12/07/2012 - Teaching (Standing Passes Over the Leg)

Teaching #063
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 12/07/2012

Once you've stood up and are about to open their guard (as I taught a few weeks ago), you have a fairly simple standing pass at your disposal. Unlike the passes I showed last week where you go under the leg, for standing I tend to go over leg. Posture up, still holding their sleeve if you have it, or if not, grabbing their collar. You then want to push their knee off your hip on the other side. Don't dig in with your elbow, as pain compliance is not only unpleasant for your training partners, it is unreliable due to varying pain thresholds.

Instead, try bouncing your hip to open their ankles. At the same time, splay your hand by their knee (Roger calls this 'making his hand big') in order to help push down. Immediately as their leg hits the mat, trap their lower leg with your shin by sliding it over. Hook your instep around their leg near the crook of their knee. Also shift your other foot closer to your bum, so they can't hook it.

The hand which was pushing on the knee now goes to wrap up their head, or you could try grasping their collar. I'd suggest switching the other hand (which was gripping on their sleeve/collar) to behind their leg to stop them bridging and rolling you during the pass attempt. You could also try blocking their near hip with that hand, though that isn't an option I use.

To finish, swing your back leg all the way over, so your back is pointing at their head, in a sort of reverse scarf hold: you're sat next to them, facing their legs. You should still have their leg trapped at this point with your hooking foot. Finally, switch your hips, sliding that hooking leg under the back step leg, settling into side control.

Another pass option is the one Kev showed me a while ago. Once you've opened their guard, step back slightly and bring your sleeve-grip side leg inside their knee. Shove their other leg to the mat, like in the previous technique. However, this time you're not going to trap it with your nearest leg, you're doing to do a big step over while still pinning it with your hand.

Next, slide your other shin across their thigh, cutting in diagonally. You want to drop your weight into their torso as soon as possible, limiting their opportunity to escape. If possible, hooking under their far armpit with your same side hand. Slide your knee through, then pull up on their knee-slide side arm to move into scarf hold.

It is worth noting that with scarf hold, John Will suggests you don't tuck their arm under your armpit as in the orthodox positioning. Instead, he mentioned in his seminar that he prefers to brace his arm by his knee. That means they can't reach through and link their hands around your back, which sets them up for a simple sweep where they roll to the top position.

Another handy point to keep in mind, which I remembered when I saw Mike doing it, is to widen your knees sufficiently so they can't establish a de la Riva hook when you try the second pass. If your knees are too close together, they'll be able to wrap them up and move smoothly into open guard before you can pass.