MasterclassTopPassing
Complete Guard Passing Overview
Jon Thomas
An overview of a whole passing game
Jon Thomas maps out a complete guard passing game and how the passes connect.
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Passing open guard
You are standing or kneeling against their open guard. Break grips, control the legs and get to the side.
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Essentials
You’re standing or kneeling in front of someone playing open guard. You need to get past their legs, deal with their grips, and settle into a pin.
Your goals
- Break their grips first
- Control their knees or ankles
- Pass to the side and pin
What they want
- Keep their legs between you
- Grip, hook and sweep
Key principles
- Pass the legs, then the hips
- Pressure and movement together
Common mistakes
- Standing in their guard with no plan
- Reaching into their guard
Techniques to learn
Each one opens its own page and video.
Passes & back takes
Toreando passStanding pass · Fundamental
Knee slice passPressure pass · Fundamental
Over-under passPressure pass · Fundamental
Body lock passPressure pass · Intermediate
X-passStanding pass · Intermediate
Leg drag passLeg drag · Intermediate
Backstep passPressure pass · Intermediate
Leg weave passPressure pass · Intermediate
Folding passPressure pass · Intermediate
Cartwheel passStanding pass · AdvancedWhere it leads
- Other side
- Seated open guard
- Moves from here
- Side control (Yoko Shiho Gatame)Knee on bellyLeg dragHeadquarters (HQ)Half guard (top)Passing butterfly guard
- In courses
- Foundations IV: Passing
- Seminars
If this happens…
- they grab your sleeve and put a foot on your hipBreak the grip and push the foot down
- they spin to keep facing youChange direction and pass the other way
Seminars
All seminars →Longer seminars, classes and masterclasses that teach this. Free on YouTube.
Full seminarTopPassing
Modern Passing Masterclass
Margot Ciccarelli
A full seminar on modern open guard passing
Margot Ciccarelli's full passing seminar, recorded and published by the host academy, BJJ Lab Zürich.
MasterclassTopPassing
Understanding Guard Passing: Concepts & Heuristics
Lachlan Giles
The concepts behind passing any open guard
Lachlan Giles lays out the concepts and rules of thumb he uses to pass guard.
Class recordingTopPassing
Sword and Shield for Passing any Guard
Wim Deputter
One framework (a "sword" and a "shield") for passing any open guard
Wim Deputter teaches a simple framework for passing any guard: one arm attacks while the other defends, so you can pass without getting swept.
Class recordingBothGuard
Constructing/Deconstructing Guards
Chris Paines
The second half: how guards are broken from the top
Chris Paines explains the logic of guard: why it works, how to build one and how to take one apart. A concept class filmed at a BJJ Globetrotters camp.
Class recordingTopPassing
Guard Passing
Chris Paines
A camp class on passing open guard
Chris Paines' Summer Camp 2019 passing class, drawing on wrestling principles.
Advanced detailsTransitions, threats, reactions, troubleshooting and a sparring drill
1. Overview
You are standing or kneeling against their open guard. Break grips, control the legs and get to the side.
Key controls
- Break their grips first
- Control knees, ankles or pants
- Head and hips forward, out of the legs
In this position
6 transitions · 0 sweeps · 0 submissions · 3 reactions · 2 troubleshooting fixes · 1 sparring exercise · 4 techniques
Read about itGrapplearts articlesBJJ Heroes
Finish this lesson
0% of this lesson0/56 videos completed · 0/4 techniques practiced
Test yourselfPassing open guard lesson quiz5 questions · pass with 4