Theory of guard passing part II- Layers of defence/"box theory"/etc. for the passing phase and beyond

This is the continuation of the "theory of guard passing part I". Here, box theory is introduced, which is then used to elaborate on how to successfully complete the passing phase.


When you are trying to pass guard in general, your opponent can keep you away with...

• Their feet (e.g. open guard, the framing foot as seen in DLR, RDLR, spider, etc)
• Their shins (e.g. knee shield, Stage 1.5)
• Their hip mobility (e.g. shrimp away)
• Their shoulder mobility (e.g. get up off the mat)
• Their arms (e.g. most frames)

When you are passing guard and securing dominant position, you are progressively working yourself past these lines of defence, until you eventually staple their hips and shoulders on the mat against their will, or even better, control their head.

Thus, the goal of guard passing can be readily summarized as:

• Isolate the lower body
• Get past the feet
• Get past the knees
• Pin the hips
• Pin the shoulders

and in that order. If you rush the process, or otherwise fail to clear the objectives in time, that is where your opponent can wiggle out, and escape or launch a counter. For specific examples, refer to here.

With this being said, simply establishing a staging position kills the lower body by itself, so your worries are mostly about the hips and the shoulders for the passing phase.

=========================================================

There are two subtle nuances involved in progressing the above objectives- the 45 degree principle and the rock climber's rule. To understand these points, we shall work with the following picture:

Thus, "box 1" consists of the area bordered by the feet and the knees; "box 2" consists of the area bordered by the knees and the hips; and finally, "box 3" covers the torso.

Before I proceed, let me define what it means to "conquer the box". A box is "conquered" when you have control over both upper corners and at least 1 lower corner of the box.

To restate the goals of the passing phase in terms of boxes,

• "isolate the lower body" is really about conquering box 1;
• after you get past that, "pin the hips" is really about conquering box 2;
• then, you work in box 3, where you control the shoulders. After you conquer box 3, you are now in the clear for actually attempting to establish a dominant position, complete with head control by crossfacing if desired.

Speaking of conquering boxes, perhaps we have more to learn from our feline overlords than their flexibility and grappling, but that is besides the point.

==========================================================

The reason why you can threaten passes with impunity from an established staging point is because simply establishing it already puts you in box 2. In particular, some staging points like knee-in-sternum SLX or deep half with guarder's leg under passer's control put you directly in box 3.

Now you can provide a more cynical explanation as to why certain guards like butterfly, single leg x, old school half, etc. are said to be "dynamic": the guarder really cannot be sleeping at the wheel, as there is little additional protection once the passer actually begins to make their way through. This is in stark contrast to guards like closed, DLR/RDLR, and spider, where there is more wiggle room before the passer makes progress.

This is not to say that the "dynamic" guards are somehow inferior, as they generally come with some of the most powerful sweeping options in the art. Nevertheless, fighters need to know their risks when utilizing such techniques. They are kind of like ball and socket joints: less stability, more mobility. 

Speaking of which, while the knee shield guard may not be your stereotypical example when you think of "dynamic" guards, if the distance between the passer and the guarder is just a little bit "off", the passer can defeat the knee shield with surprising ease. How is that for "dynamic"?

==========================================================

Apart from the single under pass and the double under pass, where the guarder is immediately stacked on both shoulders, for most guard pass techniques, the guarder tends to turn their hips or shoulders into the passer as they try to stave off the pass. This is where the 45-degree principle comes into play.

The passer should first identify what "box" they are working with. Then, to fight the guarder's tendency to turn in to face the passer, the passer should prioritize the upper opposite corner of the current box where applicable.

Or, in plain English:

Flatten out the guarder without "overreaching" in a sense.

Recall that we divided our targets into lower body, hips, and shoulders, and established that we should strive to get past them in that order. To "overreach" is to jump to the next target without dealing with the current targets first- trying to control the shoulders without first killing the hips, or trying to control the hips without first getting past the lower body.

Ideally, you would want both of the current targets addressed before moving on- which is exactly what the rock-climber's rule says.

==========================================================

The rock-climber's rule is: always have at least 3 points of contact before advancing your position. In a way, this rule is built into the definition of conquering a box and the goal of guard passing: to conquer a box, you need to control at least 3 corners, and if you are currently dealing with box n, you must conquer your current box before you can think about conquering box n+1, let alone n+2.

If you progress without first properly dealing with the immediate defences, your opponent can easily counter you, no matter what magic bullet guard pass you whip out. 

On that note, unless you are certain that your opponent is "slipping", or that your opponent's hips and shoulders are immobilized in some way, you never just reach out for the cross face across thin air at the end of the guard pass. When you reach across without dealing the defences properly, that is when your opponent can shuck it aside and scoot back, Marcelo Garcia style. No, it was not a matter of athleticism. Yes, it was because you sucked- as in, you did not address the opponent's defences properly. What made you think that you would just get it?

Furthermore, almost all of the "guard pass counters" and Marcelo Garcia's shuck-it-and-scoot escape depend on the passer getting the timing wrong- either the passer rushes along without dealing with things properly, or the passer gives the guarder too much time. With regards to the latter, no, you do not have to be a spazz, but a little bit of urgency is a good idea. If you find that your guard pass is not quite "smooth" in a sense, it is because your nervous system does not quite "get it" yet. You need more drilling, and do not be afraid to take it slow so that your brain can truly absorb everything.

Do not get me wrong, reach for the collar grip all you want for establishing Headquarters or preparing the leg weave, for example. But, the act of reaching for their head from afar tends to break your posture, so you want to make sure that your opponent is broken down before you break yourself down.

==========================================================

The idea of shoulder and hip mobility, or lack thereof, can also be used to help with studying dominant positions. If you think about it, after you climb up into box 3, all dominant positions have some kind of hip control, and almost all of them have some means -direct or indirect- of shoulder control. The sheer proximity allowing your opponent to threaten your breathing is just the perfect salt for the wound too.

• For side control, you either have the opponent's hip draped or the knee dug in to impede hip mobility. Furthermore, if the opponent is using their left arm to crossface you, then their left knee is often digging into your right armpit, while they are underhooking your left armpit. On top of that, the crossface really immobilizes everything. Unless you free your head from the crossface, you will not be able to move anything.
• For low mount, your hips are being pressed by the opponent's hips, and you likewise have the crossface digging in. The grapevine hooks further impede leg action, and also controls shoulder mobility to an extent
• For middle mount, while the shoulder seems uncontrolled at first, the grapevine hooks and the still intimate proximity actually provide surprisingly strong shoulder control. Then, the weight is keeping the hips down.
• For high mount, your legs cannot be readily brought into action, and your hips mean nothing to the opponent. In the meantime, both of the opponent's knees are directly digging into your arms, which impedes shoulder movement.
• For north south, your entire torso is smothered down, not to mention your hips.

Speaking of which, we can now provide at least one precise reason why knee-on-belly is perhaps considered the weakest "dominant position" of all: the standard form has no shoulder control! Your opponent can turn in toward you so readily and start squirming and shrimping all because of lack of shoulder control.

==========================================================


Let us now examine how guard passing techniques actually play out according to boxes.
Except for back step pass, where you are moving to your opponent's left and thus use the right arm to cross face in side control, and side smash pass, where you get full mount, you are moving to your opponent's right, eventually using your left arm to cross face in side control.

Back step (assuming that you are pivoting on your right foot, so that you are stepping back with your left foot):

• Simply establishing the characteristic back step position conquers box 2 and puts you in box 3, where you fight for shoulder control while further consolidating hip control.
• To further consolidate leg and hip control, you use your left hand for leg or pant grips.
• You use your right elbow and right forearm to keep your opponent's right arm splayed out. In addition to disabling the arm, this prevents your opponent from raising the right shoulder in any meaningful way because of how this posture tends to distribute body weight. You have addressed the 45 degree principle.
• Your back is splaying out your opponent's left arm, so you have conquered box 3. You are now in the clear to fish out your right leg, and transition to side control. 

Bullfighter:

• Suppose that you are working from the flattened open guard. Establishing two pant grips means that your opponent cannot bear their feet and shins against you. Thus, as you initiate the pass, your objectives are that of box 2: control the hips. 
• You suddenly pull your opponent's legs and move forward. By using the pant grips to control the legs, you transitively achieve control over your opponent's hips, so you are now working with box 3. 
• Knee-on-belly to full mount finish:
• You get to knee-on-belly, where you are in box 3, but you have no direct shoulder control whatsoever. Recall that lack of shoulder control in the typical form contributes to knee-on-belly being the weakest "dominant position" of all.
• Shoulder-on-belly to side control: 
• You drive your left shoulder in and slide yourself diagonally, addressing the 45 degree principle as best as you can; do not allow them the leeway for turning into you.
• You can now attempt to grab the cross face (do not reach over thin air, brush across the torso while maintaining weight), pummel for underhook to attack the opponent's left arm, dig your left knee to attack the opponent's right arm, and settle into side control.

Double under:

• Simply getting to the double underhook position puts you at box 2, especially if you have both of your opponent's legs on your shoulders.
• Simply stacking the opponent conquers box 2 and box 3 immediately and trivially. Not even Cobrinha can do anything once stacked, apart from impeding your maneuvering into side control with last-ditch grips.
• Remark:
• The guarder literally has no real reversal options once stacked because everything gets neutralized so fast and so hard. Once stacked, the guarder's options boil down to either stalling progress long enough to make the passer give up, or freeing themselves from the stacking.
• Right as the guarder is being stacked, s/he can slide their shoulders back to try and escape the stack. Last-ditch defensive maneuvers like this is one reason why you keep your head off the mat when you are playing guard.
• The double under pass is perhaps the most powerful guard pass in the repertoire if you can actually hit it. With that being said, rest assured that the guarder will be doing anything and everything to catch you before they get stacked. Once they do get stacked, though, they will be begging for you to pass. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Hip switch (assuming that your right leg is the one trapped in your opponent's half guard, and that you are using :

• Simply establishing the characteristic position puts you in box 3.
• Use your right leg and buttock to control your opponent's right arm, while digging into the opponent's left crook of the elbow with your left elbow. Use your left forearm as necessary to further disable the opponent's left arm. You have conquered box 3.
• Settle into side control, careful not to suddenly let go of your controls.

Knee cut (assuming that you are cutting on your right knee):

• Suppose that you are working from Headquarters. Establishing the position would have required getting past your opponent's feet and shins, which means conquering box 1 and putting yourself into box 2.
• The cutting action in itself serves to control one hip by pinning the leg, while you sliding your right hand for the underhook or the collar grip encourages your torso to slide forward as well and apply pressure on the other hip. You conquer box 2 and put yourself into box 3.
• Pull on the opponent's right tricep with your left hand hard enough for both of the opponent's shoulder blades to touch the ground. You have now conquered box 3, and can begin moving into side control. Careful not to lose your controls, though.

Leg lace/leg weave:

• Flattening out the legs and pointing their knees to one side, as required with the characteristic "weave", takes care of box 1 and box 2 in one fell swoop.
• The collar grip, along with your head driving into their outer shoulder, takes care of box 3.
• Maneuver into side control without losing control of everything.

Long step:

• Suppose that you are working from Headquarters. Establishing the position would have required getting past your opponent's feet and shins, which means conquering box 1 and putting yourself into box 2.
• You grip your opponent's left pant with your right hand and perform the characteristic long step movement. Your opponent cannot shrimp away from you because you have the pant grip, and your opponent's right leg is meaningless due to the angles. You are now in box 3.
• You use your head to flatten out the opponent's left shoulder. Then, you brush your left arm along the torso to grab the crossface, which helps flatten out the opponent's right shoulder in the process. Now use your left knee to further dig into the opponent's right shoulder as you pummel the underhook and settle into side control.

Over under (assuming that you are going over your opponent's right leg, so that you are using your right arm to "underhook" the opponent's left leg):

• Simply parking your head on your opponent's left hip addresses the 45-degree principle in box 2, while manipulating the overhook leg addresses the opponent's right hip (there are a couple different variations for achieving this).
• *This part may vary depending on what variation you do. Bernardo Faria most notably teaches to actually make yourself almost parallel to the opponent, whereas Jimmy Pedro and Ritchie Yip teach you to make yourself almost perpendicular.*
• Making sure that your left elbow and left forearm stays in contact with the opponent while keeping your left shoulder low, slide across the opponent's torso.
• If you made yourself parallel to the opponent as in Bernardo Faria's version, you may need to actually walk toward the opponent's head.
• The way you slide across the opponent's torso tends to be enough to keep the shoulders flattened, conquering box 3.
• Establish side control.
• Remark:
• Your opponent will not just let you park your head on their hip, and if you fail to park your head in time, you will give up counterattacks. If you cannot establish the correct head position in time, retreat and re-establish your staging point first! Even world-class fighters like Leonardo Saggioro have been caught in surprise submissions because they were too stubborn with this part. 
• In something like Jimmy Pedro and Ritchie Yip's version where your body is almost laid out like a cross (rather than parallel), grab the crossface before clearing the overhooked leg.

Side smash (assuming that your opponent's right leg is stuffed between yours):

• Simply establishing Headquarters conquers box 1, putting you in box 2.
• You perform the characteristic leg maneuver, making their knees point to your right/their left as you ride up above the knee. This twists your opponent's hips in a funny angle, while your body weight keeps them that way.
• To flatten out the shoulders, simply drape your upper body over, grip-fighting as needed.
• Maneuver into low full mount or side control.