In the ‘Bullfighter’ (aka ‘Matador’ aka ‘Toreando’) guard pass, you grab your opponent’s legs, push them to the ground, and then run around to the side.
(There are some refinements to this technique, of course, but even the super basic version I just described can be super-difficult to stop if you’re facing someone who is explosive, athletic, and determined.)
If you’re on the bottom using your guard then the odds are very good that someone is going to try to bullfight their way past your legs. So if you do BJJ you NEED to have a good answer for this guard pass or you’re going to spend a lot of quality time suffering on the bottom of sidemount!
To help you with this Rob Biernacki and I shot a video showing you exactly how to defend against the Bullfighter / Matador guard pass
- This counter works both gi and no gi…
- It works against the basic and advanced versions of the Toreando pass…
- And it doesn’t require you to invert or put both your feet behind your own head!
Check out the guard pass counter below! I’m pretty sure that if you watch this and drill it a few times today then you’ll be able to use it on the mat tomorrow…
More Fundamental Guard Retention Strategies
These techniques are just two of the 12 guard retention chapters in the BJJ Formula instructional published by Rob Biernacki and myself.
Click here for more information about the BJJ Formula, including a complete list of all the topics covered.
