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Guard Passing can be one of the most difficult skills to master in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This can be seen at all levels and it’s something which needs to be trained constantly. Especially with all the different variations of Guards that are available.
However, there are several key principles, which if understood and implemented, can help develop this skill set. So over the next several blog posts we are going to examine them. Take some notes because there’s going to be a bunch of information dropped. Let’s begin.
#1) UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION
· Conceptually, the goal of passing is that you’re always prepared for the “next thing”
· Understanding what comes next makes transitioning better (i.e. scrambles; making transitions work; successful positioning; etc.)
· The idea is to be ahead of your opponent and to overwhelm them with movement and positioning
#2) DEVELOPING A SYSTEM
· Once you get to a side of your opponent you can apply the different concepts, techniques or movements
· Drilling the transitions or scrambles helps to organize the information and movements, and works to develop systems
· Winning scrambles confuses and frustrates opponents, and it shuts down their game
· Conversely, if you can shut down or stop the scramble, you can win it through positional understanding and execution
#3) OWN THE ZONE > BURST THE BUBBLE
· Many players are too respectful of, or intimidated by, their opponent’s personal space (aka the Bubble)
· Get used to invading the opponent’s space and “bursting their bubble” to initiate the action
· Fail fast and then get back into it
· The more you step out of the comfort zone the faster you will get used to doing it
Armed with this information, begin working on plugging these ideas into your own Guard passing game. You will begin to see things more clearly and be less hesitant in your decision making. Next week we’ll begin adding more technically-based principles to help your passing improve even more.
Learn. Drill. Roll. TRANSFORM!