How To Guard Pass Using Pressure Passing with Bernardo Faria

Picture this;you are in Jiu Jitsu class and people are starting to partner up for rolls, the slight panic of a kid in middle school getting picked for a sports team runs through you. You end up with the new school jiujitiero that is constantly inverting, playing new aged guards and focusing on sport specific motions rather than incorporating the more “old school” movements of Jiu Jitsu based on self defense. Some people would pretend they need to go to the bathroom, or retie their belt...but not you! You have just finished studying Bernardo Faria’s pressure passing encyclopedia and you are READY to take him on. 

In his tutorial Bernardo discusses two universal truths to remember

1) To perform a new school guard the athlete needs to pick their hips up off the mat or swing them back and forth to be successful with the move. A high level of hip mobility is required in techniques such as berimbolo, spider guard, lasso guard etc, so if you are able to control your opponents hip motion you have already succeeded in avoiding their intention and instead of being smashed, you are ready to do the smashing. 

2) Old school passes are the top resource for passing old school guards. In order to prevent new schoolers from inverting, flipping etc you only need to do one simple move- put your knees on the mat! 

 

Based on these two concepts Bernardo Faria has developed an encyclopedia on pressure passing that can give anyone the proper information to be successful in smashing those wiley opponents. If you are consistently getting caught in a new school guard and find yourself swept by those gumby guys, don’t worry! This technique is achievable for anyone regardless of flexibility, strength, athleticism and experience. 

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Usage of the Bernardo Faria’s famous over/under technique is essential in this concept and you will become quite familiar with it right from the start. Using this movement is key in order to prevent your opponent from lifting you up off of the mat and sweeping you. Especially when leg locks are in the mix, the over/under pass will become your favorite! The rise in lower body attacks in Jiu Jitsu, something that is a hot debate in the BJJ world, has made guard passing much more precise and involved. In order to be successful in getting passed someone’s guard you must take their ability to leg lock off the table and use your body’s weight to keep them flat on the mat, thus taking their hips explosive power away from them. 

 

To achieve these movements most of the weight comes from your shoulders and taking your distribution from your legs all onto your opponent. Say you have equal weight on four points of contact, two on the mat and two on your opponent;remove pressure from the two that are on the mat and apply that onto your opponent to put a significant increase of pressure on them but no change in the effort you are putting forth. Using your shoulder rather than your chest or hands is ideal due to the closeness you can achieve and a focal point instead of wide spread pressure. This concept is the same as knee on belly, with the contact point in that case being your knee. 

 

Try these pressure passing movements and see how they work for you, if you find yourself going against bigger opponents frequently it could be a game changer! 

Pressure Passing is for EVERYONE! Take the guesswork out of passing and start to completely CONTROL your opponent. No Gi 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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