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Connecting Passes Together
One thing you will notice high level grapplers who are known to be great guard passers exhibit is an ability to connect different passes together. Newer studies and even intermediate students face problems with even seeing these transitions and focus only on the pass that they are doing. The best grapplers in the world aren’t only good at one technique, they are good at many but even better at connecting them together.
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When it comes to guard passing, especially at high levels, it is absolutely necessary to connect guard passes together. If you think you basic X-pass will work every time without having transition, you will find that you are wrong. This is why it is important to start learning and drilling pass transitions as early as possible in your Jiu Jitsu career. The earlier you get better at connecting techniques, the more likely you will be a great grappler early on.
For new students, it is difficult to start learning pass transitions because there are literally an infinite amount of them. That’s why its probably a good idea to start with very simple yet effective transitions between techniques that work really well together. One of the simplest and best of the transitions is connecting the simple stack pass to the leg drag pass. In the following video, you will see how to do this easy transition.
When connecting pressure passes with other passes, it is important to maintain a great amount of control over the defender’s legs and hips. A big problem I see often and deal with too is that when we try to connect a smashing pass to a different style of pass, we give too much and this results in the guard player replacing his position. Because the stack pass and leg drag require the top player to apply pressure in both techniques, they connect with each other well.
When connecting passes, it is easy to give up after making your first transition. In reality, you should not give up. If you watch high level grapplers, they will switch between ten different passes before they get the opportunity to finish. This doesn’t mean you need to know ten different passes, but are able to transition quickly and easily between two or three different ones.
In order to be a great grappler, the techniques you execute need to be natural and perfect. Drilling is the key to unlocking this success! Tom DeBlass has THE resource on drilling ready for you here at BJJFANATICS!!
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