How To Counter The Over Under Pass In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

By Matt Bryers, February 16, 2019

Counter The Over Under Pass by Diego Gamonal

If you are familiar with the Over Under Pass and you use it often, you might have realized that many people use one counter for the Over Under Pass, that works pretty much like a trap, they let you pass the guard, and once you pass they flip you over and get your side control. It does not sound good right? But this is exactly what happens many times. It is a common problem in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that can frustrate anyone, even if you are very experienced. It has happened to me a lot personally. I have often tried to pass the guard and have gotten caught in this trap. It is not a good position to find yourself trapped in. I have been swept from this position many times until I started to develop a way to defending it.

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Diego Gamonal has a ton of world class experience when it comes down to effectively countering the over under pass. Diego Gamonal Nogueira is 35 years old and it the head coach of Brazilian Top Team Texas in San Antonio. Deigo began training jiu jitsu in his hometown with the professor Julio Porto at the end of 1998, but soon he moved (still as a white belt) to the Roberto "Risada" Atalla academy, where his current Master Ricardo Marques was an instructor as well. The BTT Texas Head Coach, tries to keep competing always. And in 2017, he reached the final of all IBJJF Open competitions (Dallas, Miami, Long Beach, Boston), as well as winning the Open at the Charlotte Open and closing the year with the consecutive two time World No Gi, in California. That is so many titles! Gamonal has already fought with almost every major name in the sport, and his most recent fight was the World No Gi final against world champion Tarsis Humphreys. What a victory!

Needless to say, Diego is the right guy to learn this over under pass counter from. Watch the video below of Diego Gamonal demonstrating his over under pass counter and then we will break down his technique. Check it out now!

The over under pass counter is one of Diego’s best techniques, and I believe he might be one of the best guys in the World at this position. By first establishing the gi sleeve grip and belt grip he is able to get his hips into position to sweep his opponent. He weakens his opponent base by trapping the arm and feeding it underneath and inside of his opponent’s body. Notice that this exposes his training partner’s shoulder, which is the perfect direction to roll him in. It is very important to remember that before you hit the sweep you post with your foot on the mat. This is what helps you to generate enough power to flip your opponent over. It is also very important to make sure that when trapping the arm you place it underneath your leg.

When you do this technique probably you will land a top your opponent’s head, trapping his arm, giving you complete dominating over his upper body. In the event that your opponent is able to pass your legs before you hit the sweep you can still pull it off by using your other leg to kick your opponent’s body forward, causing him to roll. This will again, put you in a north south position with control over your opponent’s upper body. As you can probably tell this is a very effective technique for controlling the over under pass.

Remember when you are training this one to start slow, and get the feeling of trapping that arm and getting your hips at the right angle to roll your opponent. If you do this one correctly it should feel easy. And do not worry; this counter works well no matter what your experience level is, and no matter your athletic capability. Even if you are a smaller guy you will be able to hit this counter on a larger opponent! Ultimately, that is what makes jiu jitsu so powerful, and can be very powerful no matter who you are as long as you have good technique. So give this one a try the next time you are on the mats and facing an opponent with a good over under pass! There is no way they are going to see this coming, and you will give yourself a huge advantage, especially in competition. Thank you Diego Gamonal for demonstrating this technique for us today!

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