Knee Cut Precision With Lucas Lepri

By Fanatics Authors, April 14, 2020

Over the course of a long, illustrious, and successful career, Lucas Lepri has easily cemented himself as one of the greatest competitors of our time. His accolades include multi[ple world titles in gi and no gi alongside plenty of other prestigious accomplishments that only few have attained. Throughout the forging of his legacy, Lepri has become well known for many reasons. He is incredibly well-rounded as a BJJ athlete and competitor but as with any BJJ icon, there are often particular techniques that are synonymous with these legendary names. For Lepri, one of these techniques is the knee cut pass. Lepri performs the guard pass with such precision and a high level of detail, you might categorize the application as flawless. He thinks of everything and when you receive instruction on the knee cut from Lepri, you feel as if taking what you've learned to the mat is almost bulletproof.

The knee cut itself is without question one of the most popular forms of guard passing in the game. It's practical, high percentage, and it can be learned and applied by any body type. We see it at the highest levels of competition and we see at the inception of even the greenest practitioners experiences in BJJ. It's likely that the knee cut is one of the very first passes you were ever exposed to in your training and that it's a mainstay in your passing arsenal.

The knee cut is performed at the highest levels by many of BJJ’s most revered figures and of course there are many methods of this truly versatile pass but Lepri’s is definitely special. He masterfully cuts through some of the most proficient guards in the game with what seems like relative ease leaving the hips, knees, and feet in his rearview mirror and solidifying a dominant position in style, with beautiful sequential movement and technical prowess.

So, what makes Lepri’s knee cut so damn good? Let’s go straight to the source for some answers. In Lepri’s newest instructional, Precision Knee Cut Passes, Lepri will delve deep into the science of his famous knee cut passing toolbox and share the most critical details and high percentage concepts with the BJJ masses. THis is a rare and unique opportunity to study one of BJJ’s most effective passes with one of the best to ever put it to use.

Let’s take a look at some high level instruction from Lepri himself on the knee cut pass to give us a preview of what's to come! Check this out!

Lepri begins by detailing an exact scenario from 2019 worlds where he was forced to modify his knee cut in response to a knee shield. Here, from a common scenario where the bottom player has secured a De La Riva hook, a grip on the collar, and a grip on the ankle Lepri poises himself to pass. He grips his partner’s pants on the side he wishes to pass to and establishes a grip in the collar on the opposite side. Lepri would like to spin his partner slightly toward the side he's passing to but in this instance as he does this, a knee shield enters the exchange courtesy of the bottom player.

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As this occurs, Lepri immediately switches to a grip on his partner's sleeve cuff and tightens his grip on the collar, pinning the knee shield in place. Lepri has to make sure that his partner’s bottom knee doesn't go unchecked and facilitate any kind of guard recovery. So, with an incredibly slick transition, Lepri retreats his knee cut leg backward then uses it to pin his partners top leg, while his other leg back steps to the backside of his partner's body. It's almost tough to see what happens as there is so much going on in that moment but this is just brilliant.

As Lepri arrives on the other side of his partner, he knows that as his partner catches up, he will be turning toward him to try and stay ahead of Lepri’s movement. As this occurs, Lepri dives forward, covering the hips and stopping any dangerous movement. Now switching his base to a hip to hip ride, Lepri can assess the situation. If his partner is blocking at the hip, a cross face is easily attained and if he is being blocked at the bicep, Lepri opts for a transition to the knee on belly position

The finer details here definitely can't be skipped. You'll notice as Bernardo Faria picks out some of the smaller nuances, that there is nothing here that isn't necessary and there is zero wasted movement. For example, Lepri’s grip on the guard player's bottom leg stops the reverse De La Riva from being established. This is a huge enemy of the knee cut and something that must be mitigated. Lepri’s top arm is also putting pressure down on to the bottom player leg, devreading mobitny and creating a sandwiching effect. There is no possible way that Lepri could complete the movements of this pass without these details.

Sage advice on training methodology and the cultivation of his game rounds out the video with Lepri. Our ears always perk up when the icons of our sport provide us with insight into their methods because it gives us a bridge into their worlds that we can use to develop better habits in our own quests for great jiu-jitsu. I hope this video shed some important light on your knee cut pass! Amazing details and advice from one of the best in the world!

Precision Knee Cut Passes by Lucas Lepri

Lucas Lepri is back to teach one of his MOST effective passes that he has used throughout his career. Learn the pass and concepts that helped Lepri become one of the VERY BEST! Check out Precision Knee Cut Passes by Lucas Lepri TODAY!

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