankle.

6. you now have the mount. Why not finish with a head and arm?

#2 – BACKTURN to SIDE CONTROL

IF they get and under hook THEN (You were going for #3 above but somehow their arm escaped and they got an under hook with their top arm)

4. Quickly under hook their under hook with your top arm and reach behind their neck and grab their collar.

5. Over hook their bottom arm with your other arm, judo side control style. as you post out with your free leg and turn your hips to face their head.

6. slide your trapped knee forward towards you posting foot. * If you need to free it, use your free foot to apply pressure to their legs where they are crossed. This will open up their half guard and free your legs.

7. End up in side control.

#3 – BACKTURN to NORTH SOUTH
IF they have an under hook way back at step 2, when you have reached back to grab their belt THEN (Remain back turned for the entire pass)

3. Try to keep their under hook trapped against their body as you scoot your butt up towards their armpit.

4. free your knee of the trapped leg by walking your foot up towards their butt. And pressing down on their bottom knee.

5. When your knee is free, pop the knee of your free leg in between your trapped leg and their hips.

6. pop the trapped leg out and circle to north south or establish side control.

#3 – SWITCH SIDES to SIDE CONTROL

IF they have a deep under hook way back at step 2 THEN
3. Over hook their top arm and grab the back of their jacket in the middle of their back.
4.Rotate your trapped leg so that it is parallel top their spine.
5.Post out with your free leg as you pop-up and sit onto of their top leg just above the knee.
6. Kick your free leg over, while you keep your head close to their chest pinning them down on their back as you switch sides.
7. Once you have cleared to their other side, grab their top knee with your free hand and scoot your butt up and frre your leg.
8. End in side control on their opposite side.

Key points:

Must flatten opponent before you start your half-guard pass.

Separating your opponents elbow from their side greatly weakens their ability to defend. (In the above examples, you do this by scooting your butt up towards their armpit and by creeping your own elbow up underneath theirs)

Sometimes it helps to start a pass with your end position in mind as your goal. “Okay I am starting this pass (#1) and I am going to end up mounted. Oh crap. They just got an under hook. Now I am going to change my plan and end up in side control. #2.”

deep half guard, Gi, half guard, passing »

This is a good pass, which opens the guard, passes in a similar style to a double under hooks, and establishes you in side control.

(Start No Gi in your opponents closed guard)
1.- Maintain posture
Keep top of your head pointed up and arch back
2. – Get a throat choke grip with one hand
fingers & thumb around neck
3. – With the other hand grab their hip and press your elbow down firmly on the inside of their thigh on that side.
4. – Stand up
Let them feel their own weight.
5. – Press down on their hips as you squeeze your thighs together on the outside of their thighs. This should pop their guard open. (If it doesn’t try to reach behind you and pop their guard open with the hand you’re not choking with.)
6 – After their guard opens, grab both of their ankles and push them forward over their head. Drop your weight on them behind their hips, applying forward pressure, like you’re stacking them. (Their hips should be over their chest while you do this.)
7 – Drop one knee, either knee, over one of their arms, over the bicep, on the side that you’ve decided to pass to.
8 – Throw their legs to the opposite side and complete the pass as you establish side control.

Guard, nogi, passing »

Guard Passing Drills

1 - silver back drill (partner on back, knees up)
Outside hand on knee, post inside their knees with your fist. rotate around that posting fist. switch hands, rotate back.

2 – scissor pass drill. (facing partners open guard)
Post on head to left side of their hips. Grip legs with your right arm. post with your left hand. scissor your legs up so your standing on your head. outside leg kicks up first(left leg). Land on other side with legs. Switch head to right side and repeat from other side.

drills, Guard, passing »