Guard Passing
Clinch and guard passing are very similar: get your chest on their chest and move past the legs. The legs are the guard — they're 7x stronger than your arms and will cause you the most problems. Clear the legs and you clear the guard.
1. Objectives & Mechanics
Guard passing is all about weight distribution and angles; it's not about dance moves. The guard player should be suffering, not happy. Make your partner carry all your weight all the time: it limits their movement, tires them, and leaves only their arms to defend. Eat the elephant — don't make things fancier than they need to be; add weight and keep moving past the legs.
2. Staying sticky
Cup your partner's triceps with your palms to prevent strikes, chokes and submission setups. Elbows fluctuate between flaring and pinching to shut down space. Drill it: they try to touch your face. Then stand: knees never past your toes, tailbone to the sky, knees pinched — they should feel dragged underneath you.
3. The pass
From standing, stay sticky and keep the legs pinched. When they open, create an angle with your hips and slide the leg across, stay connected, and drop into cross-body side control.
4. How to practice
Practise standing in the closed guard (knees behind toes; partner puts feet on hips; survive the dummy sweep). Practise the hip turn and leg slide into cross-body, slow then fast — it requires body wiring. Get your partner to hip escape away and open guard: stay sticky, elbow flattens their knee, replace elbow with knee, chest to chest, finish. Add resistance as confidence grows.
Drills
- Sticky drill: cup triceps, they hunt your face
- Stand-up: tailbone to sky, survive the dummy sweep
- Hip turn + leg slide → cross-body (slow → fast)
- Elbow-to-knee replace on the opening guard
Training checklist
- You can pass the guard of someone at your level
- You feel confident in guard passing
Frequently asked questions
Why is guard passing so hard?
Their legs are 7x stronger than your arms and they're between you and every pass. Weight and angles beat speed and dance moves.
What does 'staying sticky' mean?
Palms cupping triceps, elbows managing space — it keeps you safe from chokes and setups while you work.
How should I stand up in closed guard?
Knees never past the toes, tailbone pulled to the sky, knees pinched — they should feel dragged underneath you.
Where to next
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