GUARD PASS FLOW
Tap a guard to open it, then tap an attempt to see how the opponent reacts and how you counter.
GUARDClosed Guard
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Opponent has ankles locked behind your back, controlling your posture and distance.
ATTEMPTStanding Guard Break
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Stand up, posture tall with a straight spine, control both hips or belt, and pry a knee through to pop the ankle lock open.
THEY REACTThey hook a leg for triangle/armbar
They pull one of your arms across and hook a leg over your shoulder, hunting an armbar or triangle setup.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Post & Clear
Post your same-side hand on their hip, lean back out of range, peel the trapped leg off your bicep, and step back to reset posture, then retry the standing break.
THEY REACTThey break open and recover closed guard
Before the break fully opens, they re-lock their ankles and reset to closed guard.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Double-Unders Re-Break
Sit to one hip, scoop both of their legs from underneath with double underhooks, and drive forward to pry the lock back open, then retry the standing break.
PASS COMPLETEGuard opens cleanly → Knee cuts through
Ankles come apart. Drive a knee through the middle immediately and pin a hip to the mat before they recover guard, landing in side control.
ATTEMPTSeated Knee Slide Break
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Sit into their hips with your knee in the tailbone, walk your hands to their sleeves or biceps, and drive your knee through their crossed ankles.
THEY REACTThey shrimp away to create space
They frame on your hips and shrimp back, trying to rebuild distance and re-square their guard.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Follow & Re-Pin
Walk your knee with them, staying heavy on the near hip so they run out of mat before they run out of space, then retry the knee slide.
THEY REACTThey recover into half guard
One leg slips free while the other traps your leg between theirs — you’re now in their half guard.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Switch Base
Flatten your trapped knee, get an underhook on the near side, and drive your weight forward to free the leg and continue to side control.
PASS COMPLETEKnee slides through cleanly → Side control
Pass complete. Secure a cross-face and far-side underhook before advancing toward mount or knee-on-belly.
GUARDOpen Guard
No lock on your body — they’re working hooks, frames, and grips from range to keep you out.
ATTEMPTToreando (Bullfighter) Pass
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Grip both pant legs, pin their hips down with your knees, and step around to the side like a matador clearing a bull.
THEY REACTThey hip escape and recover
They rotate their hips away as you step, squaring back up before you clear their legs.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Chain to Knee Cut
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Keep the near-leg pin from the toreando and drop straight into a knee cut on that same side — don’t reset, keep the pressure moving.
THEY REACTThey grip fight your sleeves/pants
They grab your sleeves or pants to slow your step and re-establish their frames.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Strip & Switch Angle
Circle your wrist to break their grip, re-grip lower on the pants, and change your stepping angle so they’re defending a new direction, then retry the toreando.
PASS COMPLETEPass connects → Side control
Pass complete. Secure a cross-face and far-side underhook before advancing toward mount or knee-on-belly.
ATTEMPTKnee Cut Pass
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Cut your near knee across their thigh while controlling their far hip, driving your weight down into a low, heavy pass.
THEY REACTThey fight for an underhook
They dig for an underhook on your far side, trying to reclaim the angle and stand back up into you.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Cross-Face & Flatten
Drive a heavy cross-face to kill the underhook side and flatten their shoulders back to the mat, then continue to side control.
THEY REACTThey frame on your hip/knee
They plant a forearm or foot on your hip or knee to stop you from cutting through.
YOUR COUNTERCounter: Switch to Leg Drag
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Pull their near leg across your hip instead of cutting through it, dragging it past your body to take the frame away entirely, then continue to side control.
PASS COMPLETEPass connects → Side control
Pass complete. Secure a cross-face and far-side underhook before advancing toward mount or knee-on-belly.