Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Defense to the "Squat & Rudder" Guard Pass

In this week's instructional, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Professor, Stephen "The MMA Performance Professor" Whittier, details three phases of defense to the "squat and rudder" guard pass.

In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), submission grappling, and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), there are four phases to any guard pass once the guard player's legs are open: control the legs, control the hips, lock in the upper body, and finally, finish and solidify the pass in a control position. These phases are in direct correlation to the physical obstructions and points of control a guard passer must address in order to be successful.

For the guard player, we must reverse-engineer the above sequence in order to defend the pass. With a squat and rudder pass, the passer has already passed the guard player's feet and is pressed up against his outside leg and hip with his (the passer's) own hips, threatening to roll or "rudder" around the leg and complete the pass.

Against the passing pressure, Professor Whittier explains that the appropriate response depends on how early you intercept and defend the pass.

Early Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) guard retention:

If your opponent is passing to your left side, with his hips pressed against your left hip/thigh and his right hand is on your knee ready to clear it, you can reach across with your far arm and grab the bottom of your opponent's right sleeve with your right hand. Using a lawnmower pull motion, you can pull his arm off your knee and across your body as you simultaneoulsy move your hip to your left. This will not only stop his pass, but potentially enable you to create an angle to take your opponent's back.

Later Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) guard retention:

If your opponent is deeper into the pass and you don't have time to get the grip on his sleeve, his hips will be driving into you and angle your hips away. Your goal is now to 1) create a frame between you and your opponent (usually with your near side arm on his hip and far arm on his closest shoulder); 2) use the frame to momentarily stop him so that you can escape your hip away from him and reclaim your angle; and 3) repummel your legs and regain your guard and grips.

Very late Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) guard retention:

If you have lost the angle battle with your hips, Professor Whittier demonstrates how to go with the rudder pressure and roll away from your opponent keeping your top knee tight to your chest so that you hide it from your opponent as you roll, then reclaiming your guard as you complete the roll onto your back.