Technique 

Video: Learn How to Defend the Three Most Common Guard Passes

Ben Coate

Having a dangerous and effective starts with strong guard retention. That is, before you can attack from the guard, you must first shut down your opponent’s guard passes. In a quick, eight-minute video, Polaris veteran and European Open champion Bradley Hill demonstrates how to defend against the three most common guard passes.

Check out the video below.

In the video, Bradley Hill addresses defense to the torreando pass, the knee slice, and the leg drag. In each instance, his guard retention starts by inserting a frame to stop his opponent’s initial forward progress. From there, Hill is able to create space to return to full guard or a guard variation. The final step is to always immediately grip and start setting up attacks from the new guard.

Hill is a black belt under Braulio Estima and one of Europe’s most prolific black belt competitors. In addition to frequent IBJJF competitions, he is a regular competitor for Polaris professional grappling.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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