GB Technique: 3 Tips for Knee Slice Guard Pass
This week on GB Technique we are looking at some tips and troubleshooting for the Knee Slice Guard pass. This is certainly one of the most successful guard pass techniques but it has several important but not obvious details that are important to successfully execute. Miss these details and your opponent will stop your pass or worse – take your back or sweep you
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Let’s take a look at how two of Gracie Barra’s most senior instructors teach the Knee Cut guard pass and pass on some valuable tips.
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Prof Marcio Feitosa teaches the Knee slice guard pass
3 Important Knee Slice pass details
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1- You must keep your opponent flat on their back to prevent them from getting onto their side and coming up to take your back in the transition. Watch in Prof Marcio’s video how he uses both the sleeve grip pulling up and his other grip on the guard player’s lapel/shoulder to put the upper body flat.
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Make your grips count. Your strategy with your grips must be to deny and block what the opponent needs to defend their guard. There is a specific purpose behind every grip.
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2- Get the underhook!
I once observed a blue belt try the Knee Slice pass three times in a roll only to have his back taken in all three passes.
What was he doing wrong?
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In all of his Knee Slice passes he didn’t get the underhook and when he cut the knee through he exposed his back to the guard player. If you don’t secure the underhook before you cut your knee through you are in danger of getting your back taken also!
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Knee cut pass with Prof Rodrigo Fajardo from the GB2
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3- Prevent the Knee Shield
One of the biggest mistakes that we see is guard passers trying to force a Knee Slice when the opponent is blocking them with a Knee Shield – maintaining distance.
Watch the Prof Rodrigo video when he 7s standing and has the guard player flat on his back.
BEFORE cutting his knee through the center, Prof Rodrigo uses his left hand to block the opponent’s outside knee from coming across in a Knee Shield. This is a super important but subtle detail to prevent the Knee Shield defense and set up your Knee Cut pass
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See also on GB Technique:
GB Technique: Passing Different Guard Styles
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Writer: Mark Mullen, Gracie Barra Black Belt