Lucas Hulk’s advice to improve your guard-passing in BJJ

Hulk postures up to open guard and pass. Mike Calimbas/IBJJF

Lucas Hulk is one of those BJJ champions who seek alternatives for every position. This method always yields results, as can be seen in many of the wins he has accumulated in his career. A master of the guard pass, the Atos fighter today has some pointers to help you adjust your top game. Here they are:

1. Break the grips

Whenever you’re attempting any guard pass, seek to break the guard player’s grips, especially if there’s a hand on your collar. The grip is one of the essential parts of being a good guard player, and you must pay attention. The grip break may come in very handy during a match, because it prevents the guard player from setting up a sweep.

2. Move

When you move, you find the space to set up your guard pass. The act of moving is also meant to foil your opponent’s sweep attempts. If the guard player is using the lasso guard, for example, you must leave this position. Move to open up space.

3. You first

Make dominant grips. You must make your grips first, because they will show you the path through which you’ll pass the guard. If you like to pass by stacking, crossing the knee, or any other way, always make dominant grips. Blocking the guard player’s hip is also a good path toward achieving a guard pass.

4. Use pressure

When you control the grips and move to pass, you can’t afford to forget to add pressure. Sometimes, a passer can’t get beside the guard player because they don’t apply pressure in the pass. When you combine dominant grips, movement and pressure, your guard-passing becomes tight.

5. Stabilize, or all is lost

To conclude the pass, you must stabilize it. So don’t opt for just arriving beside the guard player, but rather for stabilizing the position. When you are close to side control, don’t forget to keep your hips low, thus preventing the guard player from recovering the guard. Besides all this, just train hard and you’ll see yourself evolve.