Learn The "Double Leg Drag Pass" From One Of The Best Old School Passers

By Fanatics Authors, January 14, 2019

Gregor Gracie’s Double Leg Drag Pass

Often times in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu it can be difficult to pass a good guard player’s legs. When you think about it, the legs are your first defense when playing guard. With your legs you can control your opponent’s distance, even choosing to keep him outside your guard if you feel it necessary. The legs and the hips are a powerful part of the human body, and get be used to generate a great amount of pressure and force. With that in mind, it is no wonder if can sometimes be hard to pass the legs and move into a position such as side control. Any high level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu player will have his or her preferred method of passing around the legs. It is worth exploring as many techniques as possible to find out what fits you best. You will see a lot of different styles employed in top tier international competition. Some players prefer to pin the legs to the ground using techniques like the knee slice in order to smash pass. Others like to wedge a knee in to create distance to smash pass. And some will even stand to clear the legs.

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Today we will explore a scenario where you have stood to clear your opponent’s legs and pass his or her guard. In this instance, a double leg drag pass works really well. So what exactly is a double leg drag pass? The leg drag is one of the most effective passes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. By controlling your opponent’s legs, often times gripping the gi pants at the ankles, you take control of where the legs are at all times, allowing you to close the distance and step in to pass the guard.

When it comes to the double leg drag pass, Gregor Gracie is one of the best. Gregor is a member of the latest generation of grapplers from the legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gracie family. Gregor Rangel, also known as Gregor “Gracie” is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie. He is the half brother of Rolles and Igor Gracie, both sons of the legendary Rolls Gracie. Gregor has also competed in freestyle wrestling with a notable win over Darryl Christian, a highly accomplished wrestler.

Watch the video below of Gregor Gracie demonstrating his double leg drag pass and then we will break down his technique. Check it out now!

Gracie starts off by standing in his opponent’s guard. Often times after you have opened your training partner’s guard you will find it difficult to move around as he uses his feet on your hips to push you away. The first thing Gregor Gracie looks for is to establish his grips. He grips the gi pants at the ankles in order to control where the feet can go. Gregor emphasizes the importance of grabbing as low as you can. If you grab at the knees you are going to have a difficult time and it is going to give your training partner the opportunity to establish some type of guard or control. Just remember, the lower you grab the more control you have over your opponent’s legs. From here you want to step back. It is a common mistake for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players to push the legs forward and stack their opponent. It makes much more sense to extend the legs and straighten them out. This takes all the power away from your training partner. If you push the legs in and are close to your opponent it will give him an opportunity to grip your gi sleeve and prevent you from passing.

If your opponent tries to sit up you want to pull his legs so he can’t sit up. From here you want to choose a side to pass on. All it takes it a small step to pass the legs. Gregor points out another common mistake grapplers often make, which is push their training partner’s legs down to the mat. In doing so, you give your opponent the ability to push off the mat, which will give you a hard time. So keep your training partner’s feet of the mat, step to the side, and clear the leg. Pay attention to Gregor’s foot work, this does not have to be a very big step. From here you want to bring your knee down to the mat, right at the side of your training partner’s hips. Keep your other knee up so you can use it like a “shelf” to pull your opponent’s legs onto. This will allow you to bring your shoulder down to the middle of your opponent’s chest. You can let go of the leg closest to you in order to reach behind your opponent’s head. Lastly you want to finish the pass by coming around with your other knee. Remember to maintain your grip on the other leg until you finish the pass. This is great control for preventing your opponent from rolling out and away from you.

As you can tell, Gregor Gracie’s leg drag is a super effective and very methodical approach to passing the legs. There are a lot of details here that will definitely help improve your passing game. It is a common mistake for new Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners to try and rush the pass as soon as they have opened the guard. Do not rush it! Take your time and be methodical. Gracie has important details for every stop of the process. It can’t be understated just how important it is to maintain complete control of your opponent’s legs as you work to pass around them. Focus on getting all of the technique right before you add in any speed and aggression. Overall, I think Gregor Gracie’s double leg drag pass is a great technique for anyone to have in their arsenal no matter your body type, level of experience, or physical prowess. Thank you Gregor Gracie for sharing this technique with us today!

Gregor Gracie’s DVD set will give you the opportunity and resource to develop a simple, effective, and well-rounded “Old School” bjj game! Enhance your Jiu Jitsu today and learn authentic “Old School” bjj with this incredible DVD set.

When it comes to finishes, Gregor is on a whole different level than almost every instructor out there. He was bred to finish. He comes from a family that scoffs at double guard pulls, advantages and the Berimbolo. He doesn’t talk about grips, he talks about specific placements. He doesn’t mean put your “choke grip in against the neck,” he will tell you “just a little bit above the collar bone.” Precision matters. Once you learn Gregor’s finishes you will have a whole different understanding and your finishing percentage will skyrocket All of the little concepts: like where exactly to place a grip, these are the details that add up and make the difference between winning and losing.

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