Galvao and Rodolfo: Guard Passing Machines

Andre Galvao and Rodolfo Viera are two masters of passing the guard in BJJ competition…

If you take a look at these two BJJ fighters and how they play their games, it’s pretty easy to see that a lot of their success come from their ability to demolish the guards of their opponents.

Sure, there are plenty of guys out there who are great at passing the guard, but Andre Galvao and Rodolfo Viera stand out to say the least.

Galvaos’ Passes:

Watch any of Andres‘ matches, and you can get a pretty good picture of his style of passing.

-He likes to isolate the hips so they are rendered immobile

-He uses a lot of grips on the knees

-He likes to move around and even behind his opponents when he passes

Check out this match between Andre and Clark Gracie. You can see just how strong Andres’ guard passes are, and how much pressure his style of passing can cause. Here it is:

On numerous occasions, he is able to move around Clark Gracies’ legs in order to get the pass. Later on in the match, you can see Andre trying to work in some knee cut passes. The knee cut pass is another favorite of mine. (Check out this article for more details on how to execute it properly)

By watching the match, you can tell that his best guard passes come from pinning the hips and knees, driving weight into his opponent through his head and shoulders, and moving around his opponent. A really heavy, yet mobile passing game, one which I truly admire.

Rodolfo’s Passes:

If you watch some of Rodolfo’s matches, you will see that he too has a menacing guard passing game. Here is a match between him and Victor Estima. Some truly awesome guard passes:

Here are some of Rodolfo’s key techniques:

-He hits many “mid-range” guard passes.

Most BJJ fighters tend to either crowd their opponent and smash them to pass the guard, or play a very distant game in order to close distance fast to pass the guard. Rodolfo is able to pass from the “mid-range” area, which is extremely impressive and displays his immense passing pressure.

-He moves around his opponents to pass.

Just like Andre, Rodolfo likes to play a passing game where his moves around his opponents, not through them. This is not to say that his passing game is strictly moving around his opponents, but if you watch his matches, you can see that he has a ton of success by doing so.

-He passes with his opponents legs facing him

A lot of Rodolfo’s guard passes include a back step, which then leads to him passing the guard while his opponents legs are still facing him. He then drives his knee to his opponents hip to consolidate the pass. Many guys are having success with guard passes that involve facing your opponents hips away (leg drag, double under, etc…), but Rodolfo does the opposite, and looks awesome while doing it.

Both Andre and Rodolfo have their own unique style of passing, and a lot can be learned from watching their matches.

Even if you are much lighter, or even heavier, than both of these fighters, these techniques and guard passes are great to observe and study.

I hope that this article has inclined you to work on your passing game, because you should!

As a treat for you guys, here’s a match between Andre and Rodolfo. I won’t spoil it, but it is one that is definitely worth watching!

Now go pass someone’s guard.

-N

Flashy Jiu Jitsu: 5 Fun to Watch Techniques

Have you ever seen a BJJ match where one fighter, or even both fighters, performs a technique that really impresses you?

Whether it be an interesting guard variation, a slick back take, or a crazy submission attempt, there are techniques out there that I personally like to refer to as “cool guy” techniques.

Even if you haven’t been around the BJJ scene for too long, I am sure that you have seen either one of your coaches, training partners, or even favorite BJJ idols perform a technique that leaves you sitting there either in awe or in complete curiosity.

I have put together a short list of my favorite “cool guy” techniques to share with you guys. These techniques made my list because they either impressed me, looked cool to me, or intrigued me in any way shape or form.

The Flying Arm Bar/Flying Triangle

Two of the most impressive techniques in the jiu jitsu realm are the flying triangle and flying arm bar. They are hard to pull off in a live match, but if done properly, they can end a fight quickly right from the feet. Here’s a quick glimpse at these two awesome techniques:

Like I said, they look cool, and they are one of the most exciting techniques to watch.

De La Riva Variations

The De La Riva guard is a super exciting technique to watch, especially when you include it’s variations and use it to go inverted. Not only does it look awesome, but many of the super high level black belts at the lighter weights are using these techniques with good success. Check it out:

In this video, Cobrinha uses the de la riva guard to try to sweep Raider for almost the entire match. He goes inverted many times, and makes it look so easy. These guard techniques are exactly what some of the best lighter weight guys are using today, and they are great examples of top notch jiu jitsu.

Reverse Half Guard

Reverse half guard did not make this list on the grounds that it was necessarily a flashy or fancy technique. It is on the list because I believe that it is one of the most interesting positions in the sport of BJJ. Marcelo Garcia can be seen using this technique quite often, and he uses it greatly to his advantage. Reverse half guard is attained when the player on top in half guard uses his/her free leg to back step in the direction of his/her trapped leg, in order to pass the guard or set up other various attacks.

As you can see, the top player has a huge advantage if he can get to reverse half guard. He can either pass, or set up submissions or back takes. That is why I think that this technique belongs in the “cool guy” technique category.

The Twister

The twister has been around for a long time and was made popular by BJJ black belt Eddie Bravo. Eddie Bravo received his black belt from Jean Jacques Machado, a legend in the sport. He then went on to create his own jiu jitsu system, commonly known as the 10th planet system. In the 10th planet system of jiu jitsu, the twister is one of the most dangerous techniques.

It is a total “cool guy” technique for a few reasons. The twister is a spine lock, which you do not see much of these days in BJJ and even MMA competition. Also, it’s an alternative to just simply taking your opponents’ back and choking them, therefore it can be a big deal if one of the fighters wins via twister.

So there it is!

Those are definitely some of the techniques that get the biggest applause at the competition scene and even sometimes in the local gym. There are surely more techniques I could have put on the list, but who knows, maybe I will write a part 2 to this one in the future (it almost seems like the right thing to do)

If any of these techniques tickle your fancy, pick your favorite and try repping’ it out a few times at your academy and learn it.

Enjoy!

-N