Today I’m going to demonstrate the Pull Pass, an efficient way to pass the Butterfly Guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Guard passing is a fundamental skill for any BJJ practitioner. It is critical that you learn how to pass your opponent’s Guard to stop them from trying to sweep you or submit you. Only once you’ve passed your opponent’s Guard can you attack with impunity.
The Pull Pass
The Pull Pass works when I cannot attain double underhooks for my training partner’s upper torso. So instead I’m going to get an underhook (with my left arm for this demonstration) for his leg. When I punch through I’m going to hook his left shin with my left hand. I won’t use my thumb for this, I’ll just hook with my wrist.
As I am pulling here I’m going to do 3 things at the exact same time.
1) I’m going to pull with my left hand
2) I’m going to draw my left knee back
3) I’m going to drive with my shoulder forward into my training partner’s torso for the pass.
When I am pulling on my training partner’s shin, I’ll be pulling his feet into my knee. This is the knee that needs to draw back. So it’ll be obvious when you try this technique which knee needs to go back.
When I drive forward I’ll bring my knee back in under my training partner’s knees in order to check them. This will help me maintain my top position and prevent him from re-gaurding.
This is the Pull Pass for the Butterfly Guard. Watch this video for a step-by-step demonstration of the Pull Pass.
