Passing the Open Guard

Fundamentals cycle — from last week's break to your first pass

Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Week 2 · White belt
60 min
Any class size, worked in pairs
1 coach
Effort 3/5
Full mat area
curriculum
white belt
fundamentals
guard
passing

The MatPlans curriculum teamBJJ black belts & coaches · 12+ yrs on the mat

Kit: Mats. Gi or no-gi both work.

Warm-up10 min

Mat Movements + Week 1 Review

Setup: Staggered lines as last week, one direction of travel.

How it works: One length each, twice: shrimps, reverse shrimps, bridges, technical stand-up. New this week: two lengths of lateral knee-over-knee travel (passing footwork, low and balanced). Then three minutes of week-1 review in pairs: two clean posture-and-break reps each, mannequin resistance. Last week's lesson is this week's warm-up — say that sentence to the class; it's the whole curriculum in one line.

What to say

“Knee-over-knee: hips low, head over your base, never crossing your feet.”
“Review reps: posture FIRST — if week one faded, rebuild it now.”

Easier

Review reps step-by-step on your count instead of freely.

Harder

Review reps against quarter resistance.

Drill15 min

Technique of the Day — The Two-Grip Bullfighter Pass

Setup: Pairs. Bottom player sits up in open guard, feet live on the top player's hips or thighs; passer starts standing or on combat base. Demo twice: full speed, then numbered and slow.

How it works: Where week one ended — guard open — is where this begins. The bullfighter (toreando) pass: control the legs, steer them one way, walk your body the other, arrive at the side. It wins because the legs can't guard what they can't touch. Circulate and watch for passers hugging the feet to their chest; distance is the whole trick.

The technique, step by step

Grip both trouser legs at the knees (no-gi: cup the kneecaps, thumbs down), arms straight.
Back away half a step so their feet come off your hips — their springs can't load without contact.
Push both knees to the mat on one side, sticking them together for a beat.
As the knees pin, run your feet the OTHER way around, two quick lateral steps past the knee line.
Drop your nearest knee to the mat by their hip, chest low over their ribs.
Release the trousers and settle: one hand past the far shoulder, hips heavy, side control arrived.

Key details

Straight arms all the way through — bent arms bring their feet back to your hips.
Push the knees DOWN into the mat, not sideways through the air; the mat is your assistant.
Your steps go around their knee line, never inside it — inside is where triangles live.

Common mistakes

Standing tall and admiring the pass at step 4 — get your chest down before they turn in.
Steering the legs but leaving your own feet planted — the guard simply follows you home.

What to say

“You steer their legs like handlebars — turn, don't lift.”
“Move YOUR feet, not just their legs — the pass happens below your waist.”
“Chest to their chest at the end, or you've passed nothing.”

Easier

Bottom player's feet stay on the mat, legs light, no re-guarding.

Harder

Bottom player may frame and shrimp once as you arrive — finish the settle anyway.

Drill12 min

Drilling

Setup: Pairs spread with a body-length between them. Coach calls all round changes.

How it works: Three rounds of two minutes each way, resistance building: round one on a mannequin — full sequence, both directions, alternating sides each rep. Round two at quarter resistance — the bottom player keeps live feet seeking the hips, so distance management becomes real. Round three at half — the bottom player may frame and shrimp once per rep; passers finish the settle every time, three-second chest-down count before resetting.

Rounds: 3 × 2 min each way · resistance 0% → 25% → 50%

What to say

“Alternate sides every rep — a one-sided pass is half a pass.”
“The three-second settle is part of the technique, not a celebration.”
“Losing the grips? Back out, reset distance, start again — that IS the drill.”

Easier

Both directions at mannequin resistance all three rounds.

Harder

Round three: bottom player may re-guard freely; count only fully settled passes.

The rest of this lesson is free — along with 3 more this week.

House lesson.

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