The over-under pass is a very traditional type of kneeling pressure pass. It is one of the basic guard passes in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and should be a part of every practitioner’s guard passing arsenal.
The over-under guard pass is applicable in many situations and can be set up from most types of guards. It is a slow and grinding pressure pass and, at times, a great deal of patience must be mustered by the guard passer to be able to execute this pass effectively. It also forces the guard player to expend large amounts of energy to defend the pass.
Due to the over and under positioning of the arms against the guard player’s legs, their hip will be immobilized, forcing them to either face the passer and shrimp to recover guard or to turn away from the passer and create an opportunity to scramble.
In the video, BJJ Champion Gamal Hassan from the Evolve Fight Team shows us proper entries, grips, and counters to common defenses to the over-under guard pass.
Attack #1 1:43
From the opponent’s half-guard, assuming the opponent is facing to their right and has their legs around your right leg:
Under-hook their top leg (left leg) with your right arm and grab their belt to secure their hip.
Over-hook your left arm over their right leg.
Flatten their hips by putting weight on their belly using your head and left shoulder.
Go on your toes for added pressure and mobility.
Pinch your opponent’s right leg between both your legs so they will not have any space to extract their leg to recover guard.
As your opponent’s leg is trapped between your legs, walk laterally to the right while on your toes. This will force the opponent’s hip to face away from you, negating their chance to do a hip escape or shrimp.
As their hips and knees are facing away from you (to their left), you may now get past their half-guard by bringing your right leg over to your opponent’s right side. Keep your right knee near the opponent’s hips so they will not have any space to use their right knee to create space.
Bring your right arm over their hip to limit hip mobility. If they try to push you away or insert frames, walk a little more to your right so that their hips stay turned away from you.
The last step to finish the pass is to look for a cross-face with your left arm.
You are now in side control. Remember to keep immobilizing their hips by keeping it trapped between your right arm and right knee as you finish the pass to compensate for any explosive hip-escape attempt from them.
Attack #2 7:50
The second attack will follow the initial steps of the first attack, but will address the opponent’s defense if they are able to close their half guard while you have the over-under grips.
Under-hook their top leg (left leg) with your right arm and grab their belt to secure their hip.
Over-hook your left arm over their right leg.
Flatten their hips by putting weight on their belly using your head and left shoulder.
Go on your toes for added pressure and mobility.
If the opponent is able to close their half-guard, let go of the under-hook on your opponent’s left leg, and switch your arm over the hips, pinching their hips between your right elbow and right leg to limit their mobility.
Under-hook their right arm with your left- this will limit their ability to do a hip-escape and stop them from facing you.
Drive your body towards your opponent’s left side to force them to turn to the left.
Free your right knee from their half guard by pushing their left knee with your right hand. When your knee goes past their half-guard and lands on the floor, you will end up in a quarter-mount position.
Establish double undercooks with both your arms under your opponent’s arms.
Wedge your left shin between your opponent’s half guard to be able to pin the legs to the ground as you extract your right leg.
Once your right leg is free from the half guard, you will end up in the mount position.
Attack #3 13:05
The third attack will connect the over-under pass to a side smash pass. This pass will have the added advantage of turning your opponent away from you to further limit their defenses.
From the over-under grips, walk laterally to the right until the opponent’s hips face away from you.
Once the hips turn, switch your left-hand grip from an over-hook grip on the legs, to a belt grip. Walk further to the right as you pin their left knee to the ground using a pant grip with your right hand – this grip will help you free your leg from their half-guard as you walk further to the right.
You will end up in the side smash position, where both your opponent’s legs will be between your legs. Apply pressure using your left hip on top of their outer right hip.
Push their right knee downwards to the ground using your right hand.
Jump of to the left to end up in side-control. The opponent will not be able to follow you as you have their legs pinned with your right hand.
Conclusion
The over-under pass should be part of your arsenal of guard passes. It is simple, effective, and uses very little energy to execute.
Always remember to keep constant pressure on your opponent when doing the over-under pass. Patience is your ally, and slow and tight movements are important in executing these passes.
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