Is Your Guard Passing Battle Tested?

What would you say is the most frustrating thing that happens to you in Jiu Jitsu?  Is it when you are stuck in a submission that is almost there and they can’t seem to finish it but you also can’t seem to escape?  Or maybe for you it’s when the opponent intentionally stalls the match holding you in the lockdown or something similar? There are a number of things that can certainly be frustrating as you are coming up through the ranks training Jiu Jitsu.

I would venture to bet that many of us would agree that getting stuck in someone’s guard is one of the most frustrating things that can happen.  Even if this isn’t number one on your list, there is no disputing that it is extremely frustrating for anyone that finds themselves in this situation.  Now that we have identified the problem, what’s next? How do we fix this frustrating issue and start blowing through our opponent’s guards?  

Lucky for us we have a 5 time Black Belt World Champion that is famous for his over under pass that he has used countless times on some of the biggest stages in our sport, and in the world.  In his video instructional titled “Battle Tested Pressure Passing” Bernardo covers this pass as well as countless others that are easy to learn and do not require you to have bodybuilder strength, or extreme athleticism.  In fact, Bernardo claims these passes are so good they don’t even require a ton of energy, so you can put down that bulletproof coffee and get right into it.  

Bernardo is kind enough to have posted a short video clip detailing his over under pass to give us a sneak peak of what we can expect from his video instructional.  Let’s break down “Bernardo Faria Teaches Signature Over Under” and see if there is maybe a detail or two we can learn from this incredible athlete. 

Bernardo starts out on his knees in front of his opponent who has both of their feet in his hips.  In this starting position Bernardo is assuming that his opponent has sleeve grips on both Gi sleeves and is controlling the arms by placing them outside of his knees.  

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First things first, Bernardo is looking to get a grip on the top of the Gi pants and ensure that the bend of his left elbow is on the opponent’s in step on their right foot.  Bernardo jokes that this pass is actually more of an over under pass a brother to the over under pass. 

In order to begin the pass Bernardo hops up to his toes and walks counter clockwise a few steps in order to create space for him to reach under and  extend the opponent’s leg, and then begins walking back to meet his other leg and trap the opponent’s leg between his. At this point he is able to simply step out of the guard because he is still controlling the opponent’s leg.  

As soon as he clears the opponent’s leg, he is going to start looking to secure side control.  In order to secure the best possible side control, he will want an anchor point also known as a cross face, as well as a way of blocking movement in the other direction.  As Bernardo begins securing these fundamental pieces of his side control, he then also begins moving his knees in tight to the opponent to really settle into his dominate position. 

As you can see, Bernardo has a unique game that relies heavily on the ability to know what the opponent needs or wants and taking away those options only leaving the option that is desirable to him so that he can advance his position.  Bernardo also relies heavily on his ability to create pressure, it should come as no surprise that the more pressure you put on someone, the less likely they are to move around. Additionally, the more pressure you put on someone the more exhausted they will become during every step in the process.  The more exhausted the opponent, the more easily they are controlled, manipulated and submitted, so why not make them work every step of the way?

If you, like many of us, have an opportunity to learn a thing or two from this 5 time Black Belt World Champion athlete, check out his video instructional titled “Battle Tested Pressure Passing” or any one of his dozen or so video instructionals available here at BJJ Fanatics.  It’s almost certain that if you put the time in with any one of these video instructionals you will have improvements in your game like you never imagined from dominating on the mats at your academy with your teammates asking you what your secret is to crushing your competition on the mats every time you step on that stage to compete.  Do yourself a favor and get yours now, before you regret it and spend some time learning the techniques in a level of detail that is rarely taught in most gyms. 

Pressure Passing is for EVERYONE! Take the guesswork out of passing and start to completely CONTROL your opponent. BATTLE TESTED PRESSURE PASSING By Bernardo Faria is a masterclass on Pressure! Shut-down your opponent’s guard and leave them feeling HELPLESS!

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