Frustrate Guard Players with the No Gi Toreando Pass with Lachlan Giles

 

Toreando style passing is incredibly common in the gi. Using the material of the gi to secure solid grips and then beginning to work your way around your partner is a fantastic way to jumpstart a passing sequence. With good control of the legs, the toreando can be sued in a variety of ways to outsmart the guard player. You can juke back and forth, apply heavy pressure, or use speed and control to begin weaving your way through your partner's guard, ultimately getting tight to them and completing the pass. 

When we think of the toreando, the gi definitely comes to mind but the pass can be just as effective no gi. We need to know how to effectively translate the principles of the toreando to no gi and how we can find the anchoring points without the use of the material. Bringing a no gi toreando pass to life requires some good knowledge of mechanics and movement. In this video Lachlan Giles shows us three different variations of the toreando pass in a no gi scenario. Hell give you some excellent info on where to place the hands and how to move our bodies in a manner that will bring us more success when choosing this style of passing. Have a look at this!

 

Beginning with an explanation of how a toreando pass works, Giles states that to create a successful toreando scenario we must separate the guard player’s knee from their chest. This is something you’ll want to keep in mind anytime you’re going to attempt this style of passing. This separation allows us to enter our body into this critical space and begin dismantling the guard. 

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We must also disrupt any hopes of the bottom player making contact with their feet. If this occurs, they may be able to push us away, reclaiming the space between themselves and us and putting us back to square one. 

Frames will be another roadblock when using this style of passing. Well need methods of collapsing the frames and working around them rather than fighting against them, as this may cause us to run in to trouble when trying to complete the pass. The frames will need addressed, just as they do in any passing scenario. 

Beginning with a hand on the hip and one on the knee of the side he wishes to pass to, Giles keeps his legs back just enough to not allow his partner to engage him with his own legs. As Giles tilts his partners hips and begins to walk around the legs, he makes sure to get his body above the level of his partners hips, so that he can use his strength of his legs to begin to separate his partner’s knee from his chest. When he reaches this point, Giles then lowers his level and begins to travel back in the other direction, removing the legs and entering his body into the space he’s created. As Giles arrives his spine is now in alignment with his partner’s and he can begin to claim his position in side control. 

Giles also demonstrates how this particular movement negates his partners framing. As he gets close to his partner’s upper body, he will undoubtedly run in to some frames. As he walks in the other direction, the frames lose their integrity and become lost. Trying to power through the frames will more than likely work out in the bottom players favor, as putting pressure in to frames often allows them to work even better. 

Turning his attention to the far leg now, Giles shows us where to place our hand, so that our opponent cannot use his leg or knee to pommel tot eh inside and disrupt our passing efforts. Giles places his hand near the hip, almost cupping the side of the body and also flares his elbow tot eh inside of the thigh. He runs his forearm along the inside of the leg to keep it at bay and to prevent his partner from gaining any inside position or collapsing his anchoring point. He also drops his head a bit, once again filling up the space where his partners leg would travel to if he did begin trying to pommel tot eh inside. 

For an extra flexible partner, Giles demonstrates a variation where he controls the shin instead of the hips. The mechanics are the same, but here he has us control the leg as we work through the movements. Here, he plants his hand just below the knee, gripping the shin with his palm more to the inside of the leg.

In another option, Giles finds his partner is a little squarer, remaining on the back rather than the side, as he begins to work through the motions of the pass, which may keep him from entering his body into the space. Here, he chooses to enter his knee into the space between his partners belly and knee, and uses it as a tool to find room to transition to the knee on belly position. In combination with his knee on belly, Giles also hooks the thigh with his instep. This gives him the ability to be sensitive to his partners movements and helps with preventing guard retention as well. Giles can ride this knee on belly position until he finds the appropriate time to settle in. 

In the final option. Giles begins at his partners feet using the shin grip, and takes a large cross step toward his partner’s head followed by a step with his training leg and turns to a north south position. Meeting his partners vertical frames, Giles then begins to drive his weight forward, placing his body in a position where the frames cannot be effective. He collapses the frames and gets tight to his partner. Be sure to find the appropriate positioning here, as beings too far back could lead to trouble and give your partner the ability to use the frames correctly and create space. Giles also advises us to remove at least one leg as we begin to collapse. If our partner is able to keep his knees in the mix, it may make getting chest to chest a big struggle from here. 

With three different variations of this incredibly versatile pass, we can’t lose! Giles has given us enough details here to make out way through the strongest of guards. See if you can put these to use in your no gi training and add another layer of strength to your passing game. Good luck! 

Lachlan Giles is one of the BEST teachers around. His YouTube channel has helped grapplers across the globe. The Guard Passing Anthology: Half Guard By Lachlan Giles is easily one of the best resources available ANYWHERE. Giles has world class technique matched with UNPARALLELED teaching ability!

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