This week, Keenan Cornelius, one of the top American jiu-jitsu practitioners of this generation, shows how to pass the guard with the wrecking ball pass. It’s a great way to pass and defend against variations of spider guard and berimbolo.
The Technique
Generally a way to defend spider guard is to step on your opponent’s thigh to peel off the grip. With the wrecking ball pass, you keep your foot on their thigh and move to the side.
By putting your foot on their thigh, you immobilize your opponent’s hip movement making it easy to pass their guard. Keenan takes a grip on their other leg to pass it by and grab their collar with his other hand for more control as he passes to side mount.
Another option Keenan shows for the wrecking ball pass is to put his other foot on their ankle. This is for when the opponent is really squirmy and he passes to the other side going into a leg drag position.
This is a really powerful and easy guard that will help stop opponent’s will super active guards. For more techniques like this, and more from Keenan, check out our technique section and look for more techniques added weekly.