Passing the guard can be frustrating in No Gi grappling. Many of the passes I first learned require a certain level of speed and athleticism to pull off. Since I am not a fast guy on the mat I rely more on smash passing to pass the guard.

One of the keys to passing the guard in the smash pass is to control your opponent’s legs. In the Gi I have found passing to be a little easier because I can rely on the grips of the pants to control your opponent. In No Gi these grips don’t exist. Yes you can control the legs but it’s pretty easy for any experienced player to simply circle their legs and get free from your pass. This can quickly become frustrating and demoralize anyone who is trying to pass the guard.

To counter this annoying situation, I am going to start drilling leg drag passes. What I like about the leg drag pass is that you control your opponent’s legs with your body while at the same time smashing their lower body. In the video below Kurt Osiander shows a one handed variation of the leg drag that he has been using. I really really like this variation for a few reasons. Number one it’s very simple and does not require a great amount of athleticism. Number two it can be done in both with and without the gi. Number three it uses your opponent’s natural reaction to help you achieve the pass. The final reason why I really really like it is it could possibly work with my style of open guard leg lock attacks. So go and watch! And the in the words of Kurt “Go Train!”

Ps see if you can spot Kurt’s bonus technique that can be used to stop the De La Riva guard!