Here’s a brand new video I just shot…
It covers two quick tweaks that’ll make your guard passing game a LOT more powerful, both when you’re sparring in class, and also when you’re fighting in competition.
Passing the guard of a good player is one of the hardest things to do in BJJ. But here are two strategies to help you…
Guard Passing Strategy 1: Stand When Everyone is Kneeling, Kneel When Everyone Is Standing
The first strategy involves doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
If most people at your club pass the guard on their knees then it’s also true that most people are going to best a shutting down kneeling guard passes.
Conversely, if most people at your club pass the guard standing up then people are generally going to be pretty good at defending standing guard passes.
A person’s skills and ability to defend against certain kinds of guard passes are improved if they face those guard passes more often.
So then what’s the takeaway?
It’s simple…
If you’re at a school where most people pass the guard on their knees then start working on your standing guard passes…
And if you’re at a school where everyone passes the guard standing up then start working on your kneeling guard passes.
When it comes to tournament competition it’s a bit trickier, but if you do some reconnaisance you may find out that your opponent comes from a school that specialises in standing passes, which would tell you what style of guard passing you should probably use.
It’s a great argument for developing both standing and kneeling guard passes, isn’t it?
Strategy 2: Learn to Pass the Guard to Your Right
In the spirit of doing what your opponents aren’t good at defending, here’s another great strategy to add to your repertoire…
Have at least a few guard passes that go to your right side (i.e. to your opponent’s left side).
The reason this works is that many people – somewhere in the 60 to 70% range – primarily pass to their left hand side…
…which inevitably means that people are better at defending passes to their right side.
Think about it; are you more comfortable in your right sided half guard (with your opponent’s right leg trapped) or on your left (with your opponent’s left leg trapped)?
Most people are more comfortable on their left…
…so pass to their right (your left) and get a small-but-immediate advantage.
There are exceptions, of course, but any strategy that gives you an advantage 70% of the time is worth keeping in your toolbox!
If you’re having trouble with keeping all the left and rights straight then check out the video at the top of this article, because in that video I go into more detail and show examples of the guard passes I’m talking about.
And if you haven’t signed up to get my BJJ tips by email then go to this link here; it’s how thousands of grapplers get daily BJJ tips, techniques and tactics.
Its 100% free and you can unsubscribe easily at any time if you don’t enjoy what I send you.
Click here to find out more about my BJJ email newsletter.