Guard passing in BJJ means getting past the legs of an opponent on their back and settling on their side under control. A clean pass scores 3 points in IBJJF competition. Almost every guard pass belongs to one of four families: passes that go around the legs (toreando), passes that cut through them (knee cut), passes that stack (over-under) and passes that crush (smash pass).
You don't need fifty passes. You need one from each family, and the judgment to know which one fits the guard in front of you.
Distance and pressure come before technique
A passer is always in one of two states. Far from the legs, you want speed and angles. Glued to the hips, you want pressure and stillness. The space in between, where their feet and hands can reach you, belongs to the guard player.
Most beginners spend their rolls in that middle zone. They kneel in front of an open guard, grab a pant leg and get hooked. Change the rule. On every exchange, decide: far or glued. Then commit.
Pressure is not the same as being heavy. It means placing your weight on one specific spot (hip, chest or head) with your feet on the toes and your hips low. A well-placed 65 kg judoka feels heavier than a 90 kg beginner resting on his knees.
Toreando: passing around the legs
The toreando (named after the bullfighter dodging the bull) is done standing. Grab the pants at the knees, throw the legs to one side and run around the other. The pushing hand pins the knees to the mat while your hips stay high. Finish with your knee on their belly or your chest on theirs.
It works against open guards where the opponent keeps their feet on your hips. It works poorly against a half guard that is already locked in: there is no room left to circle.
Typical mistake: throwing the legs too far. Move them about 30 centimeters off line. Any more and they have time to pivot and put their feet back.
Knee cut: slicing through
The knee cut (or knee slice) starts once one of your knees is already between their legs. Slide that knee diagonally across their thigh toward the mat on the far side. Your same-side hand holds the collar or controls the head with a crossface. The other arm takes the underhook or pins the sleeve.
Everything depends on the head. Head high, and they pull you back into half guard. Head low and glued to theirs, and they can no longer turn toward you.
It is the most taught pass in BJJ gyms for good reason. It works against open guard, high half guard and many De la Riva setups once you clear the hook first.
Over-under: stack and smother
One arm goes under a leg. The other arm goes over the other leg. Squeeze their hips, bring your weight onto their thighs and fold them in half. Then walk around while keeping the hug tight.
This is the patient player's pass. It is slow, it drains the opponent and it leaves few exits. Its big flaw shows up in the gi: a guard player holding your sleeves can counter with a triangle if your under arm stays inside too long. Review how the triangle choke is built so you know what to avoid.
Smash pass: crushing the guard
The smash pass (or body lock pass) means locking your hands behind their hip or back, pinning their knees to one side with your chest and freeing your legs on the other. It is popular in no-gi, where pant grips don't exist.
It is also the pass that feels most like judo. A judoka recognizes the hip control from ne-waza, and a good body lock pass ends naturally in side control, a close cousin of yoko-shiho-gatame (side four-quarter hold).
What the IBJJF rules say
A guard pass is worth 3 points under the IBJJF system once the position is held for three seconds. Moving on to mount afterward scores more points. An advantage is often given when you almost pass and the guard player recovers. The full scoring table is on our page about IBJJF rules and points.
| Family | Distance | Works well against | Struggles against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toreando | Far, standing | Open guard, feet on hips | Settled half guard |
| Knee cut | Middle to glued | Open guard, high half guard | Butterfly guard that lifts you |
| Over-under | Glued | Flexible guards, leg players | Guard player holding sleeves |
| Smash pass | Glued | No-gi, low guards | Very mobile opponents |
How to train it in sparring
Take one family per month. No more. During that month, every time you end up on top, try that pass and write down what made it fail: head too high, hand in the wrong place, a hook you never cleared. A notebook works, or the Jutrack training journal if you already log your sessions there.
Our advice: start with the knee cut, add the toreando, and save the over-under for blue belt. A toreando learned late stays clumsy for years, because it needs legs and reflexes that are easier to build early. To see where passing fits in the bigger picture, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu overview maps out the whole game.