Passing the guard can be frustrating for white belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Most rolls start on the knees and most experienced BJJ fighters will sit back and play an open guard, leaving the white belt stuck trying to get past their legs. Charging into an opponent’s open guard without a plan usually leads to sweeps that put you on the bottom in a bad situation.
The double under guard pass in BJJ is a simple pass that drives your opponent back onto their shoulders and off their hips, taking away their power and giving you a path around their legs and into side control.
The great Keenan Cornelius shows this double under guard pass that is simple enough for a white belt to learn but powerful enough to still be a part of his game at the highest level of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Start: Opponent’s open guard
Step 1: Push one of opponent’s knees to the ground
Step 2: Underhook opponent’s free leg and get their knee over your shoulder
Step 3: Give up pin and underhook that leg
Step 4: Reach your top side arm (with the knee on your shoulder) across opponent’s body to secure control of that leg
Step 5: Get cross-collar grip with top side hand
Step 6: Drive into opponent, forcing them off their hips and onto their shoulder (keep your head down to prevent opponent from untying the pass)
Step 7: Switch hips into opponent and shrug past their top side leg, letting it fall
Finish: Side Control